Analysis

Species Protections May Differ By State Under Senate Bill

By Gautama Mehta

A new U.S. Senate bill proposing to change federal agencies' consultation process for energy and infrastructure projects could lead to inconsistent wildlife protections in different states and includes some provisions that may ultimately be counterproductive to speeding up development.

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Analysis

Can Trade Secret Law Protect Indigenous Knowledge?

By Ivan Moreno

As the U.S. and other countries struggle to agree on new international protections for Indigenous knowledge, trade secret law is drawing renewed attention as a possible solution for material that communities actually keep confidential.

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Up Next At High Court: Criminal Sentences & Video Privacy

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will close out its October sitting by hearing oral arguments in two cases that ask what level of deference federal district courts should give to commentary interpreting the federal sentencing guidelines, and what purchases are protected under a video consumer privacy statute.

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Trump Picks Panel To Consider Claims Against Fed's Cook

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump has established a committee to investigate mortgage fraud allegations against Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook and to determine if they provide sufficient grounds to fire her, according to a memo released Friday by the White House.

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Fla. Judge Weighs Combining $320M Epstein Victims' FBI Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge requested input from the government and multiple alleged survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes on whether to combine a pair of lawsuits claiming investigations into the late financier were mishandled, including one complaint seeking $320 million for law enforcement over ignoring reports of criminal abuse.

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5th Circ. Judges Clash Over Trans Restroom Photo Case

By Lauren Berg

A split Fifth Circuit on Friday declined to rehear a preliminary injunction bid in a case challenging the constitutionality of enforcing a Texas privacy law against a plaintiff who tweeted a photo of a trans woman in a bathroom, spurring three judges to author contentious concurring and dissenting opinions.

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Trump Blocked From Airing More Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads

By Pete Brush

A federal judge in Manhattan ordered the Trump administration Monday to stop airing taxpayer-funded television ads in the run-up to the November midterm elections, finding a $20 million pro-Donald Trump ad buy was bankrolled by money improperly taken from the government.

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DOJ Policy Checking Voters' Immigration Status Banned

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A D.C. federal judge has struck down the U.S. Department of Justice's new policy of collecting states' unredacted voter information to cross-check voter rolls against immigration databases, saying federal voting laws the agency relied on were meant to protect the right to vote and not take it away.

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SEC Proposes Restoring Funds' Ability To Cross-Trade Bonds

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission put forth a proposal on Friday to make it easier for mutual and other registered funds under the same manager to trade with one another, while promising to update the oversight rules for fund managers participating in such cross-trades.

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Warren Presses Fed For Details Of Early SVB Report Access

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee's top Democrat is calling on Federal Reserve officials for answers after some outside experts were given an early look at a recent independent report on Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, questioning who authorized the access and how recipients were chosen.

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9th Circ. Sides With Forest Service In Idaho Project Suit

By Hailey Konnath

The Ninth Circuit on Friday reversed a lower court's finding that the U.S. Forest Service ran afoul of the National Forest Management Act when it approved an Idaho project, ruling the court erred when analyzing the project's compliance with limits on road construction in areas in and around bear habitat.

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Feds Say Calif. 'Clean Trucks' Pact Usurps Emissions Rules

By Linda Chiem

The Trump administration said Friday that California cannot usurp exclusive federal authority to set uniform motor vehicle emissions standards, urging a federal judge to strike down the Golden State's efforts to still enforce stricter emissions mandates on heavy-duty truck manufacturers in defiance of federal law.

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Hospitals Ask Court To Block Revised Plan For 340B Rebates

By Dan McKay

The American Hospital Association and four safety-net hospitals in Maine sued the Trump administration Friday to block plans to establish a rebate system in the 340B drug discount program, alleging it violates procedural requirements and threatens hospital finances.

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Squires Grants 4 PTAB Petitions, Rejects 3 In New Drop

By Dani Kass

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has instituted four new America Invents Act reviews at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and turned down three in his newest mass order.

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CNN Says Azerbaijan Can't Sue Over Israel-Iran Report

By Jarek Rutz

CNN has urged a Delaware federal court to throw out Azerbaijan's defamation lawsuit over the network's report that Israel used the country as a base for covert operations against Iran, arguing the First Amendment bars governments, foreign or domestic, from suing news organizations over criticism of their conduct.

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DOJ Seeks To Pause Order Blocking Demand For Driver Data

By Jared Foretek

The Justice Department is asking a Virginia federal judge to pause his injunction barring the Trump administration from obtaining millions of commercial driver's license records from a nationwide database while it appeals the ruling, claiming that the district court likely lacked jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit in the first place.

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CFTC Proposes Rules To Codify Prediction Market Authority

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday took steps to codify its authority over sports, politics and culture event contracts, in a move to affirm the agency's view that prediction markets are under its "exclusive jurisdiction" and beyond the reach of states.

