Public Policy

  • July 10, 2026

    NY Nonprofits Want ICE Docs On Courthouse Arrest Policies

    Nonprofit groups suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over courthouse arrest policies pressed a Manhattan federal judge to force the agency to produce documents and testimony concerning arrests it conducts outside immigration courts after the agency's revised policy concerning such arrests in Manhattan was put on hold.

  • July 10, 2026

    Biggest Illinois Decisions Of 2026: Midyear Report

    One of the biggest decisions to come down in Illinois so far this year applies a 2-year-old Biometric Information Privacy Act amendment retroactively in an appellate ruling experts anticipate will deflate settlement values even though it came from a federal court.

  • July 10, 2026

    Trump Admin. Cuts ESA 'Harm' Definition, Groups Vow Fight

    The Trump administration on Friday said it's scrapping a longstanding definition of "harm" for the Endangered Species Act that included habitat degradation, with environmental groups promising a legal challenge and warning the change will put imperiled species at greater risk of extinction.

  • July 10, 2026

    States' Stopgap Suit Aims To Shield K-12 Mental Health Grants

    Washington and 14 other states launched a preemptive lawsuit Friday to stop the Trump administration from ending federal grants for mental health programming in public schools, seeking to preserve the funding if the U.S. Department of Education succeeds in asserting new grounds for canceling the grants in a related case.

  • July 10, 2026

    Crypto Firms Urge CFTC To Tailor Rules, CME Urges Caution

    Cryptocurrency industry groups and firms are urging the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to make regulatory tweaks to ensure blockchain-based financial products aren't burdened by unsuitable requirements of traditional registration categories, while some traditional finance players told the agency to tread carefully as it considers deregulation for fintech businesses.

  • July 10, 2026

    Kalshi's Contracts 'Sound Like A Bet,' 9th Circ. Judge Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Friday to preliminarily blocking Kalshi and Robinhood from offering sports contracts on tribal land, with one judge saying Kalshi's contracts "sound like a bet" subject to Native American gambling laws and another saying it "wouldn't be so unreasonable" to exclude tribes from federal oversight in this area.

  • July 10, 2026

    Ga. Sheriff Says Call Rate Cap Waiver Needed For Rural Jails

    A sheriff from Georgia is asking the Federal Communications Commission to grant the waiver that one of the country's largest prison phone service providers seeks, which would allow it to charge incarcerated people more for audio and video calls than the agency cap.

  • July 10, 2026

    Amazon Deal Would Let Casino App Users Pursue Developers

    Amazon.com Inc. has reached a tentative deal in a proposed class action accusing the e-commerce giant of promoting "social casino" mobile apps that constitute illegal gambling, agreeing to pay $2.5 million upfront and leverage indemnity rights that would allow the putative class to recover money from the app developers.

  • July 10, 2026

    House Duo Push Agencies To Tackle AI-Related Election Risks

    A bipartisan pair of members of the U.S. House of Representatives is calling on several federal agencies to coordinate efforts to ensure technologies fueled by artificial intelligence aren't operating in a way that undermines voters' ability to access "accurate, neutral and reliable" information about the upcoming midterm elections.

  • July 10, 2026

    Hospitals, Housing Targeted In 2026 As Fed Antitrust Wanes

    The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission are confronting claims that federal antitrust enforcement is petering out even as the agencies' dockets in 2026 include actions against hospital systems' demands on insurers, rental home listings, protein industry data and criminal prosecutions.

  • July 10, 2026

    Top 5 Enviro Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2026

    The second half of 2026 could see courts delivering important rulings that will determine whether municipalities can set their own building emissions laws, the extent of California's authority to regulate pollution and citizens' power to enforce the Clean Air Act. Here, Law360 takes a look at five environmental cases that could be resolved before the end of the year.

  • July 10, 2026

    Esco Bar Maker, FDA End Vape Suit Without Prejudice

    The manufacturer behind the popular vape brand Esco Bar has agreed to end its lawsuit accusing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of unfairly rejecting its $7 million application seeking permission to sell more than 100 vape products, with a federal judge sitting by designation in Texas accepting a stipulated dismissal.

