Public Policy

  • September 18, 2026

    DOJ Revises Policies Over False Claims Act Suits

    The U.S. Department of Justice issued revisions Friday to department policy governing False Claims Act lawsuits, emphasizing that agency guidance documents have limited effect and that the government should continually assess whether to seek dismissal of qui tam actions.

  • September 18, 2026

    7th Circ. Skeptical Of Bid To Block Ill. 'Captive Audience' Ban

    Two interest groups asking the Seventh Circuit to revive their challenge to an Illinois law banning captive audience meetings by employers faced pointed questions Friday about whether the law has injured them at all, with one judge saying their suit is based on a "series of ifs."

  • September 18, 2026

    9th Circ. Decertifies Class Of Ore. Transgender Prisoners

    The Ninth Circuit has reversed class certification for a group of transgender incarcerated people, finding that they had not shown that the Oregon Department of Corrections has systemically targeted trans women by housing them in male-only facilities.

  • September 18, 2026

    Employers See Moving Targets With H-1B Fee, And New Limits

    The Trump administration on Friday ordered federal agencies to scrutinize H-1B employers that have laid off U.S. workers, adding another layer of uncertainty for employers seeking to recruit highly skilled foreign workers.

  • September 18, 2026

    FTC Chair Defends Overlapping Antitrust Authorities

    Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson on Friday defended his agency's continuing role as an antitrust enforcer despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened the agency's independence and left it as beholden to the White House as its counterpart at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • September 18, 2026

    9th Circ. Asks Wash. Justices About Indirect Employer Claims

    A Ninth Circuit panel has asked the Washington State Supreme Court to clarify whether the state's law permits common law wrongful firing claims against indirect employers and certain individuals, saying the answers are key to assessing a former solar company CFO's claim he was unjustly ousted by a private equity backer.

  • September 18, 2026

    Judge Questions Whether 'Lawfare' Fund Fight Is Really Moot

    A Virginia federal judge seemed unlikely to toss a challenge to the Trump administration's nixed "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and tax audit immunity for the Trump family Friday, saying she worries the fund could be revived in a different form down the road.

  • September 18, 2026

    Kalshi Loses Bid To Lift Wash. Event Contracts Ban

    Kalshi can't lift an injunction currently barring its operations in Washington, a King County Superior Court judge ruled, denying the prediction market's request to reconsider an August order blocking the company from offering most event contracts to state residents.

  • September 18, 2026

    4th Circ. Punts Decision On Forcing FCC Political Ad Ruling

    The Fourth Circuit deferred action Friday on a request from Democrats to force a Federal Communications Commission ruling on whether broadcasters have to charge the lowest broadcast ad rates for political committees tied to candidates.

  • September 18, 2026

    CIA Officers Urge 4th Circ. To Reject DEI Firings Rehearing

    Career intelligence officers fighting their terminations following the Trump administration's anti-DEI executive orders told the Fourth Circuit Thursday that there's no point in granting an en banc rehearing of a panel's order allowing them to internally appeal the firings, arguing the panel's ruling has limited application beyond their own case.

  • September 18, 2026

    Dems Seek Probe Of Suspect Comments On DOL Proposal

    A trio of Democratic lawmakers urged the federal government to open a probe into reports that a U.S. Department of Labor proposal to expand retirement plans' access to alternative investments was flooded with fake comments, asserting the allegations raise questions about whether the public comment process has been corrupted.

  • September 18, 2026

    USDA Disclosure Rule Could Snag Energy Project Deals

    Energy infrastructure projects could be subject to sweeping foreign ownership disclosure requirements under a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, injecting more uncertainty into acquisition, investment and development deals.

  • September 18, 2026

    Wayne State Beats Doctor's Race Bias Suit Over Chair Job

    A Michigan federal judge tossed a Black physician's discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Wayne State University and several officials over his unsuccessful bid to become permanent chair of the medical school's obstetrics and gynecology department, finding that he never formally applied for the job.

