Public Policy

  • July 27, 2026

    Laid-Off Fed. Workers Lose Bid For Reinstatement Injunction

    A Maryland federal judge won't reinstate a group of former federal workers who claim that their layoffs were ideologically motivated, denying Monday the workers' request for a preliminary injunction in their dispute with the federal government.

  • July 27, 2026

    Atlantic Moves To Dismiss Kash Patel Defamation Suit

    The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick on Monday defended their article describing the alleged drinking and absences of FBI Director Kash Patel, maintaining that Fitzpatrick's reporting was deeply-sourced and asking a Washington federal judge to toss Patel's defamation lawsuit on the basis that he has not plausibly alleged any "actual malice" in publishing the story.

  • July 27, 2026

    DHS Used Personal Data To Get Back At Protesters, Suit Says

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security have been collecting personal data on people legally documenting immigration enforcement activities and using it to retaliate against them in violation of federal privacy and First Amendment protection laws, according to a suit filed in California federal court.

  • July 27, 2026

    Railroads, Feds Spar Over Train Crew Size Rule In 11th Circ.

    Railroads have told the Eleventh Circuit that the Federal Railroad Administration failed to properly justify its 2024 two-person train crew rule, saying the agency flip-flopped from its previous determination that such a rule was unnecessary.

  • July 27, 2026

    Trade Court Takes Issue With Qatar Melamine Duty Calculation

    The U.S. Department of Commerce must reconsider its calculation of a nearly 42% countervailing duty rate for a Qatari producer of melamine, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Monday, citing issues with the valuation of certain utility and land rights subsidies.

  • July 27, 2026

    Nicotine Pouch Maker, FDA Strike Deal To End Suit

    The maker of Zone nicotine pouches reached a deal to end its lawsuit accusing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of unfairly holding up its market application, which the company said could force it to stop selling its products for years.

  • July 27, 2026

    NC Contractor Pushes For Employee Retention Credit Refund

    A mechanical contractor is entitled to a $600,000 tax refund for claimed employee retention tax credits, it told a North Carolina federal court, saying the credits may not have been paid because the White House's Department of Government Efficiency gutted the IRS.

  • July 27, 2026

    Tribes, Groups Say Historic Council's Plan Imperils Sacred Sites

    Indigenous, environmental and preservation groups say a decision by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to advance a proposed rulemaking notice for revisions to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act will weaken tribal nations' roles in ensuring that their sacred burial sites and ancestral lands are protected.

  • July 27, 2026

    Mich. Justices Reject Federal Double Jeopardy Rule

    The Michigan Supreme Court has significantly expanded the state's constitutional protection against double jeopardy, finding prosecutors can be barred from retrying a criminal defendant following a mistrial, even if they did not specifically intend to provoke the defense into requesting one. 

  • July 27, 2026

    DOJ Says Demand For Colo. Voter Data Must Avoid Dismissal

    The U.S. Department of Justice asked a Colorado federal judge to ignore a motion to dismiss from a nonprofit intervenor in its lawsuit against state Secretary of State Jena Griswold seeking to force her to turn over state voter registration data, according to a brief filed by the government Friday.

  • July 27, 2026

    Hawaiian Telecom, Electric Co. Resolve Pole Removal Dustup

    A telecom has agreed to end its dispute with Hawaiian Electric Co. after urging the Federal Communications Commission to block the utility's removal of 22 electric poles that are also used for communications gear.

  • July 27, 2026

    Wash., Hayden Homes Reach $1.6M Deal To End Fee Claims

    Hayden Homes LLC and affordable housing-focused nonprofit lender First Story agreed to pay more than $1.6 million to settle Washington state's claims that they charged home sellers illegal private transfer fees, the state's attorney general announced Monday.

  • July 27, 2026

    Judge Stays ICE Oversight Visit Case Pending Appeal

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday stayed a lawsuit brought by House Democrats challenging a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy limiting their oversight access to immigration facilities while the Trump administration appeals an injunction limiting the visit restrictions.

  • July 27, 2026

    Fertilizer Biz Asks Justices To Reverse Idaho Tribal Land Swap

    An Idaho agribusiness is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to undo a Ninth Circuit decision that invalidated a U.S. Department of the Interior land transfer over tribal concerns of contamination from a planned fertilizer plant expansion, arguing the ruling undermines the country's food security, thousands of jobs and millions in economic activity.

