Public Policy

  • October 06, 2026

    CFTC Eases Conversion Of Certain Contracts To Perpetuals

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission took another step toward widening the field of perpetual contracts by easing the way for platforms to convert certain existing contracts tracking security indices into true perpetual futures.

  • October 06, 2026

    Flock, Colo. Towns Violated Residents' Privacy, Suit Says

    Flock's mass surveillance system and two Colorado towns invaded individuals' constitutional right to privacy by tracking their movements without consent and failing to employ safeguards for law enforcement using the technology, alleges a proposed class action filed in Colorado federal court.

  • October 06, 2026

    ICE Seeks Early Win In ACLU's Suit Over Detainee Records

    The federal government on Tuesday sought to end a public records lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arguing the agency is allowed under federal law to create its own rules for when immigrant detainee information can be released.

  • October 06, 2026

    Tribal Jurisdiction Key To Michigan Indigenous Cases

    Determining who can prosecute crimes committed in Indian Country requires navigating a complicated mix of tribal, state and federal authority, a Michigan federal prosecutor told law enforcement officials and advocates Tuesday at a statewide summit focused on missing and murdered Indigenous people and human trafficking.

  • October 06, 2026

    EPA's Climate Retreat Sidelined As Justices Weigh State Torts

    The Trump administration's recent moves renouncing its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions appear unlikely to sway the U.S. Supreme Court in deciding whether state and local governments can pursue climate change lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, attorneys say.

  • October 06, 2026

    1st Circ. Questions Need To Rule On Expired Harvard Visa Ban

    The First Circuit grappled Tuesday with what to do with an injunction blocking the Trump administration's long-suspended ban on foreign students from attending Harvard University, more than 10 months after the president's proclamation expired.

  • October 06, 2026

    UVA Law Prof Takes On Role Of USPTO General Counsel

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said University of Virginia School of Law professor John F. Duffy has joined the agency as its general counsel and acting solicitor.

  • October 06, 2026

    DOD Seeks 1st Circ. Relief Over Fee Award In Grant Cap Case

    The U.S. Department of Defense is appealing a Massachusetts federal court's decision awarding attorney fees to an academic organization that helped successfully argue that the department's cap on reimbursing indirect costs from universities' grant-funded research was unlawful.

  • October 06, 2026

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Monopoly Suit Setback, Historic Deal

    The North Carolina Business Court rounded the corner into fall with a setback for residents in an antitrust class action, a historic settlement in "forever chemical" contamination litigation and a raft of new restrictive covenant complaints.

  • October 06, 2026

    Wrestler Asks Justices To Shield Her From Trans Opponents

    A high school wrestler asked the U.S. Supreme Court for emergency relief protecting her from competing against female-identifying students who are biologically male, after she said one such opponent sexually assaulted her during a match.

  • October 06, 2026

    Fed To Realign Bank Supervision Into 5 State-Based Regions

    The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official said Tuesday that the central bank is overhauling how it manages its nationwide supervision operations, laying out plans for a reorganization aimed at streamlining the chain of command for its bank examination work.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Wary Of Hikvision Appeal Over FCC Device Denials

    Chinese device-maker Hikvision hoped to convince the D.C. Circuit Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission doesn't have the authority to strip a company's existing authorizations for national security reasons, but the judges did not seem persuaded.

  • October 06, 2026

    1st Circ. Sees Gaps In Order Halting RFK's Vaccine Advisers

    A First Circuit panel on Tuesday puzzled over aspects of a lower court's order staying Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointments to a vaccine policy committee, with one judge saying he can't tell what authority the order was based on.

  • October 06, 2026

    Cato, NRA Back Review Of Gun Ban For Nonviolent Felons

    Some four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a gun ownership ban for drug users is unconstitutional as applied to a marijuana user, gun rights advocates are urging the high court to expand the finding to those convicted of nonviolent marijuana crimes.

  • October 06, 2026

    Colo. Developer Says Town Reversed Course On Sewer Taps

    The developer of a tiny home community just outside a Colorado mountain town has told a federal judge that the town refuses to process the community's wastewater and won't issue new tap permits to new properties despite approving more than a dozen prior to the dispute.

  • October 06, 2026

    Calif. Tribe Says Kalshi Evades Tribal Sports Betting Bans

    A Southern California tribe warned the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that a recent Third Circuit decision blocking New Jersey from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi could threaten tribes' exclusive rights to regulate gambling on their reservations.

  • October 06, 2026

    FCC Threats Loom Like 'Guillotine,' ABC Tells Court

    ABC argued during intense questioning from a D.C. federal judge Tuesday that a Federal Communications Commission probe of eight network-owned TV stations needs to end, because the agency's threats hang like a "guillotine" that could be cut loose at any time.

  • October 06, 2026

    Texas Justices Leery Of Banning AI Deposition Transcripts

    Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant to bar attorneys outright from using artificial intelligence voice transcription software during depositions, pointing out Tuesday that multiple safeguards exist to ensure accuracy.

  • October 06, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs Hybrid Test For Categorizing Sex Offenders

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday joined its sister circuits and adopted a "hybrid" framework to determine a sex offender's appropriate category under a federal registry law by looking at the text of state laws used to charge an offender, and weighing facts from the case.

  • October 06, 2026

    Chicago Woman Sues Over Shooting By Border Patrol Agent

    A Chicago woman who was shot five times by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during an immigration enforcement operation last year sued the federal government Monday, alleging that the agent deliberately struck her car and shot her without justification while she was alerting her neighbors to the officers' presence.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ábrego García Deportation Hearing Abruptly Scrapped

    A hearing on the Trump administration's monthslong bid to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to Liberia was abruptly scrapped Tuesday afternoon, and attorneys on both sides declined to say why.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ariz. Tribe Seeks Emergency Stop To Border Wall In DC Circ.

