Public Policy

  • September 09, 2026

    NM Again Hauls Meta To Trial, This Time Over Privacy

    The state of New Mexico told a jury Wednesday that Facebook flagrantly misrepresented its privacy practices, including the one that let Cambridge Analytica harvest the data of 87 million mostly nonconsenting users, as the state goes to trial against the company for the third time in seven months.

  • September 09, 2026

    21 States Want Changes To Endangered Species Act Blocked

    California, Massachusetts, Washington and 18 other states on Wednesday filed a pair of suits challenging the Trump administration's recent changes to how the Endangered Species Act is implemented, claiming that the rules drastically weaken safeguards for the most vulnerable species and were rolled out unlawfully.

  • September 09, 2026

    Conn. Regulator GC Admonished To Abide By Records Law

    The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission admonished the general counsel for the state's utility regulator on Wednesday, warning attorney Scott Muska to properly handle public records requests according to state law.

  • September 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Deems NCAA's 5-Year Rule Injunction Appeals Moot

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday tossed the NCAA's appeals of court orders barring it from enforcing its five-year rule to sideline two football players from the 2025 season, finding the cases are moot because the "clock has run out" on the season and the athletes' collegiate careers have wrapped.

  • September 09, 2026

    Crypto Org. Taps Prelogar To Back CFTC's Side In Perps Fight

    A crypto policy group advocating for perpetual derivatives markets hired former U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to pen a brief backing the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's approval of bitcoin perpetual contracts as the agency fights a challenge from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

  • September 09, 2026

    DC Circ. Denies Bid To Force FCC Action On News Policy

    A D.C. Circuit panel declined Wednesday to compel the Federal Communications Commission to respond to a petition seeking a repeal of its news distortion policy, saying the petitioners failed to establish that they have no other adequate means to seek relief.

  • September 09, 2026

    Trump Admin Floats Barring Many Noncitizens From Census

    The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed changes to how people will be counted in the 2030 census to exclude noncitizens who don't have green cards from the headcount and remove questions on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

  • September 09, 2026

    Conn. Farmers Can't Point To Hemp Law Injury, Judge Says

    Connecticut hemp farmers and processors failed to overturn state laws that cracked down on the sale of intoxicating hemp products, after a federal judge ruled that they failed to show how they were concretely harmed by statutes that do not directly regulate cultivation.

  • September 09, 2026

    Texas Court Finds Most Of O'Rourke Fundraising Appeal Moot

    A Texas appellate court in a split decision found that onetime presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke's challenge to a court order blocking fundraising for state Democrats is moot and separately ruled that a Tarrant County, Texas, court has jurisdiction over the case.

  • September 09, 2026

    Pa. Ch. 7 Judge Pans NJ AG In Remanding 'Ghost Gun' Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge says an alleged seller of "ghost gun" kits improperly tried to remove a civil suit filed by the New Jersey Attorney General's office to his court, but chided the AG for assuming that her lawsuit was immune from the automatic bankruptcy stay.

  • September 09, 2026

    Mo. Voters Ask High Court To Sort Out 'Irreconcilable' Rulings

    Voters opposed to Missouri's newly drawn congressional map that favors Republicans in the midterms asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to lift a federal judge's order requiring state election officials to use the challenged map, which the Missouri Supreme Court deemed invalid without voter approval.

  • September 09, 2026

    States Say DOT's Driver Data Demand Is Immigration Pretext

    The Democratic-led states asking a Virginia federal judge to stop the Trump administration from accessing the Social Security numbers of commercial drivers nationwide for immigration enforcement backed up their request for an injunction Wednesday, saying the federal government is using post hoc rationalizations to defend its data demands.

  • September 09, 2026

    NC Justices Probe TikTok's State Contacts In Addiction Case

    The North Carolina Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with whether TikTok and its parent company should have to face the attorney general's suit alleging the app is addictive to young users, with TikTok arguing its general national business practices do not create ties to the Tar Heel State sufficient to be dragged into court there.

  • September 09, 2026

    Agencies Warn Of Chinese AI Cos. Targeting US Models

    The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, National Security Administration and FBI have released a report claiming Chinese artificial intelligence companies were extracting proprietary capabilities from U.S. AI models through a process known as "distillation."