  • July 10, 2026

    Chemours Says NC Resident's PFAS 'Equity Action' Must Fail

    DuPont entity and spinoff Chemours Inc. has told a North Carolina federal court it shouldn't have to face a PFAS contamination suit from a state resident, saying in her early-stage court filings, she's conceded that her "equity action" is doomed to fail.

  • July 10, 2026

    Groups Say Verizon's Defense Of Spectrum Deal Falls Short

    Three groups told the Federal Communications Commission that Verizon failed to address shortcomings in the agency's decision to approve its $1 billion takeover of onetime rival UScellular's spectrum in a June filing.

  • July 10, 2026

    Del. Justices Nix $16M Fee Award In SpaceX Investment Fight

    The Delaware Supreme Court on Friday erased a $16 million fee award stemming from a dispute over a fund manager's handling of a failed $50 million SpaceX investment, concluding that although the fund manager committed a limited breach of a "duty of candor," shifting all litigation expenses to him was unwarranted.

  • July 10, 2026

    5th Circ. Backs Block On Texas Dream Act Defense

    A split Fifth Circuit panel said a federal judge was right to block a challenge to an agreement Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Trump administration struck to end Texas law provisions allowing some unauthorized immigrants to pay in-state college tuition.

  • July 10, 2026

    Tulsa DA Tells 10th Circ. He Can Try Indians On Creek Land

    Oklahoma's Tulsa County district attorney has asked the Tenth Circuit to deny the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's attempts to block him from exercising criminal jurisdiction on its reservation, arguing that he has the authority to prosecute nonmember Indians for nonmajor crimes.

  • July 10, 2026

    MassDOT, Contractors Ignored Environmental Rules, AG Says

    The Massachusetts Department of Transportation and a group of private contractors working on a nearly complete bridge project just outside Boston have violated multiple state environmental laws and regulations, exposing workers and nearby residents to asbestos and other hazardous materials, the state's attorney general alleged in a lawsuit launched Friday.

  • July 10, 2026

    Judge Shields Anti-Abortion Groups From New Mich. Bias Law

    A federal judge ruled Friday that two anti-abortion organizations do not have to comply with a Michigan law that prevents employers from discriminating against workers who have had an abortion, stating they're likely to succeed on their claims that the statute illegally infringes on their missions and free speech.

  • July 10, 2026

    CFPB, Union Seek Pause On Review Of Layoff Plan

    The Trump administration and a federal labor union that represents staffers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have jointly asked a D.C. federal court to pause weighing a response to the administration's plan to lay off about half of the agency's remaining workforce, arguing the president's nominee to head the agency should be given the chance to review the plan if he is confirmed.

  • July 10, 2026

    Full 5th Circ. To Reconsider 90-Day Bond Hearing Limit

    The full Fifth Circuit on Friday vacated a roughly week-old split panel decision holding that the Trump administration can't hold noncitizens for more than 90 days without a bond hearing, and said it will rehear the matter.

  • July 10, 2026

    Kalshi Fights 'Extraordinary' Bid To Halt Wash. Operations

    Counsel for Kalshi pressed a Washington state court Friday to reject the state's request for a court order blocking the prediction market from operating in Washington, arguing its attorney general's office is seeking an injunction "far broader" than orders issued in similar litigation in Nevada and Michigan courts.

  • July 10, 2026

    DOJ Appeals Order Shielding Trans Youth Medical Records

    The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Ninth Circuit to review a California federal court's order blocking the government from trying to identify individuals who received gender-affirming care from a Stanford Medicine hospital as minors.

  • July 10, 2026

    4 Benefits Policy Issues To Watch In 2026's 2nd Half

    The U.S. Department of Labor's work to finalize a 401(k) investment selection safe harbor and plans for a new mental health parity rule are among the top employee benefits policy issues that attorneys are watching for in the latter half of 2026. Here, Law360 looks at four that practitioners say they're keeping an eye on.

