Public Policy

  • August 07, 2026

    Trump Picks FCC Lawyer As Agency's 3rd Republican

    President Donald Trump on Friday picked Danielle Thumann Severs, an in-house lawyer at the Federal Communications Commission, to fill an open seat on the regulatory board.

  • August 07, 2026

    Commerce Kicks Off Duty Probe Into Pipes From 3 Countries

    The U.S. Department of Commerce is investigating claims that stainless line and pressure pipes from India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are being sold at unfair prices in the U.S., it said Friday.

  • August 07, 2026

    DHS Increases Screening Fees For Larger H-1B Employers

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that businesses with more than 50 employees, at least half of whom are H-1B or L-1 visa holders, must pay a biometric screening fee anytime they file an application to extend the workers' visas.

  • August 07, 2026

    Key Senator Backs Blanche, Likely Securing AG Confirmation

    Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears to have locked down the votes needed for his bid to be attorney general after Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Friday that he would support the nomination.

  • August 06, 2026

    Updated 'Slush Fund' Suit Challenges Trump's Audit Immunity

    The IRS workers' union Thursday joined litigation in Virginia federal court challenging what the plaintiffs call President Donald Trump's proposed $1.8 billion "slush fund," adding claims that a side-order granting Trump, his family and businesses immunity from federal audits could expose IRS workers to criminal liability.

  • August 06, 2026

    Feds Ordered To Pay Millions In Funds For Migrant Kids' Attys

    A California federal judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration is in violation of her preliminary injunction ordering it to continue paying dozens of nonprofits that represent tens of thousands of migrant children in immigration proceedings, saying new data requirements imposed by the government violate "the plain language" of her order.

  • August 06, 2026

    DA Says Appellate Insight Needed In Judge Recusal Battle

    DeKalb County, Georgia's district attorney asked a trial court judge for a green light to appeal his decision not to boot a judge accused of ethics violations from the DA's office's cases, saying the situation called for guidance from the Georgia Supreme Court. 

  • August 06, 2026

    Dems Slam Skadden's 'Nothing To See Here' Trump Deal Reply

    Three Democratic lawmakers on Thursday criticized Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's response to their request that the firm disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration, saying the firm's "three sentence letter essentially saying 'nothing to see here'" is "not going to cut it."

  • August 06, 2026

    DHS, ICE Held In Contempt Over Asylum-Seeker Deportations

    A Maryland federal judge held U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in civil contempt for wrongfully deporting more than 50 unaccompanied minors with a blanket court order barring their removal, writing that the subsequent efforts to bring some of the minors back didn't right the initial wrong.

  • August 06, 2026

    TitleMax Rebuffed In 4th Circ. Bid To Halt Pa. Usury Case

    The Fourth Circuit has cleared Pennsylvania's banking regulator to continue its pursuit of $52.7 million in penalties from TitleMax for alleged interest-rate violations, rejecting a bid by the title lender's South Carolina arm to block the out-of-state enforcement proceeding. 

  • August 06, 2026

    Fintech Seeks OCC Trust Charter For Crypto Loan Servicing

    Zaria, a fintech startup that includes a former Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP partner as an organizer, has applied for an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency charter to establish what it says is the first national trust bank to offer "digitally native" loan servicing.

  • August 06, 2026

    Trump Again Targets Birthright Citizenship In 2 New Orders

    President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders that seek to limit automatic citizenship for babies born in the U.S., after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a previous birthright citizenship executive order as unconstitutional.

  • August 06, 2026

    USPTO Leaders Reinstate Double Patenting Ax In Sanofi Case

    A panel including U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires ruled Thursday that a Sanofi patent application must be rejected for double patenting, but questioned whether the rationale for the decision risks harming innovation and should be reconsidered by the Federal Circuit.

  • August 06, 2026

    DOJ Says Duke Law Favors Black, Hispanic Applicants

    Duke University School of Law intentionally discriminated against prospective white and Asian students in its efforts to pursue racial diversity in its incoming classes, the U.S. Department of Justice asserted Thursday.

  • August 06, 2026

    Meta Owes Another $567M To Address Harm To NM Kids

    Meta Platforms is on the hook for an additional $567 million after a New Mexico judge on Thursday determined that the Facebook and Instagram parent must take measures to protect its youngest users, following a jury's $375 million verdict that Meta hid the full scope of mental health harms its apps caused.

  • August 06, 2026

    1st Circ. Asked To Stop Student Removals For Palestine Speech

    A coalition of academic groups challenging the Trump administration's ability to target noncitizens for removal for pro-Palestinian speech told the First Circuit an injunction is needed to block the federal government from continuing to enforce the policy.

  • August 06, 2026

    GAO Pans DOGE's Savings Claims, Ethics Practices

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said on Thursday that the Department of Government Efficiency's claim to have saved $110 billion from terminated contracts, grants and leases is based on incorrect and opaque cost estimates.

  • August 06, 2026

    Ore. Judge Says DOD Wind Project Blockage Was Unlawful

    An Oregon federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Defense's freeze of wind projects, finding renewable energy groups and environmental nonprofits are likely to succeed in showing the agency violated deadlines for reviewing the projects' impact on military readiness.

  • August 06, 2026

    Wash. Justices Offer Bar Waiver After July Exam Tech Failure

    The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday it's offering to waive the bar exam requirement for first-time applicants who were unable to take the test last week due to an abrupt cancellation driven by technical issues at the Yakima Convention Center where it was scheduled to be administered.   

  • August 06, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Corona Clay Pollution Suit Over Creek Status

    A Ninth Circuit panel reversed a lower court's order denying a clay recycling manufacturer's request for a new trial after being found to have violated the Clean Water Act, saying significant changes to the law require another look at the case.

  • August 06, 2026

    GOP Sens. Vote To Hold Fauci In Contempt, AGs Open Probe

    A U.S. Senate committee voted along party lines Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer questions about the government's handling of the pandemic, while the Florida, West Virginia and Louisiana attorneys general are investigating potential "self-dealing" by Fauci during the crisis.

  • August 06, 2026

    Mich. Cannabis Agency Accused Of Aiding Buyout Plot

    A Michigan business owner has claimed in a suit filed in federal court on Thursday that the state Cannabis Regulatory Agency and several of its members coordinated with JARS Holdings to push him out of the cannabis business while smearing his professional reputation.

  • August 06, 2026

    Tax Prep Biz Owner Gets 30 Months For $5M Refund Scheme

    A Las Vegas tax preparation business owner was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by filing false tax returns and diverting portions of the resulting refunds to herself and an employee, the U.S. Justice Department said.

  • August 06, 2026

    GOP Senators Float Repeal Of Calif. Vehicle Emissions Rules

    Four Republican senators on Thursday proposed revoking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waivers granted to California for vehicle emissions regulations that have been in place for over a decade, following through on the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Golden State's authority to set stricter tailpipe emissions standards.

  • August 06, 2026

    NJ Panel Limits Disclosure Of Pending Police IA Files

    A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that defense attorneys in the state are not entitled to specific evidence about internal affairs investigations against police officers who are planning to testify in criminal trials.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

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

    Author Photo

    The second quarter brought several notable financial services law developments to Michigan, including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on state tax foreclosures, progress on a money transmission modernization bill package, and continued legislative momentum on cryptocurrency and mortgage lending, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • How New FERC Orders Are Prepping Grid For Large Loads

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

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

  • Structuring Space Nuclear Deals For Regulatory Risk

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.