Public Policy

  • August 27, 2026

    NLRB Seeks To Permanently Block Calif. Fill-In Law

    The National Labor Relations Board urged a California federal court to bar a state law allowing the state labor board to perform certain duties if the national board cannot, arguing that recent decisions in other cases "confirmed" the court should find the law is preempted.

  • August 26, 2026

    5th Circ. Upholds Drug Negotiations In Blow To Big Pharma

    Medicare's landmark program of drug price negotiations doesn't flout constitutional provisions involving the separation of powers, due process or excessive fines, the Fifth Circuit ruled late Wednesday, delivering a fresh blow to the pharmaceutical industry's campaign to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review.

  • August 26, 2026

    Top Takeaways From Meta's $17B Kid Safety Deal

    A $17.1 billion deal with 29 states and Meta Platforms Inc. that includes reforms to Facebook and Instagram to protect children is seen as a benchmark for other settlements with social media companies as litigation and public pressure mounts over mental health harms to youth.

  • August 26, 2026

    KKR To Pay 'Record' $250M To End DOJ Merger Notice Suit

    KKR & Co. has agreed to pay a $250 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it hid key documentation and entire transactions for merger notification, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday, calling it the largest-ever penalty for repeat violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

  • August 26, 2026

    Fed's Cook Says Trump Has 'No Lawful Basis' To Fire Her

    Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook told the White House on Wednesday that President Donald Trump lacks a legally valid reason to fire her, arguing that previous mortgage fraud allegations leveled against her are untrue and would not justify removal.

  • August 26, 2026

    Adams, Mamdani Broke NYC Law With Race Equity Plan Delay

    A New York state judge said Tuesday that former NYC Mayor Eric Adams and his successor, Zohran Mamdani, violated city law by missing deadlines for publishing a citywide racial equity plan, which was not released until more than two years after an initial January 2024 deadline.

  • August 26, 2026

    Connecticut Sues Kalshi To End 'Free-For-All' Wagering

    Connecticut on Wednesday became the latest state to sue prediction market Kalshi for allegedly offering illegal sports gambling to its users, asking a court to shut down unlicensed wagers in the state and opening a new front in a legal battle that has previously reached the Second Circuit.

  • August 26, 2026

    Iowa, Montana Ask Justices To Stop Paramount Merger Case

    Iowa and Montana are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop California and other state enforcers from challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the effort "a partisan enforcement action" that targets a procompetitive deal.

  • August 26, 2026

    Mass. Officials Rebuff Challenge To Vape Ban

    There's no chance smoke shops and retailers will come out on top in a lawsuit seeking to undo a Massachusetts ban on certain tobacco products, the state said when urging a federal judge to reject calls to block enforcement, saying too many appeals courts have sided with similarly situated states.

  • August 26, 2026

    5th Circ. Rejects Felon's 'Weird' Second Amendment Claim

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a Louisiana man's felon-in-possession conviction Wednesday, rejecting his challenge that a prior conviction for trying to take a police officer's pepper spray lacked a founding-era analogue sufficient to justify barring him from possessing a firearm, as well as rejecting his "weird" argument that the disarmament was unsuccessful.

  • August 26, 2026

    Groups Ask Congress To Reject Idaho Toxic Waste Land Swap

    The Center for Biological Diversity, Snake River Waterkeeper and ManaSota-88 Inc. urged Congress on Wednesday to remove a provision from the National Defense Authorization Act that the center says would "cede historic lands of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho to expand a radioactive waste dump at one of the country's largest Superfund sites."

  • August 26, 2026

    X Loses Challenge To NY Social Media Disclosure Law

    New York's law requiring social media companies to divulge details of their content-moderation policies does not run afoul of the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, throwing out X Corp.'s challenge seeking to block enforcement of the measure.

