Public Policy

December 17, 2025
Senate Sends $900B Defense Bill To Trump's Desk

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a $900.6 billion defense policy and budget bill for 2026, which includes a provision aimed at putting pressure on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release unedited video of boat strikes carried out in international waters near Venezuela.
December 17, 2025
Trump Admin Asks Fed Whether It's Back In The Black

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday asked the Federal Reserve to confirm whether it has returned to profitability, a potential opening for the Trump administration to draw new funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after insisting none is available.
December 17, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms DHS Officers' Fast-Track Removal Authority

A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday upheld the denial of a Mexican citizen's bid to toss illegal reentry charges, rejecting arguments that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security "deciding service officer" unconstitutionally ordered his removal, while also clarifying that such officers who issue fast-track removal orders aren't subject to the U.S. Constitution's appointments clause.
December 17, 2025
NJ Gov. Says Clemency Grants Exceed 300 Since Exec Order

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday announced that his office has surpassed 300 grants of clemency since he launched an effort last year to increase the legal relief provided to incarcerated and convicted people in the state.
December 17, 2025
States, Groups Urge DC Circ. To Preserve EPA Soot Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's request that the D.C. Circuit vacate a Biden-era soot rule is legally untenable and should be rejected, Democrat-led states and cities, along with health and environmental groups, told the court.
December 17, 2025
5th Circ. Overturns 20-Year Sentence For Illegal Reentry

A Fifth Circuit panel vacated a 20-year sentence imposed on a Mexican national for unlawful reentry, ruling Wednesday that prosecutors broke an informal agreement to support far lower sentencing guidelines if the man entered a guilty plea with no formal deal.
December 17, 2025
Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over Nexstar's $6.2B Tegna Deal

A group of Democratic lawmakers has urged federal enforcers to closely scrutinize Nexstar Media Group Inc.'s planned $6.2 billion purchase of rival broadcast company Tegna Inc. and to block the deal if they find it violates the law.
December 17, 2025
DC Circ. Grants En Banc Hearing On CFPB Layoff Plan

Additional D.C. Circuit judges will get to weigh in on the Trump administration's bid to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through mass layoffs, after the appeals court granted the agency's employees' union an en banc rehearing on a lower court's injunction stopping the firings.
December 17, 2025
Senate Dems, FCC Tangle Over Agency's 'Independent' Status

The Federal Communications Commission's Republican chair faced off Wednesday against Senate Democrats, who accused him of trying to muffle dissenting political views and gutting the telecommunications regulator's longstanding independence.
December 17, 2025
Halt Of Alien Enemies Contempt Probe To Test Judicial Power

The D.C. Circuit's second halt of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's contempt inquiry into the Trump administration's Alien Enemies Act deportations has set up a high-stakes fight over how far judges can go when the executive branch defies their orders.
December 17, 2025
Shutdown Deal Bars Federal Firings Until Feb., Judge Says

A California federal judge said Wednesday she'll grant a preliminary injunction barring layoffs of federal workers from several agencies before Jan. 30, saying legislation that ended the government shutdown prohibits the layoffs, but she added she might pause her order while the government appeals.
December 17, 2025
20 States Back 10th Circ. Rehearing In Colo. Interest Rate Row

Utah has led a group of 20 states in backing a push by banking groups for a full Tenth Circuit rehearing of their challenge to a Colorado law intended to curb high-cost lending in the state, saying a recent panel decision upholding the law harms states' interests.
December 17, 2025
Energy Dept. Orders Wash. Coal Plant To Remain Open

The U.S. Department of Energy has ordered Washington's sole coal-fired power plant to remain open through March 2026, despite a state law that requires utilities to stop using coal-fired electricity by year's end.
December 17, 2025
UMich Says Allowing Protest Suit Would 'Eviscerate' Immunity

An attorney representing the University of Michigan told a federal judge Wednesday that permitting a complaint from its former staffers, who alleged they were fired without due process for participating in protests in support of Palestinians in Gaza, to move forward would "eviscerate" immunity for major institutions.
December 17, 2025
LSU Districts' Taxes Challenged For Not Getting Voter OK

A former Louisiana councilperson filed a suit against two economic improvement districts associated with Louisiana State University on Wednesday, saying the jurisdictions failed to get taxpayer approval before raising sales taxes.
December 17, 2025
Pentagon Must Justify JAG Firings Under New NDAA

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.
December 17, 2025
Ex-Conn. Official Denied Hearing On Juror's Media Comment

A former Connecticut schools construction official did not provide enough justification to warrant a post-conviction hearing to probe whether jurors were forthcoming about their exposure to press coverage of his public corruption case, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
December 17, 2025
Bill Would Ease Copyright Registration For Visual Artists

