Public Policy

  • September 02, 2026

    Trump's Latest Birthright Order Flouts High Court, Judge Says

    A Maryland federal judge ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump's latest attempt to curtail birthright citizenship cannot be applied to a certified class of children, saying the U.S. Supreme Court already decided that the children were citizens once born.

  • September 02, 2026

    USPTO Policies Spur Reps To Float Conditions On Fee Power

    Several lawmakers expressed concern at a hearing Wednesday about recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies, including increased denials of patent reviews, and questioned if Congress should respond by putting conditions on the office's power to set its own fees.

  • September 02, 2026

    GOP Bill Would Alter CFPB Funding, Curb Enforcement

    Two high-ranking Republican U.S. representatives have formally introduced legislation that would put the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through the regular congressional appropriations process and establish a dedicated inspector general, among other changes.

  • September 02, 2026

    VLSI Presses Court For Full Anonymous Report In Intel Row

    VLSI has urged a D.C. federal court to force the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to release an unredacted version of a report alleging a connection between Intel and a company that successfully challenged a VLSI patent at issue in a multibillion-dollar infringement case.

  • September 02, 2026

    Online Embedders May Like 5th Circ.'s Pivot On Server Test

    The Fifth Circuit last week rejected a 2007 copyright test that publishers have long criticized, but attorneys say the court's replacement may still leave news aggregators and apps that embed third-party content in a strong position while putting more pressure on rights holders to restrict content they don't want embedded elsewhere.

  • September 02, 2026

    FCC Backs Alaska Telecom GCI's Plan To Serve 10K More

    Improvements in broadband infrastructure mean that Alaskan telecom GCI Holdings will be able to provide hybrid fiber-cellular service to 10,000 more people in the state, the telecom has told the Federal Communications Commission.

  • September 02, 2026

    Public Access Gets Win In Ex-Fla. GOP Chair's Records Case

    A Florida appellate court ruled Wednesday in favor of public access to investigative records involving the former chairman of the Sunshine State's Republican Party, finding that only legislators can create exemptions under the state's Public Records Act. 

  • September 02, 2026

    NOAA Fisheries Lays Out Priorities For Trump Seafood Order

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries division announced several dozen priorities to boost the U.S. seafood industry Wednesday, prompting one environmental group to call it a "depraved laundry list" of ways the Trump administration is willing to sacrifice ocean life.

  • September 02, 2026

    FCC Staff Are Making Big Decisions, But The Tactic Isn't New

    When an arm of the Federal Communications Commission that deals with broadcast competition waived one of the country's signature media ownership rules without a full FCC vote this year, it wasn't the first time agency staff had been entrusted with a major decision by the FCC's politically appointed chair.

  • September 02, 2026

    House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

    The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

  • September 02, 2026

    Migrant Advocates Can't Revive El Salvador Deal Challenge

    A D.C. federal judge once again shot down a challenge to the Trump administration's agreement with El Salvador that sent hundreds of detained noncitizens to the CECOT terror prison, ruling that the immigrant advocates challenging the deal had failed to show how their requested relief could redress the alleged harms.

  • September 02, 2026

    States Sue To Block Medicaid Ban On Youth Gender Care

    Twenty state attorneys general on Wednesday challenged the Trump administration's plan to halt Medicaid funding for minors' gender-affirming care, alleging the move would violate federal law and usurp congressional power over government spending.

  • September 02, 2026

    DOJ Backs OpenAI, Microsoft Fair Use Defense In NYT IP Case

    The federal government is weighing in on the sprawling copyright litigation against OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in New York federal court brought by The New York Times and others, telling the judge that using copyrighted texts to train generative tools shouldn't expose developers to broad infringement liability.

  • September 02, 2026

    AT&T Asks To Cut Copper-Based VoIP Service In 20 States

    AT&T is continuing with its plans to end its legacy copper-line telephone service across the United States, asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to cut services that rely on copper wires in certain areas in 20 states.

  • September 02, 2026

    Trump Foreign Equipment Order Perplexes Power Cos.

    The U.S. power industry is scrambling to make sense of President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order restricting imports of equipment used for the electricity grid, and attorneys say complying with the directive could ultimately make projects more expensive and take them longer to build.

  • September 02, 2026

    Colo. Says Semiautomatic Gun Law Is Constitutional

    Colorado officials urged a federal judge to not block the enforcement of a new state law restricting ownership of certain semiautomatic firearms, contending the law is constitutional and complies with recent Supreme Court precedent.

  • September 02, 2026

    14 Cos. Banned From US Networks Over Robocall Violations

    More than a dozen voice service providers have been booted from U.S. networks after failing to follow Federal Communications Commission rules aimed at staunching the barrage of robocalls that assault Americans' phones every day.

