The Trump administration moved to block all hospitals that receive federal funding from providing gender-affirming care to minors and issued warning letters to a dozen companies Thursday as part of a sweeping push to halt the care nationwide, even in states with legal protections in place.
Law360
Health
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

HHS Proposes Hospital Ban On Gender Care For Minors

By Dan McKay

The Trump administration moved to block all hospitals that receive federal funding from providing gender-affirming care to minors and issued warning letters to a dozen companies Thursday as part of a sweeping push to halt the care nationwide, even in states with legal protections in place.

Proposed Rule attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Orders Loosening Of Federal Restrictions On Marijuana

By Sam Reisman

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that his administration would instruct federal agencies to loosen restrictions on cannabis via executive order, a historic acknowledgment from the executive branch that the drug has recognized medical uses.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Trump Order Rallies Cannabis Industry, Advocates Want More

By Sam Reisman

The executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday, marking the most substantial shift in federal cannabis policy in over half a century, is expected to have favorable ramifications for the marijuana industry even as it falls short of decriminalizing the drug or resolving the many tensions between federal and state law.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AstraZeneca Can't Block Colo. Law Over Drug Discount Rules

By Gina Kim

A Colorado federal judge rejected AstraZeneca's effort to block enforcement of a Colorado law surrounding federal 340B drug pricing that requires manufacturers to sell drugs at discounted prices to certain safety net healthcare facilities, ruling Wednesday the law isn't preempted by 340B drug pricing. 

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Split 6th Circ. Blocks Michigan's Ban On Conversion Therapy

By Gianna Ferrarin

A split Sixth Circuit panel ordered an injunction on Michigan's conversion therapy ban, ruling the law likely places an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment rights of a Catholic charitable organization and a therapist whose faith-based psychotherapy practices fall under the ban.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Seattle Jury Awards $8.1M Over Fall During Operation

By Cara Salvatore

A Seattle jury awarded $8.1 million on Thursday over an Adobe manager's fall from an operating table, after hearing the plaintiff's experts testify that his life was irrevocably altered by permanent brain damage.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

Medical Supplier Gets Prison For $7.8M Healthcare Fraud

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut man who admitted to conspiring to rip off Medicare, the military health program Tricare and private insurers has been ordered to serve 2½ years in federal prison and to immediately pay nearly $7.9 million in restitution.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LITIGATION

Doctors Freed From Suit As NC Panel Deems It MedMal Issue

By Abigail Harrison

Parents whose young daughter died following complications from heart surgery can't revive their lawsuit against pediatric heart doctors because their fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims "sounded in" medical malpractice and were thus barred, a North Carolina state appeals court panel said Wednesday.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SF Must Reinstate Worker Fired For Violating COVID Vax Rule

By Gina Kim

A California federal judge ordered San Francisco to reinstate a 311 call center agent who was fired for violating a COVID-19 vaccination mandate after he sought an exemption based on his Muslim faith, ruling Thursday that the plaintiff has made a "prima facie case for religious discrimination."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UC Researchers Near Reinstating $7B In DOE Grants

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge said Thursday she's inclined to grant a preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to reinstate $7 billion in Department of Energy grants awarded to researchers, saying they were canceled with form letters similar to those she's previously found to violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feature

The Biggest Rulings From A Busy Year At The 1st Circ.

By Chris Villani

The nation's smallest federal appellate panel punched above its weight in 2025, grappling with numerous suits against the Trump administration, high-profile criminal appeals, a $34 million legal fee bid and a hotly contested kickback law.

7 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Panel Ends Medicare Assignee's Suits Against Insurers

By Hope Patti

A Florida state appeals court directed a trial court to toss three separate suits brought by assignees of secondary payors seeking information from nonresident auto insurers under the state's no-fault statute, saying the claims are not connected to the insurers' activities within the state.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hospital Can't Pause Wage Suit During 5th Circ. Class Appeal

By Benjamin Morse

A hospital can't pause a wage suit by nurses while the Fifth Circuit decides if class certification was merited, a Louisiana federal judge ruled, rejecting arguments that the appeals court can also decide on a collective certification order and therefore the entire case should be halted.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boies Schiller Must Face Fla. Fee Suit, Court Told

By Lynn LaRowe

In pushing back on a bid to toss a Florida state court lawsuit against Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and related defendants, a pharmaceutical mass tort law firm and other parties said the lawsuit outlines a clear breach of a nondisclosure agreement and interference with existing business relationships, making the complaint legally sufficient under Sunshine State law.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cigna Faces Class Claims Over Vendor Data Breach