  • August 26, 2026

    SEC, SBB Resolve Misvalued Funds Case Ahead Of Sept. Trial

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and SBB Research Group LLC told an Illinois federal judge that they've reached a settlement that would resolve the long-running litigation alleging the fund adviser misled investors about the performance of some of the funds it oversaw, and to scrap the planned September trial date.

  • August 26, 2026

    75-Nation Visa Pause Likely Flouts Law, DC Judge Rules

    A D.C. federal judge has barred the U.S. Department of State from applying its pause on visa issuances to a group of applicants from 75 affected countries, saying the plaintiffs will likely succeed in arguing the pause violates federal immigration law.

  • August 26, 2026

    House Committee Wants DOL IG To Widen Info-Sharing Probe

    Top House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans urged the U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog Wednesday to expand its review of information-sharing arrangements with outside groups, asking whether three additional agencies improperly disclosed confidential investigative material during the Biden administration.

  • August 26, 2026

    SEC Sends Crypto Custody Plan To White House

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to update regulations for investment advisers and funds holding crypto assets on their clients' behalf, sending planned amendments to its custody rules to the White House for review.

  • August 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Denies Challenges To EPA Rule On Chemical Reviews

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday denied petitions challenging a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule related to when and how some new chemicals can be exempted from standard pre-manufacture review processes, ruling the agency acted in line with its statutory powers.

  • August 26, 2026

    NJ Can't Force Access To ICE Detention Center, Feds Say

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has pressed a New Jersey federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from the Garden State's health commissioner seeking access to a Newark immigration detention center, saying whether state officials can inspect the facility is up to the federal government.

  • August 26, 2026

    Squires Institutes 6 Patent Reviews, Rejects 5 Others

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has instituted six patent reviews and denied five other requests in his latest round of decisions.

  • August 26, 2026

    Group Says HHS Can't Cut Certain Immigrants' Medicaid

    A Seattle-based community organization accused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of misinterpreting the 2025 federal budget bill, telling a Washington federal court it cannot strip Medicaid benefits away from noncitizens receiving Supplemental Security Income.

  • August 26, 2026

    Calif. Bill Curbing PE Role In Litigation Heads To Newsom

    A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after passing with bipartisan support from the state Legislature.

  • August 26, 2026

    Creek Nation Refutes Tulsa DA's Stance On State Crime Cases

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has told the Tenth Circuit that Oklahoma's Tulsa County district attorney gets it wrong in stating that he has the authority to prosecute nonmember Native Americans for nonmajor crimes committed on the federally recognized tribe's reservation.

  • August 26, 2026

    Miami Politicians Must Face Ex-Top Cop's 1st Amendment Suit

    Three former Miami city commissioners aren't shielded by the doctrine of qualified immunity from a fired police chief's First Amendment lawsuit, but the former city manager is, the Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday, saying the manager didn't know he risked violating the Constitution by suspending the chief before the firing.

  • August 26, 2026

    DC Circuit Upholds Approval Of La. LNG Terminal, Pipeline

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a $10 billion liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline in Louisiana, denying petitions from environmentalists saying the commission had unjustifiably dismissed threats to the climate stemming from the project.

  • August 26, 2026

    4 Factors That May Decide Success Of IRS Easement Office

    As practitioners scrambled to meet deadlines to settle clients' disputes over conservation easement tax deductions, the IRS made a surprise announcement this month that it would establish an office to solely focus on such cases. Here, Law360 looks at how four factors will affect whether the IRS achieves its stated plans for the office.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Courts Are Pushing Back On Greenwashing Laws

    Author Photo

    Recent Fourth Circuit and California federal court decisions blocking state greenwashing statutes on First Amendment grounds reveal a tension at the heart of environmental marketing regulation — while states want clarity, courts aren't prepared to let legislatures flatly ban categories of truthful commercial speech, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What NYC Bridge Crash Signals About Micromobility Liability

    Author Photo

    A recent fatal crash between a cyclist and a man riding a high-powered electric scooter on New York City's Queensboro Bridge highlights how litigation over accidents involving micromobility devices may increasingly shift away from ordinary negligence and toward product liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • 3 Ways Tokenization Is Moving To Traditional Finance

    Author Photo

    Recent initiatives reflect efforts to integrate distributed ledger technology into existing regulatory frameworks for securities, banking and payments settlements while preserving the underlying rights and obligations of market participants, say attorneys at Hughes Hubbard.