  • July 10, 2026

    Judge Says GEO, Not ICE, Controls Detention Center Access

    A Washington federal judge rejected claims from GEO Group that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement controls access to an ICE detention center in the state and ordered GEO to allow state inspectors into portions of the center it controls.

Expert Analysis

  • How New FERC Orders Are Prepping Grid For Large Loads

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    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent show-cause orders to grid operators to justify how their rates and regulations account for the interconnection of large and colocated loads like data centers may be just the first step in FERC's efforts to address anticipated reliability and affordability challenges in the coming years, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • FDA Moves Leave Peptides In A Legal Gray Zone

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    While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken a concrete step forward on reclassifying certain peptides, the practical consequence of their interim status cannot be overstated — these substances are no longer designated as posing a significant safety risk, but they have not been affirmatively authorized for compounding, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • What Consent Decree Trends Mean For Deal Clearances

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    With merger remedies back on the table under the current administration, an analysis of recent Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice consent decrees reveals that prior approval and prior notice provisions are no longer a foregone conclusion, and companies may be able to negotiate narrowly tailored obligations, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The year's second quarter brought several notable banking law developments to New York, including a proposal to align state stablecoin rules with the federal Genius Act, fresh fair lending and cybersecurity guidance from state regulators, and a significant Second Circuit holding on preemption, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins Coie.

  • How Reincorporating In Texas May Alter Earnout Disputes

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    While the DExit debate has focused on shareholder suits, far less attention has been paid to what reincorporating in Texas means for M&A disputes, making it particularly important to understand the nuances between Delaware and Texas earnout jurisprudence, say attorneys at Selendy Gay.

  • What To Know If DOL Raises Overtime Salary Floor

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    With the U.S. Department of Labor recently rescinding a 2024 rule that increased the minimum salary for the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime exemptions, employers should assess how a future increase would affect their workforce, paying particular attention to job duties requirements and state laws, says James Coleman at Constangy.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • Structuring Space Nuclear Deals For Regulatory Risk

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    With the White House's recent focus on space nuclear power, a highly important question for companies that want to build orbital reactors, lunar surface systems or critical components is whether the transaction documents can handle foreign investment constraints, export controls and treaty-linked liability, says Kristie Blase at Frazer + Blase.

  • Proof, Not Just Timing, Will Decide Clean Energy Credits

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    For wind and solar projects that sprinted to begin construction before the accelerated placed-in-service deadline of July 4, project owners must now assemble and maintain documentation to qualify the project and defend against a potential clean energy credit audit, says Peter Lowy at Nelson Mullins.

  • Coordinating Life Sciences IP Strategies In The US And EU

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    As postgrant practice for life sciences patents is restructured in the U.S. and European Union simultaneously, patent owners will need to implement transatlantic coordination that treats international proceedings as components of a single intellectual property risk architecture, says Paul Calvo at Sterne Kessler.

  • Texas Business Court Rulings Show Deal Terms Paramount

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    As the courts within the Texas Business Court system have begun reaching the substantive merits of the cases before them, they are persuasively demonstrating they will not only enforce the terms of transactions as written, but will also embrace a holistic approach to complex transaction documentation interpretation, says Christopher Pace at Winston Taylor.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The year's second quarter brought several noteworthy financial services developments to California, including activity around a commercial finance oversight bill, the former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head's appointment to lead a new consumer agency, and a ruling reinforcing viable bank-fintech partnerships, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Trademark Law As A Tool To Bolster NIL Rights Against AI

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    The meteoric rise of artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes is prompting high-profile celebrities to protect their name, image and likeness rights using federal trademark law — a powerful yet limited supplement to traditional NIL claims, says Susan Natland at BakerHostetler.

  • What Ex-CFPB Head's Calif. Role May Foretell For Oversight

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's selection of former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to lead a new consumer agency signals tougher state financial services oversight, especially for fintechs, as well as heightened enforcement activity and larger penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

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