Corporate Transparency Act Is Constitutional, 11th Circ. Says

By Kevin Pinner

The Corporate Transparency Act is constitutional because it regulates economic activities with a substantial impact on interstate commerce and doesn't violate protections against unreasonable searches, the Eleventh Circuit said Tuesday, reversing a lower court's decision.

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Hospital Owners Sue HHS Over Medicare Payment Rule

By Tom Lotshaw

Allina Health System and other nonprofit hospital owners have sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, telling a D.C. federal judge it unlawfully enacted a rule that will cause safety-net hospitals to lose out on billions of dollars of Medicare payments.

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States Sue Trump Admin To Restart EV Infrastructure Funds

By Ben Adlin

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration in Washington federal court on Tuesday in an effort to stop the U.S. government from blocking billions of dollars in congressionally approved funds meant to expand the country's electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

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2nd Circ. Tosses Ex-CFTC Atty's Religious Bias Case

By Jessica Corso

The Second Circuit on Tuesday threw out a religious bias claim brought by a former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission attorney, reasoning that he hadn't shown how he had been harmed by a temporary order at an agency he no longer works for.

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Ex-State High Court Chiefs Start Group To Defend Rule Of Law

By Jake Maher

A group of over 40 former chief judges of state supreme courts across the country this week launched a new project to speak out against attacks on the judiciary's independence and educate about the rule of law. 

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Analysis

The Top Copyright Decisions Of 2025

By Ivan Moreno

In watershed moments for copyright law and artificial intelligence, two California federal judges delivered the first rulings on whether AI developers' reliance on copyrighted works to train their models qualifies as fair use, providing initial guidance on contentious battles between content creators and tech companies. Here are Law360's picks for the top copyright rulings of 2025.

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Roundup

5 Big Litigation Developments Out Of Georgia In 2025

By Kelcey Caulder

It was a busy year for courts in Georgia, with a federal judge ordering the state's corrections system to continue providing hormone therapy to transgender people in prison, and prosecutors deciding to drop the historic racketeering case against President Donald Trump and his allies. Here, Law360 recaps the biggest legal developments to come out of Peach State courts in 2025.

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FDIC Floats Application Process For Stablecoin Issuance

By Aislinn Keely

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday took its first major step towards implementing the federal stablecoin law known as the Genius Act when it moved forward with plans for an application process by which insured depository institutions can seek to issue stable-value tokens.

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Fed Ends Goldman 1MDB, Metropolitan Card Consent Orders

By Jon Hill

The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday it has lifted consent orders against Goldman Sachs and Metropolitan Commercial Bank, closing matters tied to Goldman's purported role in the 1MDB scandal and Metropolitan's oversight of a prepaid-card program that government agencies alleged was fraud-ridden.

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Custodia Seeks Full 10th Circ. Review Of Master Account Suit

By Katryna Perera

Custodia Bank says the full Tenth Circuit should review a split panel's decision granting Federal Reserve banks the discretion to reject master account access requests from eligible entities, arguing that the "incorrect" ruling wrongly gave Federal Reserve Bank presidents plenary power to determine "whether a bank shall live or die."

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CFTC Drops Spoofing Case Against Texas Energy Trader

By Celeste Bott

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has agreed to drop a lawsuit claiming a Houston-based energy trading firm manipulated the crude oil market, an outcome the firm hailed as "full and definitive vindication" on Monday.

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US, Red States Ask Court To Void Vt. Climate Superfund Law

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. government and a group of red states on Tuesday asked a federal court to void Vermont's climate Superfund law, saying the statute exceeds the state's powers over air pollution.

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ConocoPhillips Wants Say In Alaskan Oil Project Dispute

By Elaine Briseño

A subsidiary of ConocoPhillips has asked the Alaska federal court for permission to intervene in a lawsuit challenging its exploration of the National Petroleum Reserve, arguing its economic interests would be threatened if the project opponents succeed in getting its permits revoked.