  • At The Intersection Of Right-To-Repair Laws And IP Rights

    Author Photo

    Right-to-repair legislation passing through Congress highlights a broad tension between manufacturers' security measures and consumer autonomy, with important repercussions for the automotive industry's intellectual property rights, says Keith Noe at Lando & Anastasi. 

  • Opinion

    States Should Reconsider Forced PBM Divestiture Laws

    Author Photo

    State legislatures are attempting to enact policies intended to force pharmacy benefit managers to divest from pharmacies, but these laws would have the practical effect of reducing patient access and competition, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution in the process, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

  • HSR Deals Proceed More Steadily Than Narratives Suggest

    Author Photo

    The most recent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data show that transaction volume remained relatively stable, transaction values continued to increase and enforcement activity remained low, suggesting that enforcement rates have been relatively consistent across presidential administrations despite widely differing public rhetoric regarding merger enforcement, says Amanda Wait at Michael Best.

  • Assessing The Benefits Of Fla.'s Newest Business Structure

    Author Photo

    As of July 1, Florida business owners can create protected series LLCs to shield assets from liability while avoiding increased costs and wasted time, but burdensome recordkeeping obligations are crucial to maintaining the very protection that makes them attractive in the first place, says Gregory Ritter at Moritt Hock.

  • Key Post-Proposal Shifts Likely In CFPB Loss Mitigation Rule

    Author Photo

    Mortgage servicers, borrowers and consumer advocates should prepare for a likely narrowed version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's loss mitigation rule, which is likely to permit sequential reviews, defer to investor guidelines, extend compliance timelines and preempt conflicting state standards, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

  • Noncompete Laws Show States Focusing On Bans, Healthcare

    Author Photo

    The first half of 2026 confirms that state legislatures are driving the most consequential changes in noncompete law, including a few state bans and several healthcare-specific laws, making a one-size-fits-all approach increasingly untenable for multistate employers, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's Inside Proposed, Expanded NY Stablecoin Regulations

    Author Photo

    New York's recently proposed regulations for payment stablecoin issuers would, if adopted, increase the regulatory burdens of a state license, and midsize issuers considering a conversion to a federal charter should weigh the associated costs of both options, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Justices' Tax Sale Ruling Tees Up Auction Fairness Battles

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan, that taxpayers are not entitled to fair market value of real property seized to satisfy a tax debt shifts attention to the fairness of state and local auction procedures, and whether taxpayers claiming surplus proceeds face unwarranted hurdles, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

  • What Corporate Counsel Can Learn From OpenAI Test Breach

    Author Photo

    The significance of the recent artificial intelligence testing breach involving OpenAI and Hugging Face lies in what it reveals about the path of AI’s evolution, because legal professionals must translate that trajectory into actionable governance, contractual and advisory frameworks, says Jason Mueller at Vorys.

  • Patent Eligibility Reforms Keep Chasing The Wrong Fixes

    Author Photo

    Repeated efforts to create a consistent, predictable patent eligibility standard under Section 101 have centered on replacing judge-made exceptions with new statutory language, but the better fix is to align examination standards with how courts actually apply eligibility doctrine, says former Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge Amee Shah.

  • Opinion

    Qualified Immunity Bill's Reach Goes Beyond Federal Officers

    Author Photo

    The federal Qualified Immunity Abolition Act, introduced earlier this year and described by the bill sponsors as a federal-officer measure, would in actuality reach the entire universe of Section 1983 defendants, a distinction that matters as much to defense counsel as to plaintiffs, says attorney V. James DeSimone.

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.