  • September 02, 2026

    FCC Floats 'Scorecard' To Deal With Robocall Deluge

    As the flood of robocalls continues, Federal Communications Commission leaders are considering a "scorecard" to let consumers rate their voice service providers as to how effectively they are blocking unwanted calls.

  • September 02, 2026

    10th Circ. Says Vape Shops Fumbled Utah Flavor Ban Appeal

    The Tenth Circuit dismissed an appeal brought by vape businesses challenging Utah's flavored e-cigarette ban, ruling that the companies picked the wrong order to bring to it on appeal.

  • September 02, 2026

    Kroger, Costco, Major Grocers Added To DOJ Beef Price Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice expanded its investigation into potential anticompetitive conduct in the American beef industry to include The Kroger Co., Walmart, Costco Wholesale Corp. and five other major grocers.

  • September 02, 2026

    Imported Feed Additive Is An Antibiotic, Trade Court Rules

    An animal health company's imports of a powdered feed additive should have entered the U.S. as a duty-free antibiotic, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday, undoing its previous classification as a preparation for animal feed from China that carried a 25% tariff.

  • September 02, 2026

    UMich Says Student Banned From Campus Can't Show Bias

    The University of Michigan and several of its officials on Wednesday asked a federal judge to dismiss a civil rights suit brought by a student and former university employee, saying his claims that he was barred from a campus area for expressing pro-Palestinian views fail and arguing the university was simply enforcing its standard trespass policy.

  • September 02, 2026

    11th Circ. OKs Refusal Of $1.5M Offer To End $140M Tax Debt

    The Eleventh Circuit rebuffed a software company founder's $1.5 million offer to settle his $140 million tax debt from 1999, ruling Wednesday that the IRS properly rejected the lowball offer in a case tied to sham arrangements.

  • September 02, 2026

    11th Circ. Revives Some Of Pot Co.'s License Bias Claims

    The Eleventh Circuit revived Wednesday a cannabis company's suit against Georgia regulators over a denied production license, saying the company showed it suffered an injury from the state's "pay to play" system and had the right to bring a lawsuit despite cannabis being federally illegal.

  • September 02, 2026

    Optics Co.'s £346M Sale Not Stopped By Antitrust Authorities

    Optics technology provider Gooch & Housego, advised by Burges Salmon LLP, said Wednesday that it cleared a regulatory hurdle in its proposed acquisition by Kirkland & Ellis LLP-led private equity shop Arlington Capital, as the antitrust waiting period for the £346 million ($470 million) deal has expired.

Expert Analysis

  • How Reincorporating In Texas May Alter Earnout Disputes

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    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

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    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

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

  • Structuring Space Nuclear Deals For Regulatory Risk

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • What Ex-CFPB Head's Calif. Role May Foretell For Oversight

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's selection of former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to lead a new consumer agency signals tougher state financial services oversight, especially for fintechs, as well as heightened enforcement activity and larger penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Why SEC Climate Rule Rescission Wouldn't End Disclosure

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    If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent proposal to rescind its 2024 climate-related disclosure rules is adopted, companies would no longer need to prepare for the rules' specific governance, emissions, attestation, financial statement and tagging requirements, but several important constraints would remain, say attorneys at Venable.

  • New Colo. Retainage Bonds Shift Construction Power Balance

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    A new Colorado law that can force property owners and developers to accept bonds from contractors in lieu of traditional cash retainage means owners’ practical leverage now derives from administering a risk-transfer mechanism, not from controlling cash, but key questions remain about who may assert a claim and how enforcing a bond actually works, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Justices Stand On Statutory Specifics In Cisco And Landor

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    With its June 23 decisions in Cisco Systems Inc. v. Doe and Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, the U.S. Supreme Court doubled down on the critical point that the statute invoked in a federal claim must authorize a private lawsuit and the remedy sought, says Patrick Judd at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Immigration Ruling Maps Alternative To Universal Injunctions

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    A Rhode Island federal court's decision in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS vacating policies that froze key immigration adjudications for nationals of 39 countries, and paused asylum applications altogether, suggests how practitioners might press for the Administrative Procedure Act's bad faith exception to record review and seek vacatur as a viable alternative to universal injunctions, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • New Va. Finance Laws Signal Consumer Protection Push

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    Virginia's 2026 legislative session produced several noteworthy developments for financial institutions, including garnishment reforms, mortgage assumption requirements and debt collection reforms, signaling broader trends toward increased consumer protection, enhanced fraud prevention obligations and greater accountability in financial services operations, says Jay Spruill at Woods Rogers.

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