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Enviro Org.: 'Radioactive Road' Completion Doesn't Moot Suit

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Mosaic Co.'s completion of a road that contains radioactive phosphogypsum doesn't mean a legal challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's approval is moot, the Center for Biological Diversity told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday.

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Dana-Farber To Pay $15M To Resolve Fraud Allegations

By Rae Ann Varona

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will pay $15 million to settle allegations that its researchers used inaccurate images in grant applications and research articles, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

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Vax Skeptics Cite High Court In New Challenge To NY Mandate

By Gianna Ferrarin

A vaccine skepticism advocacy group once tied to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is revamping its fight against New York's school vaccination mandate, arguing recent activity by the U.S. Supreme Court necessitates a fresh analysis.

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Brief

Trump Executive Order Calls Fentanyl A 'WMD'

By Jonathan Capriel

President Donald Trump has declared fentanyl a "weapon of mass destruction," according to an executive order that explicitly calls on the military to respond to "chemical incidents in the homeland."

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USPTO Tells Fed. Circ. That Inventor 'Abused' Patent System

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is urging the Federal Circuit to ignore an inventor's call to end doctrine that can render a patent unenforceable based on delays by the owner during prosecution, saying his actions were "a textbook example of unreasonable examination delays."

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La. Social Media Law Violates First Amendment, Judge Rules

By Nadia Dreid

Louisiana cannot enforce a new law that restricts minors' access to social media and bans companies from showing them targeted ads because it is likely unconstitutional and would violate their First Amendment rights, a Louisiana federal judge said Monday.

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'Take It Or Leave It' Defines Network-Affiliate Ties, FCC Told

By Christopher Cole

The major TV affiliates' groups have urged the Federal Communications Commission to tackle what they call the "seriously out of balance" relationship that has developed between major national networks and local broadcasters that carry their programs.

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Recovery Centers Wrap Up Zoning Battle With Georgia City

By Kelcey Caulder

A mental health facility and an addiction treatment center have ended their lawsuit alleging that the city of Dunwoody, Georgia, manipulates zoning ordinances to prevent such facilities from operating within its borders.

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DOJ Says NY Court Can't Handle Maurene Comey Firing Suit

By Adrian Cruz

The U.S. Department of Justice has said former prosecutor Maurene Comey's suit challenging the circumstances of her firing should be dismissed, arguing that it is an attempt to sidestep the Civil Service Reform Act.

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Ex-NIAID Director Claims Retaliation in Trump Admin Suit

By Craig Clough

The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases filed suit in Maryland federal court on Tuesday alleging Trump administration appointees violated her constitutional rights by illegally terminating her employment and that she cannot expect her claims to be fairly heard by the "undermined" U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

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FTC Retaliation Suits To Be Heard By Different Judges

By Nadia Dreid

A D.C. federal judge has unassigned herself from a suit brought by an antidisinformation nonprofit that says the Federal Trade Commission slapped it with subpoenas as revenge for naming conservative outlets top disinformation risks, agreeing that the matter isn't similar enough to another suit currently before her.

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White Atlanta Worker Says EEOC Race Charge Got Him Fired

By Grace Elletson

A white worker in his 60s claimed in a Georgia federal court suit that the city of Atlanta fired him out of age and race discrimination after he complained to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that his Black and younger colleagues received preferential treatment.

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Unions Argue Challenge To DOGE's Data Access Is Still Valid

By Emily Brill

The Trump administration's claim that a lawsuit against the Department of Government Efficiency is moot is a strategy to avoid litigation, not a legitimate argument, a group of unions told a New York federal judge, saying their challenge to DOGE's data access can proceed because DOGE remains operating.

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Fired Top Antitrust Official Warns Of 'Politicization'

By Courtney Bublé

The former No. 2 at the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division until he was terminated this year testified Tuesday about the "politicization" of antitrust enforcement.

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PVC Pipe Buyers Defend Price-Fix Conspiracy Claims

By Lauraann Wood

Polyvinyl chloride pipe purchasers say they've alleged more than enough to show a Chicago federal judge that certain manufacturers participated in a plausible and illegal price-fixing conspiracy, urging the court to let their consolidated action proceed to discovery.