  • September 09, 2026

    Two Men Cop To Bribing Ex-NYC Buildings Commissioner

    Two men on Wednesday pled guilty to bribing former New York City Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich just weeks before the longtime city official is slated to stand trial in New York state court.

  • September 09, 2026

    Enviro Groups Challenge BLM's Colo., Wyo. Oil Lease Sales

    Two environmental advocacy nonprofits accused the Bureau of Land Management and related agencies of flouting federal law by authorizing the leasing of "environmentally sensitive public lands" in Colorado and Wyoming for oil and gas development, according to a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • September 09, 2026

    States, Amici Ask Justices To Keep Mail Ballot Rules On Ice

    Nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to leave in place a federal judge's order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new mail-in ballot regulations in this year's midterms, arguing the changes are a major political decision USPS had no authority to make. 

  • September 09, 2026

    Software Group Says FCC Should Narrow Covered List Focus

    The software industry thinks the Federal Communications Commission might want to take a more "narrow" view when it comes to its continued expansion of the covered list of telecommunications equipment that the agency deems to be a national security risk.

  • September 09, 2026

    Trump Trust Gets Doc Review In Fla. Debanking Suit

    A Florida federal judge ruled Wednesday that the court can review banking records before they are released to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust in a lawsuit alleging its Capital One accounts were closed for political reasons, saying there is no regulation preventing the examination of Bank Secrecy Act-related documents.

  • September 09, 2026

    2 House Democrats Say Trump Can't Fire Copyright Chief

    Two senior House Democrats have urged the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration's claimed authority to remove Shira Perlmutter as the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, arguing that only the librarian of Congress can fire the agency's leader.

  • September 09, 2026

    Justices Call For Early Response Over Paramount Merger

    The U.S. Supreme Court is giving California and other state enforcers that are challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. until later this month to respond to Iowa and Montana's bid to block the merger challenge.

  • September 09, 2026

    Ford Says DOT Concern Over China Tech 'Wrongheaded'

    Ford Motor Co. pushed back on U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's "profound concern" over what he said was too close of a relationship between it and a Chinese battery manufacturer, saying the claims are unfounded and don't mesh with other administration stances.

  • September 09, 2026

    'Weird Space Stuff' To Get Boost Under FCC Spectrum Plan

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote Sept. 30 on a "spectrum abundance" plan meant to fuel a variety of space-based industries by opening up the airwaves across two spectrum bands.

  • September 09, 2026

    Mich. To Revisit Line 5 Tunnel Permits After High Court Ruling

    Michigan environmental regulators will reconsider permits issued in July for Enbridge Energy LP's proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac after the Michigan Supreme Court found earlier this year that a separate state approval of the project relied on an improperly narrow environmental review, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday. 

  • September 09, 2026

    NJ Tech Chief Seeks To Avoid TikTok Depo In AG's Fraud Suit

    New Jersey Chief Technology Officer Kevin Dehmer has asked a state court judge to block TikTok from deposing him in the attorney general's consumer fraud lawsuit, arguing that he has no firsthand knowledge of the allegations and that forcing a high-ranking state official to testify is unwarranted.

Expert Analysis

  • How New FERC Orders Are Prepping Grid For Large Loads

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    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent show-cause orders to grid operators to justify how their rates and regulations account for the interconnection of large and colocated loads like data centers may be just the first step in FERC's efforts to address anticipated reliability and affordability challenges in the coming years, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • FDA Moves Leave Peptides In A Legal Gray Zone

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    While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken a concrete step forward on reclassifying certain peptides, the practical consequence of their interim status cannot be overstated — these substances are no longer designated as posing a significant safety risk, but they have not been affirmatively authorized for compounding, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • What Consent Decree Trends Mean For Deal Clearances

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    With merger remedies back on the table under the current administration, an analysis of recent Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice consent decrees reveals that prior approval and prior notice provisions are no longer a foregone conclusion, and companies may be able to negotiate narrowly tailored obligations, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The year's second quarter brought several notable banking law developments to New York, including a proposal to align state stablecoin rules with the federal Genius Act, fresh fair lending and cybersecurity guidance from state regulators, and a significant Second Circuit holding on preemption, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins Coie.

  • 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.

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