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Pa. Justices Won't Extend Deadline For 'Skill Games' Removal

By P.J. D'Annunzio

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has denied a request from three state lawmakers and a group of "skill games" operators to extend the deadline for businesses to remove devices that the high court recently deemed illegal slot machines.

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Conn. Says CFTC Rehashing Failed Sports Contract Position

By Ganesh Setty

Connecticut has criticized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's bid in Connecticut federal court to block the state from regulating prediction market platforms' sports-related offerings, noting the same presiding judge already denied Kalshi's motion seeking such relief.

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Va.'s Arlington County Seeks To Halt Trump's 'Triumphal Arch'

By Ganesh Setty

Arlington County, Virginia, has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the development of President Donald Trump's 250-foot "triumphal arch" between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, telling a Virginia federal court that his administration undertook a "cursory and conclusory" environmental assessment.

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CU Boulder Hiked Fees For Records Requests, Suit Says

By Zach Dupont

An administrator at the University of Colorado Boulder claimed in Colorado state court Thursday that the school improperly withheld and attempted to overcharge for records requested related to harassment he experienced under the Colorado Open Records Act.

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Analysis

M&A Attys See Resilience Through Q3 Amid Geopolitical Risk

By Al Barbarino

Global M&A activity remained strong through the first nine months of 2026 despite a third-quarter slowdown, as strategic buyers and private equity firms continued to pursue deals in areas ranging from technology and defense to essential services, attorneys told Law360.

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Analysis

FBI Portal Hack Sharpens Focus On Cyber Regulation Path

By Allison Grande

The recent hack of the FBI's jobs portal underscores mounting cyberthreats to government agencies and critical infrastructure, fueling the debate over whether internal fixes or formal regulation can best address the growing cyber risks powered by artificial intelligence.

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Anthropic Says Claude Gave False Murder Tip To Philly Cops

By Hailey Konnath

Anthropic on Friday disclosed a series of incidents in which its Claude artificial intelligence tool went rogue, particularly in interactions with federal and local government websites, including an incident in which it submitted a false tip about an unsolved homicide to the Philadelphia Police Department.

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Payday Lender Says Baltimore Oversteps Its Power With Suit

By Katryna Perera

Dave Inc. has pushed back on a lawsuit brought by the city of Baltimore, saying the municipality has exceeded its powers by using a local ordinance to accuse the payday lender of charging excessive interest rates on its products.

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States Fight DOL's Ax Of Unemployment Insurance Grants

By Madeline Lyskawa

Fourteen states sued the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Friday, alleging the U.S. Department of Labor wrongfully terminated grants intended for modernizing their unemployment insurance programs.

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Trump Admin Aims To 'Rein In' ICC With New Sanctions

By Lauren Berg

The Trump administration Friday imposed new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, which swiftly condemned the move as "an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order."

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Brief

EU, China Make Trade Pledges On Hybrid Vehicles, Minerals

By Dylan Moroses

The European Union and China said Friday that they reached mutual understanding on several key trade matters following a bilateral meeting, including the facilitation of Chinese minerals to EU companies and limiting China's exports of hybrid vehicles to the bloc.

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Brief

US Sets Rules For Mexico, Canada Metal Tariff Discount

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday defined how the U.S. content of certain metal products from Canada and Mexico will be determined for purposes of applying President Donald Trump's modifications to the steel, aluminum and copper tariff regimes.

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Trump Admin Finalizes Rule To Fast-Track Immigration Fines

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is moving forward with a final rule that looks to make it easier to impose civil monetary penalties on noncitizens who enter the country without authorization or fail to voluntarily depart, according to a notice issued Friday.

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Feds Chided For Pace Of Deported Nigerian Man's Return

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge on Friday expressed frustration with the government for having "slow-walked" the return of a Nigerian citizen it deported to Ghana and who had to hide in Togo after refusing to board a bus bound for Nigeria, where an immigration court determined he couldn't be deported.

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Cities Ask Justices To Undo Texas-DOJ Immigration Rule Deal

By Britain Eakin

Democracy Forward Foundation and several cities asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to stay a district court's approval of a deal Texas and the Trump administration struck to vacate a Biden-era rule allowing immigration courts to temporarily close cases.

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Noncitizen Guantánamo Detainees Fight Closed-Hearing Bid

By Tom Lotshaw

Lead plaintiffs in a certified class of noncitizen Guantánamo Bay detainees who are challenging a Trump administration policy to detain noncitizens at Guantánamo Bay asked a D.C. federal judge to reject an administration request to close an upcoming hearing when officials are anticipated to testify about the policy.

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Feds Again Turn To 9th Circ. In Fight Over ICE Facility

By Gina Kim

The Trump administration said Friday it will ask the Ninth Circuit to overturn a trial court decision requiring ICE to give independent monitors access to conduct inspections and electronic records for detained immigrants at a lockup in Adelanto, California, where a judge has twice called for conditions to be improved.