  • July 27, 2026

    New DHS Rule Will Speed Some Asylum Cases To Court

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new regulation Monday allowing asylum officers to skip interviews if they determine someone is barred from, ineligible for or does not merit asylum and send those cases straight to immigration court.

  • July 27, 2026

    Carriers Back Changes To Broadband Map Data Gathering

    An association of competitive communications providers backed the Federal Communications Commission's recent action to eliminate regulations the agency has characterized as unduly burdensome, in addition to improving data collection and the national broadband deployment map.

  • July 27, 2026

    AbbVie Seeks Block On Alkem Generic Constipation Drug

    AbbVie Inc. and collaborator Ironwood Pharmaceuticals urged a New Jersey federal court to bar India-based generic-drug maker Alkem Laboratories from selling generic versions of their branded constipation drug while associated patents are active, arguing Alkem would violate patent law by doing so.

  • July 27, 2026

    Deal Reached In Comedian Eric André's Racial Profiling Suit

    Actor Eric André and another comedian who said their constitutional rights were violated when they were racially profiled at an Atlanta airport have reached a tentative deal with a Georgia county to settle their lawsuit about a year after the Eleventh Circuit agreed to revive the case. 

  • July 27, 2026

    Insurance Services Co. Can Fix Worker Tax Credit Refund Bid

    A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge allowed a California-based health and life insurance services company to amend its complaint to address questions about whether it qualified as an eligible employer to claim a $50,000 employee retention tax credit refund.

  • July 27, 2026

    DLA Piper Launches Congressional Investigations Group

    DLA Piper has launched a congressional investigations practice in Washington, D.C., with a former U.S. House oversight committee attorney for Republicans and a Biden-Harris White House adviser as its leaders, the firm announced Monday.

  • July 27, 2026

    Live Nation, DOJ Say States Have Enough Discovery Into Deal

    The U.S. Department of Justice has joined with Live Nation to resist a discovery request by a bipartisan group of state attorneys general seeking more information about a settlement the federal government reached with the company in the middle of an antitrust trial.

  • July 27, 2026

    NTIA Pushes For Gov't, Industry Move Toward 6G Mobile

    The federal government's spectrum manager hopes to see the advent of sixth-generation mobile services on a fast track as long as global partners are ready to get on board.

  • July 27, 2026

    Groups Say National Pipeline Permit Harms Rivers, Wetlands

    Environmental organizations asked a Washington federal judge Monday to overturn a nationwide permit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissued for oil and gas pipelines, accusing the agency of allowing companies to fast-track stream crossings without the appropriate considerations or safeguards.

  • July 27, 2026

    Trade Group Can't Challenge Calif. PBM Law

    A healthcare industry group representing pharmacy benefit managers lost its initial bid to challenge a California state law restricting their business practices, after a federal judge determined its complaint didn't go far enough to prove standing for the group representing PBMs, which intermediate between drugmakers, pharmacies and insurers.

  • July 27, 2026

    10th Circ. Upholds Colo.'s $3-A-Day Rental Car Fee

    The Tenth Circuit upheld Colorado's up-to-$3-a-day congestion impact fee on short-term vehicle rentals Monday, ruling that the charge falls on consumers rather than airport rental car companies.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Why SEC Climate Rule Rescission Wouldn't End Disclosure

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    If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent proposal to rescind its 2024 climate-related disclosure rules is adopted, companies would no longer need to prepare for the rules' specific governance, emissions, attestation, financial statement and tagging requirements, but several important constraints would remain, say attorneys at Venable.

  • New Colo. Retainage Bonds Shift Construction Power Balance

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    A new Colorado law that can force property owners and developers to accept bonds from contractors in lieu of traditional cash retainage means owners’ practical leverage now derives from administering a risk-transfer mechanism, not from controlling cash, but key questions remain about who may assert a claim and how enforcing a bond actually works, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Justices Stand On Statutory Specifics In Cisco And Landor

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    With its June 23 decisions in Cisco Systems Inc. v. Doe and Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, the U.S. Supreme Court doubled down on the critical point that the statute invoked in a federal claim must authorize a private lawsuit and the remedy sought, says Patrick Judd at Phelps Dunbar.

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