Public Policy

  • January 05, 2026

    1st Circ. Upholds Block On Trump Admin NIH Funding Cuts

    The First Circuit on Monday affirmed a Massachusetts federal judge's order permanently blocking the Trump administration from gutting National Institutes of Health funding for biomedical research, agreeing that the government didn't have the authority to cap indirect costs for research grants.

  • January 05, 2026

    NY Gov. Looks To Further Boost Online Protections For Kids

    New York's governor floated a legislative package Monday that would expand on the state's already robust online protections for kids by subjecting game and social media platforms to additional privacy and safety mandates, including ensuring that location settings are turned off automatically and that certain chatbot features are disabled.

  • January 05, 2026

    11th Circ. Rejects Asylum Despite Guerrilla Group Threats

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday refused to upend a decision denying asylum for a Colombian mother and son who were attacked and repeatedly threatened by a violent guerrilla group, ruling that the mother hasn't shown that the Colombian government permitted the group's actions.

  • January 05, 2026

    DC Circ. Says It Won't Rethink Emergency Air Rule Decision

    The full D.C. Circuit will not reconsider a panel's decision restoring air pollution-emitting facilities' right to defend themselves against violations of the Clean Air Act by blaming emergency circumstances.

  • January 05, 2026

    Groups Urge FCC To Deny $6.2B Nexstar-Tegna Merger Deal

    Public interest groups, labor organizations and satellite companies are asking the Federal Communications Commission not to grant TV station giant Nexstar's request to approve its $6.2 billion plan to merge with rival Tegna in a deal that would breach the agency's national ownership cap.

  • January 05, 2026

    Feds Fight To Keep Goldstein 'Sham Employee' Evidence

    Federal prosecutors heading to trial against former SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein are urging a judge to deny his bid to prevent a jury from hearing about four love interests allegedly paid as no-show employees at his former law firm.

  • January 05, 2026

    Federal Court Wrong Place For Judges' Suit, Justices Told

    Federal immigration officials have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appellate decision that allowed immigration judges to hash out their spat over a newly created speech policy in district court instead of within the congressionally designated special review system.

  • January 05, 2026

    ​'Truly Extreme': 9th Circ. Judges Decry Trump Layoffs Ruling

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday refused to revisit a three-judge panel's decision rejecting the Trump administration's challenge of a lower court's ruling requiring production of its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal agencies, a decision that was met with fiery dissent from several of the court's Republican-appointed judges.

  • January 05, 2026

    Fla. AG Says Pot Legalization Proposal 'Misleads Voters'

    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is opposing a new effort to legalize recreational marijuana through a ballot initiative, telling the state's high court that the proposal is invalid because it "misleads voters." 

  • January 05, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Seems Unlikely To Back Big Tech's Fintiv Challenge

    Four of the world's largest technology companies struggled to convince a Federal Circuit panel on Monday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Fintiv precedent is illegal, with judges stressing the broad discretion given to the agency's leader, as well as a potential policy change that could render the discussion moot.

  • January 05, 2026

    DOJ Says Maduro Capture Warrants Migrant Case Delay

    The Trump administration is asking for an extra week to offer a plan to get Venezuelan migrants who were deported without due process back to the U.S., contending that it needs more time to evaluate potential remedies after launching airstrikes in Caracas and capturing Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

  • January 05, 2026

    NRA Claims Foundation Hijacked For Rival Fundraising

    The National Rifle Association is suing its charitable arm for alleged trademark infringement and breach of contract, claiming the foundation it established in 1990 has been taken over by a "disgruntled faction of former NRA directors" who were ousted after scandals involving former CEO Wayne LaPierre.

  • January 05, 2026

    Express Scripts Wants FTC Atty Views On Insulin Prices

    Express Scripts is seeking to force an attorney from the Federal Trade Commission to sit for a deposition in the agency's case accusing pharmacy benefit managers of inflating insulin prices, saying the commission's own attorneys acknowledge that manufacturers cause higher prices.

  • January 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Creates Split On Dormant Commerce And Cannabis

    The Ninth Circuit's decision Friday finding that a constitutional doctrine barring states from enacting protectionist policies does not apply to federally illegal retail marijuana sets up an apparent circuit split and may bring the matter closer to U.S. Supreme Court review.

  • January 05, 2026

    House To Review Trump's Veto On Tribal Everglades Bill

    Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to consider Thursday objections to President Donald Trump's veto of bipartisan legislation that would save a Florida tribe's camp within Everglades National Park from flooding.