By Aaron Keller

A Cigna customer has filed a proposed class action in Connecticut federal court that blames the insurer for a data breach that affected a support services vendor between October 2024 and January 2025, leading to the data appearing online and leaving customers at risk of identity theft.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

InnovAge Investors Get Final OK For $27M Deal, Atty Fees

By Katryna Perera

A Colorado federal judge has granted final approval to a $27 million settlement between InnovAge Holding Corp., its underwriters and a class of stockholders accusing the senior healthcare company of making misleading statements in an initial public offering that later caused stock prices to tank after a government audit exposed the alleged falsehoods.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

2025 Legal Milestones That Will Shape Psychedelics Sector

As 2025 draws to a close, psychedelic drug development stands at an inflection point, experiencing unprecedented momentum through recent sweeping regulatory changes and landmark clinical milestones, amid rapidly evolving regulatory expectations, say Odette Hauke at Odette Alina LLC and Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Health, Legal Employers Face Unique Online Speech Hurdles

Employers in the legal and healthcare industries must consider distinctive ethical obligations and professional requirements when disciplining employees for social media posts, while anticipating an area of the law in flux as courts seek to balance speech rights and the workplace function, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen the designer of an 88-facet diamond bring a copyright claim against a luxury watch retailer, collapsed firm Axiom Ince bring legal action against the solicitors' watchdog, and the Post Office hit with compensation claims from two former branch managers over their wrongful convictions during the Horizon information technology scandal.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Five firms lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the D.C. Circuit reinstated an order that blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from freezing grants for climate change projects.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Florida Supreme Court Approves Limits For Non-Lawyer Roles

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court has signed off on a rule change to spell out that nonlawyers at a law firm cannot supervise the work of attorneys or perform policymaking duties that affect the practice of law.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sidley Adds Williams & Connolly Mass Torts Trial Atty In DC

By Alison Knezevich

A trial attorney who spent more than two decades at Williams & Connolly LLP has moved to Sidley Austin LLP to help lead its product liability and mass torts practice.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Yale Law School Appoints Deputy Dean To Top Spot

By Brian Steele

The deputy dean of Yale Law School, a career academic and public servant who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, will take over the top deanship position next year, the school announced Friday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Federal Courts Not Subject To FOIA, DC Judge Rules

By Jake Maher

The conservative litigation group America First Legal Foundation cannot demand documents from the federal Judicial Conference of the U.S. and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Freedom of Information Act because they are not executive agencies, a D.C. federal judge ruled Thursday.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

More Pardon Seekers Going 'Straight To The White House'

By Phillip Bantz

A nonprofit's unusual plan to make a mass pardon request directly to the Trump administration highlights burgeoning optimism among white collar defendants about their chances of securing relief, and a recognition that the clearest path to clemency no longer runs through the traditional channels.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader's Divergent Paths Led To Deal

By Aebra Coe

The blockbuster combination between Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP announced this past week involves two law firms that have charted very different paths in recent years. Here, a look at what events led up to the firms joining together at the deal table.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DC Firm Hiring From Government Skyrocketed In 2025

By Alison Knezevich

As federal lawyers left in droves this year amid President Donald Trump's return to the White House, the number of attorneys who moved from government jobs to BigLaw firms in Washington, D.C., doubled in 2025 compared to the last post-presidential election year.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Keesal Young Drops Part Of Stradley Ronon Poaching Suit

By Madison Arnold

Keesal Young & Logan wants to drop part of its California state court lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP unlawfully recruited 10 of its attorneys.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

In one of the stories in corporate legal news from the past week, almost half of the in-house legal professionals in a recent survey said they were either actively or passively seeking new jobs, citing stress, a struggle to build multidisciplinary teams and anxiety around artificial intelligence.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gambling Tech Co. Loses Sanction Bid In NJ Defamation Case

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state judge rejected a gambling technology company's bid for sanctions in its defamation suit against investigative firm Black Cube and law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP on Thursday, ruling that Black Cube did not willfully disobey a court discovery order.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Colo. Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart Retires

By Zach Dupont

After an extended leave of absence this year, Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart announced her retirement from the state's high court Friday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Justices Let Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit Continue

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration has failed to show it will be irreparably harmed by a Fourth Circuit decision that revived immigration judges' lawsuit challenging restrictions on their ability to speak publicly.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Promo that reads 2025 MVPs Promo that reads Law360 Pulse Compensation Report

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AbbVie Inc.

Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc.

Adobe Inc.

American Arbitration Association

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

American Hospital Association

American Medical Association Inc.

Apple Inc.

AstraZeneca PLC

B.C. Strategy Ltd.

Balfour Beatty PLC

Barclays PLC

Binance Holdings Ltd.

Blickstein Group

Bloomingdale's Inc.

Bouygues

Brigham Young University

CVS Health Corp.

Cable News Network Inc.

Cars.com LLC

Citigroup Inc.

Converse Inc.

Cottrell Inc.

Davies Group Ltd.

Dell Technologies Inc.

Equity Services Inc.

FTI Consulting Inc.

Ford Foundation

Galliford Try

Gen Digital Inc.

Geographic Expeditions Inc.

Google LLC

H. Lundbeck A S

HSBC Holdings PLC

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JetBlue Airways Corp.

Johnson & Johnson

Krka dd Novo Mesto

Last Prisoner Project

LinkedIn Corp.

LiveRamp

Lykos Therapeutics

MSP Recovery

Michelin Group

Monsanto Co.

Nasdaq Inc.

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

New York State Bar Association

New York University

Pacific Justice Institute

Papa John's International Inc.

Playtech PLC

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Salesforce.com Inc.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana

Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd.

South Carolina Bar

Spirit Airlines Inc.

Stantec Inc.

Starbucks Corp.

Suncor Energy Inc.

The Cigna Group

The District of Columbia Bar

The Florida Bar

The New York Times Co.

United Services Automobile Association

Vodafone Group PLC

Yale University

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Akerman LLP

Arnold & Porter

Ashurst LLP

Atkinson Andelson

Baker Botts

Beasley Allen

Berger Montague

Blank Rome

Boies Schiller

Breazeale Sachse

Brown & Connery

Cadwalader Wickersham

Calcagni & Kanefsky

Clyde & Co

Cohen Milstein

Constantine Law Ltd

Cooley LLP

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

David Boies

Davis Polk

Dentons

Fairfield & Woods

Farella Braun

Farrar & Ball

Fennemore

Fieldfisher

Foley & Lardner

Foley Hoag

FordHarrison

Freshfields

Gateley PLC

Gibson Dunn

Gordon Rees

Gowling WLG

Greenspoon Marder

Gunderson Dettmer

Hagens Berman

Hall Booth

Harbottle & Lewis

Hay & Kilner

Hodel Wilks

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Hart

Holland & Knight

Holwell Shuster

Huff Powell

Husch Blackwell

Jenner & Block

Joffe & Associes

Jones Day

K&L Gates

Kasowitz LLP

Kaster & Lynch

Kaster Lynch

Keesal Young

Keller Postman

Kennedys Law LLP

Keoghs LLP

Kirkland & Ellis

Kopelowitz Ostrow

Korein Tillery

Latham & Watkins

Lawson Huck

Lewis Silkin

Lieff Cabraser

Liskow & Lewis

Marino Tortorella

Mayer Brown

McDermott Will & Schulte

McGuireWoods

Moore & Associates LLP

Nelson Mullins

Nixon Peabody

Orrick Herrington

Paul Hastings

Peiffer Wolf

Pendley Baudin

Pillsbury Winthrop

Proskauer Rose

Quarles & Brady

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Robinson Bradshaw

Robinson Calcagnie

Saul Ewing

Schneider Wallace

Sharpe Pritchard

Sheppard Mullin

Shook Hardy

Shoosmiths LLP

Sidley Austin

Simons Muirhead Burton

Siri & Glimstad

Spratt Endicott

Squire Patton

Steptoe LLP

Stone King

Stradley Ronon

Stroock & Stroock

Sullivan & Cromwell

Trethowans LLP

Venable LLP

Vicente LLP

Victor M. Glasberg & Associates

Walker Allen

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

Womble Bond

Zimmer Citron

gunnercooke LLP

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Colorado Attorney General's Office

Colorado Judicial Branch

Colorado Supreme Court

Congressional Research Service

European Medicines Agency

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Judicial Center

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Florida Supreme Court

Food and Drug Administration

International Trade Commission

National Foundation on the Arts & Humanities

National Institutes of Health

National Science Foundation

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement

New York Attorney General's Office

New York State Senate

Social Security Administration

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Government Accountability Office

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO)

US Office of Management and Budget

United States District Court for the District of Colorado