    The Tohono O'odham Nation is asking the D.C. Circuit for an emergency injunction pending appeal to block construction of a border wall on its Arizona reservation, telling the appellate court that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security intends to start construction as early as Monday.

  • October 06, 2026

    Farmers Strike Deal With Insurer To End Crop Loss Dispute

    Two tobacco farmers in North Carolina have settled their suit seeking to recoup the cost of arbitration proceedings and other damages from a crop insurance provider accused of trying to halve their recovery for crop-related losses, federal court records show.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Tells FCC To Respond In Fox Philly License Case

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday ordered the Federal Communications Commission to respond to an advocacy group's petition for court action to compel full commission review of a staff order that tossed a challenge to Fox TV's Philadelphia broadcast license.

  • October 06, 2026

    10th Circ. Revives Prosecution Of Utah Psilocybin Church

    The Tenth Circuit has revived a state court prosecution against a Utah church that uses the psychedelic psilocybin as a sacrament, saying the enforcement action did not violate religious freedoms and a lower district judge erred by halting it.

Expert Analysis

  • FDIC Proposals Mark Pullback In Bank Resolution Rules

    Author Photo

    A recent pair of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposals would fundamentally reshape testing of banks' resolution-related capabilities from a mandatory exercise to a voluntary one supported by significant financial incentives, amounting to an overall reduction in reporting requirements, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

  • EEOC Enforcement Plan Signals DEI, Religious Bias Scrutiny

    Author Photo

    In light of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently publishing its national enforcement plan covering through fiscal year 2029, employers should expect increased scrutiny of practices that conflict with the administration's positions on diversity, equity and inclusion, national origin discrimination, and religious accommodations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Immigration Order Raises Customer ID Stakes For Banks

    Author Photo

    Following a recently issued immigration-related executive order, financial institutions should expect and prepare for increased scrutiny of customer due diligence and identification, suspicious activity monitoring, and consumer lending, as well as accompanying supervisory shifts and rising fair lending risks, says Douglas Weissinger at Butler Snow.

  • Trade Secret Practice Tips From The 1st Half Of 2026

    Author Photo

    Intellectual property attorneys should consider what several significant developments in 2026 thus far mean for how they protect, litigate and value trade secrets, focusing on new state noncompete bans, cases scrutinizing how plaintiffs identify trade secrets and federal rulings on damages doctrines, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • High Court Rulings Could Alter Agency Strategy For Cos.

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook mark major turning points in the law of independent agencies and in how regulated companies should think about federal enforcement, rulemaking and agency-facing strategy, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

  • How CME Suit May Reshape CFTC's Crypto Derivatives Rules

    Author Photo

    CME Group's recent lawsuit over the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's approval of a Kalshi application to offer a bitcoin perpetual contract as a futures product could have cascading consequences for crypto derivatives regulation, highlighting why policy ambitions do not override statutory text or substitute for reasoned decision-making, says attorney Tamara de Silva.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Parole Ruling Degrades Green Card Holders' Rights

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blanche v. Lau, holding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can parole a returning lawful permanent resident without clear and convincing evidence of a crime, weakens the statutory and practical protections Congress intended, say attorneys at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners.

  • NEPA Reforms Can Fix Permitting Without Weakening Review

    Author Photo

    Recent National Environmental Policy Act reforms, in tandem with a Senate bill proposing faster permitting reviews and greater agency coordination, mark a long overdue move toward more efficient energy and infrastructure permitting that does not sacrifice environmental assessment, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • 2 Microsoft Matters Could Help Shape AI Antitrust Outlook

    Author Photo

    A pending federal court case and investigation focusing on Microsoft's allegedly anticompetitive conduct in the deployment of artificial intelligence tools are testing whether antitrust law can distinguish ordinary competition to supply the AI ecosystem from conduct that distorts how that competition unfolds, says Kylie Kim at Massey & Gail.

  • Preparing For Next Congress With Eye On Investigation Risk

    Author Photo

    Rod Rosenstein, Brian Whisler and Bruce Linskens at Baker McKenzie offer advice for organizations seeking to build a proactive response plan to potential congressional oversight as the election looms.

  • Asylum Ruling Signals Larger Separation Of Powers Battle

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that border officials may turn away asylum-seekers without inspection is part of a broader conversation about the reach of institutional safeguards that subject governmental authority to legal constraint, says Dree Collopy at American University's Washington College of Law.

  • Solar's Momentum At Mid-2026 Will Help It Overcome Snags

    Author Photo

    The rapid expansion of U.S. solar development in the first half of 2026 is likely to continue its pace, even amid ongoing shifts in federal trade policy and supply chain regulations, obstacles to permitting reform, and an increasing divide between states enacting policies to encourage or stymie project development, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • The Debanking Minefield: Navigating Fair Access In 2026

    Author Photo

    Federal regulators' recent elimination of reputational risk from bank supervision, alongside a growing patchwork of state fair access laws, is reshaping how banks make account and service decisions and ushering in a new compliance era requiring individualized, objective and risk-based access determinations, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Carbon Health Settlement Highlights Why Evidence Is Key

    Author Photo

    The California Attorney General's Office's first-of-its-kind settlement with Carbon Health, imposing penalties for alleged corporate practice of medicine violations, shows that friendly professional corporation challenges usually hinge not on the parties' management services agreement, but on whether the operational record matches it, says Ben Dubin at VC Expert Services.

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.