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DOD To Reevaluate Discharges Over COVID Vax Refusal

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Department of Defense said on Tuesday that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a reevaluation of the discharge status of service members who were involuntarily removed from the military after they refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 

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CORRECTED: Trade Court Nixes Injunction In Trump Tariff Suit

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Court of International Trade has denied a preliminary injunction in a suit challenging President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs after auto part retailers failed to convince the court that the relief was necessary to preserve their potential right to refunds.

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Commerce To Seek Tariff Inclusions For Auto Parts In January

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Department of Commerce will seek feedback from stakeholders during the first two weeks of 2026 on including new auto parts and components within the scope of sectoral tariffs, according to a recent notice.

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Trump Adds Travel Restrictions To 20 Countries, Palestinians

By Lauren Berg

President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded his travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, increasing the number of African and Muslim-majority countries subject to limits on who may travel and immigrate to the U.S.

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Feds Say Nat'l Guard Shooting Warrants Special Visa Pause

By Ganesh Setty

The Trump administration asked a D.C. federal court to pause its processing of special immigrant visas for Iraqi and Afghan individuals who assisted American troops overseas, pointing to the November shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House.

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States Ask 5th Circ. To Uphold Wartime Removal Powers

By Ganesh Setty

A group of 24 states urged the Fifth Circuit to let the Trump administration use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, saying any injunction would endanger their states' own security.

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Mass. Judge Considers Nixing 3rd-Country Removal Accounts

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge said he may strike accounts detailing the experiences of noncitizens removed to countries where they have no ties as he considers whether the federal government's third-country removal policy is unlawful.

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Contrite Ex-Lawmaker Makes Law License Reinstatement Pitch

By Matthew Santoni

A former Pennsylvania state representative has put family conflicts, political stress and gambling addiction behind him in his bid to move past his transgressions — including stealing client funds — and get his law license back, according to testimony at a reinstatement hearing Tuesday.

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5th Circ. Says Tribal Members' Park Access Claims Are Moot

By Crystal Owens

A Fifth Circuit panel won't block the restoration of a San Antonio park over two Native American church members' objections, saying there is no evidence to support their claims that the Texas city refused to try to accommodate their religious practices.

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Wash. AG's Native Cold Case Unit Gets First Conviction

By Parker Quinlan

The Washington State Attorney General's Office has announced that its recently established task force unit to investigate cold case homicides involving Indigenous people has secured its first guilty plea in a previously unsolved criminal case.

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Okla. Can't Tax Tribal Member On Reservation, Justices Told

By Sanjay Talwani

A long line of U.S. Supreme Court rulings hold that states cannot tax tribal citizens on reservations without congressional authority, a tribal member told the justices, urging them to hear her appeal of an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision.

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Brief

Nokia Chosen As Spectrum Access Manager For CBRS

By Nadia Dreid

Nokia is the newest spectrum access manager for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, the slice of spectrum that stretches from 3.55 to 3.7 gigahertz and is used for both private and government purposes, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

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Software Patents May Face New Eligibility Scrutiny

November guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, along with recent litigation trends from the Federal Circuit, may encourage new challenges in the USPTO and district courts to artificial intelligence and software patents that rely on generic computing functions without concrete details, say attorneys at Venable.

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New Rule Shows NRC Willing To Move Fast To Reform Regs

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to forgo public comment and immediately rescind certain rules governing adjudicatory procedures, federal tort claims and disclosure of licensee information signals the agency's intent to accelerate the regulatory streamlining efforts ordered by the president this spring, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Opinion

A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

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Learning From 2025 FCA Trends Targeting PE In Healthcare

False Claims Act enforcement trends and legislative developments from this year signal intensifying state and federal scrutiny of private equity's growing footprint in healthcare, and the urgency of compliance, says Lisa Re at Arnold & Porter.

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What Trump Order Limiting State AI Regs Means For Insurers

Last week's executive order seeking to preclude states from regulating artificial intelligence will likely have minimal impact on insurers, but the order and related congressional activities may portend a federal expectation of consistent state oversight of insurers' AI use, says Kathleen Birrane at DLA Piper.

