Public Policy

  • December 11, 2025

    Democrats Say DOD Diverts $2B To Immigration Enforcement

    The Pentagon has diverted at least $2 billion in obligated funds to support immigration enforcement efforts across the country instead of the agency's core national security functions, according to a report released by Democratic lawmakers on Thursday. 

  • December 11, 2025

    Trial Record Backs Gender-Affirming Care, Ohio Justices Told

    A group of transgender youths and their families urged Ohio's highest court to affirm their win overturning state restrictions on gender-affirming care, arguing undisputed evidence at trial backed their arguments on the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

  • December 11, 2025

    FTC Challenges $725M Construction Adhesives Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission filed suit Thursday in New York federal court to challenge a $725 million merger combining Loctite with Liquid Nails, arguing that joining "the clear top two brands of construction adhesives" would drive up costs for home building and improvement.

  • December 11, 2025

    Localities Worried Over FCC Preemption On Rights Of Way

    Cities are protesting a legal effort underway at the Federal Communications Commission to potentially override local decision-making when it comes to the use of publicly owned rights of way for high-speed internet deployment projects.

  • December 11, 2025

    Tracking Challenges To USPTO's Discretion Policy

    Leaders at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have significantly altered the Patent Trial and Appeal Board playing field since March, making changes to institution reviews that have led to unprecedented levels of petition denials. A steady stream of companies has challenged those changes through mandamus petitions to the Federal Circuit, and here Law360 tracks where those petitions stand.

  • December 11, 2025

    SEC Gives DTCC Nod To Offer Tokenization Service

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday issued a no-action letter clearing the way for The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. to launch a service tokenizing certain securities.

  • December 11, 2025

    Ill. State Sen. Fends Off Bribery Retrial With Government Deal

    A sitting Illinois state senator who was set for a criminal bribery retrial has agreed instead to enter a deferred prosecution agreement that will see his federal case dismissed next year as long as he follows certain conditions without issue and pays the U.S. government $6,800.

  • December 11, 2025

    Texas Business Group CEO Resigns After Sexual Assault Suit

    The CEO of Texas' largest business association has stepped down after a woman who founded a business advocacy group said he attempted to coerce her into a sexual relationship and then assaulted her when she rejected his advances. 

  • December 11, 2025

    Navajo President Reinstates Controller Amid Legal Dispute

    Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has agreed to formally recognize that Sean McCabe is the tribe's controller, ending a dispute over the first-in-command's efforts to terminate his employment.

  • December 11, 2025

    NextNav Gears Up Geolocation System Test In Bay Area

    Navigation technology developer NextNav said Thursday it would conduct a test run in San Jose, California, of its proposed network to backstop the Global Positioning System.

  • December 11, 2025

    FEMA's Freeze On Disaster Mitigation Funds Ruled Unlawful

    The Trump administration unlawfully terminated Federal Emergency Management Agency funds intended to pay for disaster mitigating projects, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday, describing the case as an "unlawful executive encroachment on the prerogative of Congress to appropriate funds" for specific purposes.

  • December 11, 2025

    NJ Sens. Urge Cooperation On Next NJ US Attorney Nom

    The New Jersey senators are looking to collaborate with the White House to find a new nominee for U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey after the president's initial pick failed.

  • December 11, 2025

    5th Circ. Weighs Constitutionality Of Gun Dealer Licensing Law

    A Fifth Circuit panel seemed dubious Thursday of a gun dealer's claim that licensing requirements imposed on firearm merchants run afoul of the Second Amendment, asking if the dealer was arguing that the federal government cannot regulate gun sellers.

  • December 11, 2025

    Failed ACA Credit Extension Votes Leave Costs In Limbo

    The Senate failed Thursday to pass procedural votes on two healthcare proposals to address the upcoming lapse in the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits, including a proposal by Democrats to extend the subsidies for three years.

  • December 11, 2025

    Fed Terminates 3 Actions Against Credit Suisse, JPMorgan

    The Federal Reserve said Thursday that it has terminated a trio of enforcement actions against Credit Suisse Group AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co., lifting consent orders that were tied to alleged illicit finance practices and trade surveillance failures.

  • December 11, 2025

    Trump Admin Defends 'Authority' To Cancel Migrant Parole

    The Trump administration told a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday it has "discretionary authority" to revoke removal protections and work authorizations for nearly 1 million immigrants who entered the country using the federal government's CBP One app.

  • December 11, 2025

    DOJ-UnitedHealth Deal Requiring Home Health Sale OK'd

    A Maryland federal judge signed off on the U.S. Department of Justice settlement resolving its challenge to UnitedHealth's $3.3 billion acquisition of home health and hospice company Amedisys, under a deal requiring the sale of least 164 locations across 19 states.

  • December 11, 2025

    Terraform Founder Gets 15 Years For 'Epic' $40B Crypto Scam

    A Manhattan federal judge hit Terraform founder Do Kwon with a 15-year prison sentence Thursday, saying he caused "real people to lose $40 billion in real money" as he orchestrated a massive fraud that sunk the once high-flying crypto concern.

  • December 11, 2025

    Nonprofit Says Calif. Gov. Order Wrongfully Blocks Housing

    A housing nonprofit sued California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other parties in state court over government orders that blocked the construction of residential properties in certain areas hit by the January wildfires.

  • December 11, 2025

    Group Seeks Cannabis Reclassification Regarding Tax Status

    Cannabis shouldn't be categorized as a Schedule 1 or 2 drug, so tax law regarding the sale of illegal drugs shouldn't be applied to cannabis sales, a coalition of cannabis industry groups told the U.S. Tax Court in an amicus brief Thursday.

  • December 11, 2025

    NJ Justices Say Teacher Was 'Essential' During Pandemic

    An Ocean Township teacher who died from COVID‑19 in 2020 was an "essential employee" entitled to a statutory presumption that her illness was work-related, the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed Thursday, rejecting the school district's arguments that the workers' compensation judge improperly granted summary relief without supporting affidavits.

  • December 11, 2025

    4th Circ. Suppresses Gun Found In Illegal Traffic Stop Search

    A West Virginia man sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for illegal possession of a firearm should not have been searched during a 2023 traffic stop, a unanimous Fourth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, finding that a gun found on him should have been suppressed.

  • December 11, 2025

    DOJ Says It's Entitled To Colo. Voter Registration Data

    Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold should be forced to turn over state voter registration data that the federal government says it's entitled to, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a complaint filed in federal court Thursday.

  • December 11, 2025

    Split Pa. Panel Blocks Police Reports On Liquor Licensee

    A trial court was wrong to deny a Philadelphia establishment's appeal for renewal of its liquor license, since nearly a dozen police reports the court considered should have been excluded as hearsay, a split appellate panel said Thursday.

  • December 11, 2025

    DOJ Wants Declarations Struck In 3rd Country Removals Case

    The Trump administration urged a Massachusetts federal judge to strike some two dozen declarations detailing grim experiences with its policy of removing noncitizens to countries they don't have ties to, characterizing their filing as blatant "gamesmanship" with a court hearing days away.

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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