  • September 18, 2026

    US Asks Fed. Circ. To Reverse COVID-Era Tax Deadline Ruling

    The government asked the Federal Circuit to overturn a U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision allowing a taxpayer to recover penalties and interest he sought refunds for during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the claims court wrongly interpreted a statutory 60-day extension as having lasted over three and a half years.

  • September 18, 2026

    CFTC Sends Crypto Rules To White House After Bill Stalls

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sent a crypto rule proposal to the White House for review, pushing forward with plans to craft a regulatory framework for digital assets after a landmark bill failed to advance in the U.S. Senate.

  • September 18, 2026

    Patent Atty Can't Stop His USPTO Discipline Case

    An Ohio federal court rejected a patent attorney's suit looking to stop U.S. Patent and Trademark Office disciplinary proceedings against him, saying Friday that he misread a "plain, unambiguous and easily understood" statute in making his failed constitutional challenge.

  • September 18, 2026

    NC Judge Exempts Data Center Developer From 1-Year Ban

    A state judge rejected a one-year moratorium on new data center projects that officials in Chatham County, North Carolina, enacted in February after a developer pitched a 750-megawatt project serving cryptocurrency mining operations, spending $11 million on the plan.

  • September 18, 2026

    DOI Says No Irreparable Harm In Casino Gaming Status Case

    A lawyer for the U.S. Department of the Interior told a D.C. federal judge on Friday that the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians was warned several times not to rely on a 2025 gaming eligibility determination that the agency was reconsidering, but the band nevertheless went forward with opening a limited casino operation on the property.

  • September 18, 2026

    OpenAI Can't See SpaceXAI, Apple Antitrust Settlement Terms

    OpenAI cannot access a confidential settlement between Elon Musk's SpaceXAI and Apple Inc. over SpaceXAI's antitrust lawsuit challenging Apple's integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT into its devices, a Texas federal court has ruled, finding the settlement isn't relevant to the case against OpenAI.

  • September 18, 2026

    RI Judge Pulls Plug On EPA's $7B Solar Program Termination

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday vacated the Trump administration's decision to cancel a $7 billion solar program for low-income households, ruling that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lacked authority to terminate grant funding previously awarded.

  • September 18, 2026

    South Dakota Voting Notice Bid Moot After State Fixes

    A South Dakota federal judge on Friday denied as moot a League of Women Voters bid to force state election officials to correct inaccurate notices sent to new registrants limited to voting in federal elections, finding that the secretary of state adopted every change the challengers requested and is unlikely to reverse course before the November election.

  • September 18, 2026

    Transpo Tracker: Amazon Crash Suits, Md. Bridge Claims Trimmed

    In our latest Law360 Transportation Tracker, a deadly runway crash of an Amazon cargo plane has sparked a series of negligence and wrongful death lawsuits, while California scored two injunctions blocking the Trump administration's efforts to wipe out the state's Clean Air Act waivers. 

  • September 18, 2026

    NJ Justices Say No To Mass Tort For No Surprises Act Suits

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has rejected an application from five health insurers to designate 160 pending cases seeking the enforcement of alleged independent dispute resolution payment determinations issued under the federal No Surprises Act as multicounty litigation.

  • September 18, 2026

    Ariz. Launches Tax-Exempt Bond Program For Infrastructure

    Arizona property owners may form special districts to issue tax-exempt bonds to fund public infrastructure under a program that has been launched pursuant to legislation passed in June, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced.

  • September 18, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Clears Commerce's Argentine Oil Pipe Levies

    The U.S. Department of Commerce didn't double count certain oil and gas pipe produced in the U.S. in order to substantiate a petition for an antidumping investigation into such goods from Argentina that eventually resulted in a duty order, a Federal Circuit panel affirmed Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • What PE Practitioners Need To Know About New Del. ABC Act

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    Delaware's new Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors statute represents a structural shift in how companies backed by private equity can be wound down and provides a more streamlined tool for managing sponsor liability without the public visibility of a bankruptcy proceeding, says Evelyn Meltzer at Troutman Pepper.

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