Public Policy

December 23, 2025
DHS Finalizes Rule Shifting H-1B Odds To Higher Earners

The Trump administration finalized changes to the H-1B lottery Tuesday, unveiling a final rule it said will favor higher-paid and higher-skilled positions and tamp down on employers exploiting the program to hire low-wage workers and depress the wages of U.S. workers.
December 23, 2025
Federal Agencies Urge 9th Circ. To Lift Layoff Freeze

The U.S. government urged the Ninth Circuit to stay a court order barring agencies from laying off workers through next month under the shutdown deal, saying the court intruded on federal labor panels' territory and the funding resolution didn't bar layoffs agencies had in the works.
December 23, 2025
Chicago Mayor Allows $16.6B Budget Without Head Tax

Chicago's mayor said Tuesday that he will neither sign nor veto the City Council's $16.6 billion budget, which does not contain the $33-per-employee monthly tax on larger employers he sought, meaning it will take effect without his signature.
December 23, 2025
20 Years Later: How A Pink House Reshaped Takings Law

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 holding in the controversial eminent domain case Kelo v. New London remains intact despite multiple challenges to urban development projects, but its unpopularity has spurred most states to spend the past 20 years reshaping their land-taking laws.
December 23, 2025
Top New Jersey Cases Of 2025

New Jersey courts saw some history-making litigation come to a close over the course of 2025, including the largest environmental settlement ever achieved by a single state and the first clergy abuse trial verdict since the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse claims was extended. In other notable developments, the state's federal bench exercising a rarely used authority to reject President Donald Trump's pick for interim U.S. attorney.
December 23, 2025
Top International Trade Developments Of 2025

Importers faced novel levels of uncertainty in 2025 as President Donald Trump introduced several new tariff actions during his second term, including some that prompted importers to challenge a law used to authorize duties that had never been used before. Here, Law360 examines the year's top international trade developments.
December 23, 2025
Fast-Track Court Fights Shaped Immigration Litigation In 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court’s use of the emergency docket drove 2025’s biggest immigration decisions, with the justices stepping in repeatedly to stay nationwide injunctions, green-light key parts of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, and in some cases preserve due process rights. Here, Law360 looks at the year’s key immigration decisions.
December 23, 2025
BREAKING: Justices Deny Trump's Bid To Send Nat'l Guard To Chicago

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration cannot send hundreds of federalized National Guard troops into Chicago to aid federal immigration enforcement, leaving in place an Illinois federal judge's order temporarily barring the deployment amid a legal challenge.
December 23, 2025
Top Delaware Chancery Cases Of 2025: A Year-End Report

The Delaware Chancery Court closed out 2025 amid a period of institutional uncertainty, as landmark cases addressing fiduciary duty, executive compensation, board oversight and the limits of equitable power unfolded against the backdrop of sweeping legislative changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law.
December 23, 2025
Notable Pennsylvania Legislation Of 2025

Pennsylvania's much-delayed 2025 budget bill contained some big public-policy changes like ending a carbon cap-and-trade program, offering an $800 income tax credit and providing stopgap funding for mass transit, even as its domination of the state Legislature's time prevented much else from passing, attorneys told Law360 in reviewing major laws that passed in the last year.
December 23, 2025
Mass. Panel OKs $300M Real Estate Transfer Fee Hike

Massachusetts would double its real estate transfer fees under a bill advanced by a legislative committee that would raise an estimated $300 million annually to fund affordable housing and climate mitigation efforts.
December 23, 2025
11th Circ. Asked To Rehear Pregnancy Center Vandalism Case

A Florida woman convicted of vandalizing crisis pregnancy centers across the state asked the Eleventh Circuit Monday to reconsider a ruling affirming her conviction, arguing that she should not have been prosecuted under a conspiracy statute for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
December 23, 2025
Notable North Carolina Laws Passed In 2025

In 2025, North Carolina state legislators reacted to the brutal death of a Ukrainian refugee that garnered national attention by quickly drafting and passing a bill that retooled criminal law and shifted how judicial officers do their jobs. Another headline-grabbing law siphoned $6 million from free civil legal aid following concerns from GOP lawmakers that grant money was spent on "leftist groups."
December 23, 2025
DHS Ordered To Restore $233M Grants To 'Sanctuary' States

A Rhode Island federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate $233 million in funding to immigration "sanctuary jurisdictions," finding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had illegally terminated the grants for political reasons.
December 23, 2025
Federal Prison Workers Seek Block On CBA Cancellation

The union that represents employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons asked a Connecticut federal judge to unwind the cancellation of their collective bargaining agreement, saying the agency's reasons for ending workers' union rights don't add up.
December 23, 2025
Michigan AG Launches Probe Into Native Boarding Schools

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has opened a criminal investigation into Native American boarding schools and other institutions that once operated in the state.
December 22, 2025
NY's James, 21 Other Dem AGs Say CFPB Defunding Unlawful

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general in claiming the Trump administration's effort to defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is illegal, telling an Oregon federal court Monday the municipalities are statutorily entitled to the CFPB's resources
December 22, 2025
FTC Tosses Ban On AI-Fueled Tool For Stifling Innovation

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday threw out a 2024 order that imposed a ban on an artificial intelligence-powered writing assistance service that allegedly enabled its subscribers to generate false and deceptive online reviews, concluding that the prior directive was inconsistent with the Trump administration's current policy against undermining innovation in the emerging AI field.
December 22, 2025
Trump Admin Adds Drones To Nat'l Security Threat List

