Public Policy

  • 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.

  • August 26, 2026

    5th Circ. Won't Reopen Apex's SEC Deal For Better Terms

    The Fifth Circuit has denied Apex Clearing Corp.'s petition to revisit its settlement agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the clearinghouse's purported failure to keep records of off-channel communications, finding that other firms receiving more favorable settlement terms later on was not grounds for modification.

  • August 26, 2026

    Sens. Push Probe Of DOT's Failure To Protect Flyers' Privacy

    U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, asked the U.S. Government Accountabiliy Office Wednesday to investigate the U.S. Department of Transportation's "systemic abdication" and "regulatory neglect" of its consumer privacy enforcement mandates meant to protect air travelers' privacy, warning of "severe international and economic ramifications."

  • August 26, 2026

    Idaho Abortion Ban Relief Narrowed To 1 Doctor

    An Idaho federal judge walked back his recent order barring the state from enforcing its near-total abortion ban in certain health-related circumstances, finding that precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court supported a narrower injunction.

  • August 26, 2026

    Ill. Aid-Fixing Trial Delayed As 7th Circ. Review Proceeds

    Students and several elite private universities will have to postpone their trial over an alleged financial aid fixing scheme while the Seventh Circuit reviews expert-related findings that have allowed the case to proceed as a class action, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday.

  • August 26, 2026

    Diocese Says Religious Freedom Fair Defense To DHS Taking

    A New Mexico church argued that the federal government's eminent domain powers are not designed to override protections for religious expression, objecting to a plan that would seize part of a pilgrimage site to build a border wall.

  • August 26, 2026

    Lawmakers Press Commerce To Curb Exports To Adversaries

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to block U.S. citizens and businesses from working for foreign civilian intelligence and security agencies in Russia, China and other "countries of concern."

  • August 26, 2026

    Meta Judge Quickly OKs $17B Deal Over Social Media Harms

    A California federal judge overseeing a bellwether trial over claims Meta hid social media's harms to youth on Wednesday approved its $17.1 billion deal with 29 states, after a hearing in which she pressed lawyers on details of the deal and raised concerns about how Meta was handling attorney-client privilege issues.

  • August 26, 2026

    Mont. Reaches Deal To Ensure Schools Teach Native History

    A group of individuals, tribal nations and the Montana Office of Public Instruction have agreed to settle a class action challenging the state's failure to implement a mandate that requires public schools to teach Indigenous history and culture in consultation with local tribes.

  • August 26, 2026

    NTIA Has Given Final OK To All 56 State, Territory BEAD Plans

    Nearly five years after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created the BEAD program, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration says it has approved all 56 final proposals from the states and territories.

  • August 26, 2026

    7th Circ. Holds High Court Ruling Supports Ark. PBM Rule

    The Seventh Circuit refused Wednesday to revive a union fund's challenge to an Arkansas rule making health plans disclose pharmacy compensation and pay fees, backing a lower court's holding that the rule was in line with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted state cost regulations on pharmacy benefit managers.

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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