  • January 05, 2026

    NY Dem Looks To Curb Officials' Prediction Market Trading

    Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., is seeking to ban public officials from trading in certain prediction markets if their job gives them an edge, a representative confirmed Monday, days after an anonymous trader made a well-timed bet on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

  • January 05, 2026

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    Prolonged Federal Trade Commission reviews forced the abandonment of two mergers, the U.S. Department of Justice sparred with Live Nation and defended a merger settlement, and both agencies agreed to let multibillion-dollar transactions move forward. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from December.

  • January 05, 2026

    Wireless Builders Say FCC Powers Back Deployment Reforms

    The Federal Communications Commission has "ample" legal authority to make changes sought by the agency's Republican leadership to more easily deploy cell sites around the country, a group of wireless tower builders has argued.

  • January 05, 2026

    NY Court Voids Southampton's Cannabis Zoning Law

    Local zoning laws that blocked a marijuana shop from opening in the Long Island town of Southampton were declared "null and void" by a New York state court, and the state's attorney general is asking a federal judge overseeing a nearly identical case to make a similar ruling.

  • January 05, 2026

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In December

    Insurers seeking to cap their losses in a serious construction accident and a fintech startup offering what the state says are illegal mortgages were on the losing side in December, but two other companies defeated proposed consumer class actions in Suffolk County Superior Court's business litigation session. Here are four notable rulings you may have missed last month.

  • January 05, 2026

    NJ Panel Tosses Bid To Gut DEP Environmental Justice Rules

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Monday affirmed the state's sweeping environmental justice rules, rejecting consolidated challenges from industry and labor groups that argued the Department of Environmental Protection overstepped its statutory authority, relied on vague and overbroad definitions, and imposed arbitrary permitting burdens on facilities in heavily polluted communities.

  • January 05, 2026

    DC Circ. Chosen For Challenges To FCC's Prison Rate Caps

    A judicial panel has randomly selected the D.C. Circuit as the venue for multiple challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's latest rate structure for prison phone calls.

  • January 05, 2026

    Atlanta Shouldn't Escape Age Bias Suit, Judge Says

    A suit from an ex-building inspector against the city of Atlanta alleging his boss denied him a promotion because of his age can continue, a federal judge said, finding that a jury needed to weigh his claim that his boss told him someone younger was wanted instead.

  • January 05, 2026

    Health Officials Roll Back Child Vaccine Recommendations

    Amid public outcry, federal health officials on Monday revised vaccine recommendations for American children, cutting the number from 18 to 11 and bringing the United States in line with other developed countries such as Denmark. 

  • January 05, 2026

    Conn. AG Challenges Reynolds' Win In 'Recycling' Label Suit

    The state of Connecticut has asked a trial court judge to rethink whether Reynolds Consumer Products willfully violated state unfair trade practices laws when labeling clear plastic Hefty bags as "recycling" bags, arguing the judge held the state to a higher burden than necessary when issuing a quick win.

Expert Analysis

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

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    Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Assessing The SEC's Changing Approach To NFT Regulation

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    Early U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions on nonfungible tokens pushed for broad regulation, but subsequent court decisions — including a recent California federal court ruling in Adonis Real v. Yuga Labs — and SEC commissioners' statements have narrowed the regulatory focus toward a more fact-specific approach, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Comey Case Highlights Complex Speedy Trial Rights Calculus

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    Former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to waive his Speedy Trial Act rights in the false statement prosecution against him serves as a reminder that the benefits of invoking these rights are usually outweighed by the risks of inadequate preparation, but it can be an effective strategy in the right case, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Breaking Down Article 12 Of The Uniform Commercial Code

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    Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code, providing the alternative to perfection by control of assets like cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, but before accepting these assets as collateral, lenders and creditors should consider how to best maintain priority, say attorneys at Miller Nash.

  • Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

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    With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.

  • How Litigating Antitrust Fix Helped GTCR Prevail In Court

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    An Illinois federal judge's recent denial of the Federal Trade Commission's injunction request in the GTCR acquisition of Surmodics joins a developing series of cases in which deal parties have prevailed against government antitrust challenges by proposing a post-complaint fix and litigating the as-amended deal, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

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    As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

  • Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

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    Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • Wading Into NY Wetland Regs' 2025 Changes And Challenges

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    Solar developers in New York should keep a weather eye on litigation challenging the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s recently expanded authority to regulate wetlands and waterways, which could erode the impact of a new permitting process meant to streamline solar development on protected wetlands, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

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