Visual artists would have a simplified and cheaper copyright registration process under a bill introduced Wednesday by Tennessee Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
December 17, 2025
Court Remands Commerce Ruling On Vietnam Steel Duties

The U.S. Department of Commerce did not properly substantiate its 2023 findings that imports of Vietnamese steel products were flouting duties imposed on South Korea, India and China, the U.S. Court of International Trade said, remanding the agency's determinations.
December 17, 2025
Bank Deserves Sanctions In Jail Debit Card Suit, Court Told

A class of formerly incarcerated people who've accused the Central Bank of Kansas City of charging excessive fees on prepaid debit cards told a Washington federal judge that the bank should face sanctions for failing to sort and hand over documents required for compliance with an August court order.
December 17, 2025
Ore. Tax Court Axes Trust's Appeal Of Special Assessment Nix

The Oregon Tax Court dismissed a trust's appeal of a county assessor's decision denying its bid for a special property tax assessment but declined to sanction the trust for citing nonexistent law, which the court said was "likely" due to use of generative artificial intelligence.
December 17, 2025
Trade Court Remands Pipe Fitting Duty Scope For 2nd Time

The U.S. must better explain how it deemed certain products outside the scope of a 30-year-old antidumping duty order on Chinese pipe fittings for a second time, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled, finding the government's analysis insufficient.
December 17, 2025
Union, Voter Group Seek To Join DOJ Election Records Case

A union local, an affiliate and a Black voters advocacy group urged a federal court Tuesday to let them intervene in a U.S. Department of Justice suit seeking election records from Fulton County, Georgia, arguing the DOJ is trying to boost conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.
December 17, 2025
Braidwood Asks For Judgment In ACA Preventive Care Fight

Christian-owned, for-profit management company Braidwood Management Inc. asked a Texas federal judge Tuesday to end its challenge to an Affordable Care Act provision that requires coverage of lung cancer screenings and preexposure prophylaxis for HIV/AIDS, citing a U.S. Supreme Court finding upholding the provision.
December 17, 2025
Mich. Appeals Court Rejects Medical Pot Co.'s Tax Deduction

A Michigan medical cannabis provisioning center cannot claim a corporate income tax deduction for business expenses, the Michigan Court of Appeals found, saying the law provides that tax break only to recreational cannabis businesses.

Editor's Picks

Trump's Legal Battles

States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 220 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Expert Analysis

M&A Midmarket Shows Resilience Amid 2025 Challenges

Midmarket mergers and acquisitions showed a slight decline in volume but climbed in value for much of 2025, particularly in the private equity space, indicating that the middle market M&A environment is cautious but steady heading into 2026, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.
Del. Dispatch: Key 2025 Corporate Cases And Trends To Know

The Delaware corporate legal landscape saw notable changes in 2025, spurred by amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, ubiquitous artificial intelligence fervor, boardroom discussion around DExit, record shareholder activism activity and an arguably more expansive view of potential Caremark liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.
2025 Brought A New Paradigm For Federal Banking Regulation

A series of thematic shifts defined banking regulation in 2025, including a fundamental reform of prudential supervision, a strategic easing of capital constraints, steps to streamline merger reviews, and a new framework for fair access and entrants seeking to offer banking services, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
What 2025 Transpo And Logistics Legal Trends Mean For 2026

2025 was challenging for the transportation and logistics sector, with emergent trends including dramatic federal policy shifts, developments in tort risk, and a host of mergers and acquisitions — but a review of these themes offers a useful playbook for where the industry is headed in 2026, says Jonathan Todd at Benesch.
How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
2025 State AI Laws Expand Liability, Raise Insurance Risks

As 2025 nears its end, claims professionals should be aware of trends in state legislation addressing artificial intelligence use, as insurance claims based on some of these liability-expanding statutes are a certainty, say attorneys at Wiley.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.
Crypto In 2025: From Federal Deregulation To State Action

The cryptocurrency enforcement landscape evolved in 2025, marked by federal deregulatory trends and active state attorney general enforcement, creating both opportunity and risk for businesses navigating the digital asset market, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
How CFTC Enforcement Shifted In 2025 And What's Next

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pivoted sharply under acting Chairman Caroline Pham in 2025, resulting in a pared-back enforcement docket, sweeping policy changes intended to provide greater transparency, and a renewed focus on fraud prevention and maintaining market integrity for the CFTC's core markets, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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.
Reviewing 2025's State And Federal AI Regulations

In light of increasing state and federal action to oversee the use of artificial intelligence, companies that develop or deploy the technology should keep abreast of current and forthcoming AI laws and consider their applicability to their business activities, says Jessica Brigman at Spencer Fane.
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.
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.
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.