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AG Watch: Texas Junk Fee Deal Shows Enforcement Priorities

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent $9.5 million settlement with online travel agency website Booking Holdings for so-called junk fee practices follows a larger trend of state attorneys general who have taken similar action and demonstrates the significant penalties that can follow such allegations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

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Investment Advisers Should Stay Apprised Of New AI Risks

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently issued annual examination priorities reiterate a host of regulatory implications for investment advisers using artificial intelligence tools, highlighting that meaningful ongoing due diligence can help mitigate both operational and regulatory surprises amid AI's rapid evolution, says Christopher Mills at Sidley.

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Surveys, Awards & More: Law360's 2026 Editorial Calendar

Law360 publishes several award series throughout the year, including ones that highlight top-performing attorneys and practice groups. Here, find all you need to know about our awards and surveys, including due dates, FAQs, and the questions we'll ask so you can prepare ahead of time.

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Bonus Spotlight

Bonus News: Glenn Agre, Bursor & Fisher Reveal 2025 Levels

By Andrea Keckley

Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP told its associates in a memo last week that it would be issuing year-end bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $115,000 and special bonuses ranging from $6,000 to $25,000 based on seniority, with the chance to receive premiums above the year-end bonuses based on "​​extraordinary dedication and/or performance."

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Jackson Walker Wants Settlements Heard Before Romance Trial

By Adrian Cruz

Following a Texas federal judge's decision to hold off on reviewing malpractice settlements with former bankruptcy clients, Jackson Walker LLP asked the court to reconsider, as the pending motions could save parties time and money.

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Analysis

Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To 2025's Most Memorable Moments

By Jeff Overley

Federal circuit courts in 2025 strained under a crush of Trump administration lawsuits, as judges directed animated language at litigants and even their fellow judges. And while the president only added a handful of appellate jurists, they had outsize impacts on circuit benches as they joined the cadre of conservatives seated in his first term.

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CFTC's Pham Will Head To Crypto Co. MoonPay After Exit

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's acting Chair Caroline Pham is set to join cryptocurrency payments firm MoonPay as its top lawyer following her impending departure from the commission, MoonPay announced Wednesday.

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Sterne Kessler Draws Scolding, But No Sanctions Midtrial

By Elliot Weld

A Delaware federal judge said Wednesday she wasn't happy with the tone used by attorneys defending a radiopharmaceutical company from patent infringement claims and that she does not condone the attorneys' conduct in improperly contacting three inventors named in a patent at issue, but she declined to issue the severe sanction of kicking them off the case.

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Analysis

The Top Trademark Decisions Of 2025

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a trademark infringement award that reached nearly $47 million and found nonparties couldn't be on the hook for the amount, while the Federal Circuit reproached a trademark tribunal for its handling of a man's attempt to register the F-word. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trademark decisions of 2025.

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After Questioning Judge Nominee, Sen. Kennedy Wants More

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on Wednesday pressed a judicial nominee for Indiana on statements he's made as an ordained elder on sexuality and marriage.

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Judge's Contact With 'Tiger King' Ex-Atty Won't Disqualify Him

By Ivan Moreno

A Tenth Circuit judge on a panel reviewing a copyright infringement claim against Netflix over a video clip included in its "Tiger King" docuseries can stay on the case after inadvertently contacting a former attorney for the plaintiffs, the parties told the appellate court in separate letters.

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Pentagon Must Justify JAG Firings Under New NDAA

By Courtney Bublé

Under the annual defense policy bill that was sent to the president's desk on Wednesday, the Pentagon will have to explain its firings of military lawyers — a provision that comes after the Trump administration controversially dismissed its top military lawyers at the beginning of the year.

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Feature

The Spiciest Quotes From Massachusetts Courts In 2025

By Chris Villani

Massachusetts courts were replete with high-stakes cases throughout the year, with memorable lines from lawyers and judges alike, including jabs, thoughtful reflections and one defendant "blinded by love."

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