Analysis

Top Enviro Policy Developments From The First Half Of 2026

By Gautama Mehta

The first half of 2026 saw the repeal of a key rule underlying federal climate regulation, the rollback of pollution limits on industrial chemicals like ethylene oxide, and a blanket exemption from species protections for Gulf oil drillers. Here, Law360 takes a look at the top five developments in environmental policy and regulation so far this year.

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NY Gov. Signs Data Center Moratorium Executive Order

By Isaac Monterose

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed an executive order that blocks any new hyperscale data center projects from being built in her state by temporarily pausing environmental permits for those types of projects, the governor's office announced Tuesday.

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Mich. Says DOJ Is Mischaracterizing Climate Antitrust Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked a federal judge for permission to respond to the U.S. Department of Justice's statement of interest supporting dismissal of key portions of the state's antitrust lawsuit against some of the world's largest oil companies, arguing the federal government's filing mischaracterizes the case and conflicts with its own public statements on antitrust enforcement. 

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US Trade Fraud Task Force Recovers Over $1B In 10 Months

By Dylan Moroses

In just under a year, the U.S. has recovered over $1 billion as a result of enforcement efforts led by the cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force, and the U.S. Department of Justice will establish a new legal section to prosecute trade crimes, a department official said Tuesday. 

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Key Witness In Halkbank Exec's Sanctions Trial Avoids Prison

By Stewart Bishop

A Turkish-Iranian businessman-turned-linchpin cooperator in the trial of a Halkbank executive has been spared further incarceration over his role in an alleged $20 billion scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil and gas proceeds through bribery and illicit transactions that laundered payments to Iran's government.

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5th Circ. Undoes BP Retirees' Pension Info Suit Win

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Fifth Circuit unraveled a Texas court's judgment against BP that held the oil giant was liable to company retirees for miscommunicating their pension benefits' value following a plan conversion, holding on Tuesday that the lower court didn't perform a rigorous enough standing analysis.

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Brief

NJ Supreme Court To Review Environmental Justice Rules

By Tom Lotshaw

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday granted certification petitions filed by industry and labor groups that have challenged environmental justice rules that Garden State regulators enacted.

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Mass. Justices Say Town's Solar Permit Denial Unjustified

By Julie Manganis

A single zoning board member's objection to tree clearing cannot be the basis for a small Massachusetts town to deny a permit for a solar array, the state's highest court ruled Tuesday.

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EV Maker, CEO Settle SEC Action Over Debt Offering Claims

By Katryna Perera

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a $709,000 settlement with an Ohio-based electric- and gas-powered vehicle manufacturer and its CEO to resolve claims that they made misleading statements portraying the company as being more successful than it actually was in connection with a $112 million convertible debt offering.

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Lessons On Contingency Planning From OFAC's Iran Reversal

The Office of Foreign Assets Control‘s abrupt revocation of a recent license easing sanctions on Iranian oil products shows commercial dealings relying on OFAC licenses or with higher sanctions risks should expressly address what happens if a policy change makes performance prohibited, says Michelle Roberts at Berliner Corcoran.

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Reviving Prize Law Would Reshape Maritime Seizure Risks

Recent U.S. maritime interdictions of sanctioned tankers and shadow fleet vessels raise urgent questions about whether civil forfeiture or prize law — a framework that has not been meaningfully tested since the Spanish-American War — governs and the potential impacts on vessel owners, charterers and insurers, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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Take The 2026 Law Firm Compensation Survey

Is your compensation keeping pace with the rate of inflation? Do you know what your colleagues made last year? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's Law Firm Compensation Survey.

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Analysis

Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To The US Supreme Court's Term

By Jeff Overley

Federal appeals courts had wide-ranging successes and struggles during the U.S. Supreme Court's recently completed term: One had its best showing in years following its worst showing in years; one felt déjà vu after recently starting to find favor with the justices; and one saw its reputation for independence occupy a rare role in the Supreme Court spotlight.

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Simpson Thacher Put Co. Out Of Business, Fla. Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP put an insurance services company out of business with a poorly constructed private securities offering, the company's founder told a Florida state jury Wednesday in opening arguments for trial in his suit alleging the law firm owes him more than $100 million.

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New Conn. High Court Rules Put Filers On Hook For AI Errors

By Aaron Keller

The Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts have published new generative artificial intelligence rules which took immediate effect this week, outlining additional paths for sanctions as the justices weigh the fate of a landlord's attorney who admitted his filings contained ChatGPT-induced errors.

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Cornyn, Tillis Still Waver On Blanche AG Bid After Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Todd Blanche had his nomination hearing to be attorney general on Wednesday and two key Republican senators still have yet to say if they will support him.

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Senate Confirms Fla. Judge Pick Tied To Trump Pulitzer Case

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 51-46, along party lines, Wednesday to confirm state Chief Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz for the Southern District of Florida.

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Apple Allowed To Question Withdrawing Hagens ICloud Client

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal judge has allowed Apple to impose conditions on the withdrawal of a Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP client as a named plaintiff from an iCloud antitrust case, concluding that the consumer's information could be "relevant to spoliation sanctions" or Hagens Berman's adequacy as class counsel.

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Polsinelli, Doctor Seek Toss Of 'Bad Faith' Patent Claims

By Elliot Weld

Polsinelli PC and a doctor who has been a client of the law firm have asked Mississippi and Tennessee federal courts to throw out Zavation Medical Products LLC and Choice Spine LLC's allegations that the firm and its client violated respective state laws by bringing "bad faith" patent infringement claims, saying the statutes the medical device makers rely on can't be brought by distributors or manufacturers.

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Trump Swiftly Fires Court-Appointed Seattle US Atty

By Lauren Berg

Almost immediately after being sworn in as Seattle's new U.S. attorney Wednesday morning, former King County Superior Court judge and federal prosecutor Roger Rogoff was fired by President Donald Trump.

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Dems Probe Clayton's Independence, 2020 Election Views

By Tom Lotshaw

During a Wednesday confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump's pick for national intelligence director, Democratic lawmakers pressed Jay Clayton to explain whether predecessor Tulsi Gabbard should have traveled to Georgia to oversee a search warrant executed at a Fulton County election facility, which she testified the president asked for.

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