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday deemed new foreign-made drones an unacceptable risk to the national security and safety of the country.
December 22, 2025
Christian University Loses Challenge To Wash. Bias Law

A Seattle federal judge has disposed of a private Christian university's lawsuit claiming a Washington anti-discrimination law interferes with its First Amendment rights to only hire job candidates who share similar religious views, ruling the university hasn't provided evidence it faces realistic danger of injury from the statute.
December 22, 2025
Attys Say ICE Won't Let Them Talk To Detained US Citizen

Attorneys for a Maryland woman who immigration officials recently arrested in Baltimore said Monday that their client is a U.S. citizen, but that the government might remove her from the country despite a federal judge's order blocking it.
December 22, 2025
Hochul Signs AG James' Bill To Expand Consumer Law

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed into law New York Attorney General Letitia James' legislation to expand the state's ban on deceptive business practices to also protect against unfair and abusive practices, in the first updates to the state's primary consumer protection law in 45 years.
December 22, 2025
PayPal Pares Bias Suit Over Minority-Focused Economic Fund

A New York federal judge trimmed down a venture capital firm CEO's lawsuit accusing PayPal of discriminating against Asian Americans in a $500 million economic opportunity fund for Black- and minority-led businesses in 2020, allowing two claims against the financial technology company to go forward while tossing a couple of others.
December 22, 2025
Boasberg Orders Admin To Return Venezuelans For Hearings

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg has once again ordered the Trump administration to return more than 100 Venezuelan migrants who were flown to the CECOT prison in El Salvador without removal hearings in March, ruling that the government had violated their due process rights.
December 22, 2025
As US Executions Decline, Florida Surges

During Florida's 1994 gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Jeb Bush accused Democratic incumbent Lawton Chiles of being too soft on crime; Chiles' immediate predecessor, Bush pointed out, had signed almost 10 times as many death warrants as Chiles had.

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

Regulatory Rollback And Lingering Limbo: The CFPB In 2025

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has implemented significant changes since President Donald Trump took office in January, including dismissing actions with prejudice, withdrawing guidance and rescinding rules, casting the bureau in uncertain light heading into 2026, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
Nuclear Power Pitfalls And Opportunities To Watch For In 2026

Shepherding nuclear power projects to completion requires navigating more risks and obligations than almost any other infrastructure undertaking, but with the right strategies, states, developers, vendors and contractors can overcome these hurdles in 2026 and beyond, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
2025 Calif. Banking Oversight Centered On Consumer Issues

The combination of statutory reform, registration mandates and enforcement activity in 2025 signals that California's financial regulatory landscape is focused on consumer protection, particularly in the areas of crypto kiosk fee practices, earned wage access providers and elder fraud, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
A 6th Circ. Snapshot: 3 Cases That Defined 2025

With more than a thousand opinions issued this year, three rulings from the Sixth Circuit stood out for the impact they'll have on the practice of civil procedure, including a net neutrality decision, a class certification standards ruling and an opinion about vulgarity in school, say attorneys at Ice Miller.
Sports Gambling Scrutiny Expands Risks For Teams, Leagues

The Minnesota attorney general recently sent warning letters to 14 website operators for offering what the state considers illegal online gambling, demonstrating why the sports industry, including teams and leagues, should ask critical questions about organizational compliance, internal controls and potential criminal liability, say attorneys at Stinson.
The CFTC's Road Ahead Under Newly Confirmed Chair

Michael Selig's Dec. 18 confirmation as U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair comes at a critical juncture, as the agency is poised to gain oversight over the crypto industry and increase its jurisdictional mandate covering prediction markets, says Elizabeth Lan Davis at Davis Wright.
How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement

As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high level, but they can also present legal, ethical and operational risks that must be proactively managed, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.
SEC Rulemaking Radar: A Reset, A Shift And A Preview Of '26

With major proposals withdrawn and new priorities emerging, forthcoming U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposals in 2026 will look to reshape how digital assets are regulated, recalibrate market structure and simplify how small companies go public, says Christopher Grobbel at Goodwin.
Changes In Crypto, Cybersecurity Defined NY Banking In 2025

The major takeaways from 2025 in New York banking policy involve updated guidance, regulations and requirements primarily affecting innovation and digital banking, in areas such as cybersecurity, virtual currencies, and buy now, pay later programs, say attorneys at Steptoe.
Opinion

Justices Should Clarify Loper Bright Doctrine Via Patent Case

The U.S. Supreme Court should use the Lynk Labs v. Samsung patent case to provide urgently needed guidance on how last year’s Loper Bright decision should be applied to real-world questions of agency authority in the post-Chevron world, says Timothy Hsieh at Oklahoma City University School of Law.
How OECD Tax Update Tackles Mobile Workforce Complexity

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recently updated model tax convention — a recalibration of international tax principles in response to an increasingly mobile workforce — should prompt companies to reevaluate cross-border operations, transfer pricing policies and tax controversy strategies, say attorneys at Eversheds.
Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
2025 Legal Milestones That Will Shape Psychedelics Sector

As 2025 draws to a close, psychedelic drug development stands at an inflection point, experiencing unprecedented momentum through recent sweeping regulatory changes and landmark clinical milestones, amid rapidly evolving regulatory expectations, say Odette Hauke at Odette Alina LLC and Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.
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.