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NM Groups Contest Militarization Of Public Land On Border

By Tom Lotshaw

A coalition of New Mexico groups has accused the Trump administration of unlawfully transferring more than 110,000 acres of public land along the southern border to the U.S. Department of Defense to close it off and rope the military into immigration enforcement.

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Md. Says No US Harm From Undocumented Tuition Law

By Elaine Briseño

Maryland urged a federal court to reject a challenge to a state law that allows unauthorized immigrants to pay in-state college tuition, arguing the Trump administration has failed to identify any injury it has suffered from the law.

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Grassley Attacks Dems' Claims Of Rule-Breaking Over Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, clapped back at Democrats for their accusations that Republicans broke Senate rules during a hearing last week at which former special counsel Jack Smith appeared.

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Arizona Tribe Loses Bid To Pause Border Wall Construction

By Crystal Owens

A D.C. federal judge has denied an Arizona tribe's request to block border wall construction on its reservation pending appeal, saying the Indigenous nation hasn't identified any reason for reconsideration of a previous decision that reached the same conclusion.

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Bill Would Shift Unused Housing Vouchers To Tribal Veterans

By Crystal Owens

A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would allow tribal nations to give back U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development vouchers that can be redistributed to Indigenous communities that are facing a shortage for their veterans.

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FCC Aims To Boost Mexico, Canada Telecom Border Security

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on proposed new rules that would strengthen border security by improving transparency and disclosures for communications across the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders.

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FCC Proposes Rules To Vet Broadband Subsidy Recipients

By Nadia Dreid

Almost five months after the Rural Broadband Protection Act was signed into law, the Federal Communications Commission is getting the ball rolling on establishing the vetting process mandated by the law for internet service providers taking part in the agency's "high cost" program.

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FCC To Begin Search For Upper C-Band Clearinghouse Admin

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission has begun the process of selecting an entity that will serve as the clearinghouse charged with reimbursing incumbent spectrum users for making way for 5G wireless in the upper C-band.

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FCC Urged To Put Hold On Repeal Of Media Ownership Cap

By Christopher Cole

Several groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to stay a recent order lifting its long-standing 39% cap on national broadcast audience reach while a court battle plays out.

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Phaseout Of FCC's E-Rate Could Dampen GDP, Report Says

By Christopher Cole

An advocacy group warned that a Federal Communications Commission plan to eventually phase out the E-Rate connectivity aid program could dampen U.S. economic output.

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Cannabis Wholesaler Settles Conn. AG's Consumer Claims

By Brian Steele

A wholesaler that allegedly supplied Connecticut stores with high-potency cannabis products has agreed to settle a state enforcement action for $2 million and a promise not to operate without a license, according to a stipulated judgment Thursday.

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Brief

Vape Cos. FDA Suit On Hold As Agency Reviews Policy

By Jonathan Capriel

A Texas federal court has granted a joint motion to stay litigation by an Altria Group Inc. vape subsidiary challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's premarket authorization rule, pausing proceedings while the FDA pursues rulemaking to replace the challenged framework.

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DOJ's Unusual Warning Puts Protests In FARA Crosshairs

The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent atypical press release about Foreign Agents Registration Act liability may signal greater scrutiny of public demonstrations and foreign-directed advocacy — but it does not change the statutory requirements for companies and individuals, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

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Series

Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

California's financial regulators spent the third quarter of 2026 focusing on consumer protection enforcement at home while resisting federal efforts to displace state oversight — reinforcing the state's intention to shape the compliance landscape for institutions operating within its borders despite federal deregulatory trends, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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Where The 3 Prediction Market Appellate Rulings Diverge

Although the recent Third, Sixth and Ninth Circuit opinions concerning prediction markets overlap on some issues, they differ on key statutory questions, deepening a circuit split over both the classification of sports event contracts and the scope of federal preemption, says Levi Giovanetto at Sheppard.

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Conn. Insurers Should Prepare To Explain Premium Hikes

As of Jan. 1, Connecticut insurers must provide a reasonable explanation for personal risk insurance premium increases upon policyholder request, and thus should familiarize themselves with a recent bulletin that prescribes the details, say attorneys at Troutman.

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Nelson Mullins Sued In SC Over October Data Breach

By Jake Maher

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has been hit with a proposed class action in South Carolina federal court over a data breach that took place in early October.

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Justices Won't Eye 'Weaponized' Sanctions Of Election Attys

By Jeff Overley

Despite outrage among Ninth Circuit conservatives, the U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to scrutinize six-figure sanctions of lawyers who challenged Arizona election protocols, leaving intact discipline designed to "send a message."

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Reddit Fights Proskauer's 'Hot Potato' AI Client Bid In IP Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

Reddit Inc. has urged a New York federal judge to block its former law firm Proskauer Rose from defending Perplexity AI in Reddit's suit over alleged data scraping used to train artificial intelligence models, arguing the firm can't represent Perplexity after dropping Reddit as a client like ‌a "hot potato."

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Pa. Firm Can't Toss Uber's RICO Claims Over Insurer Payouts

By Linda Chiem

A Pennsylvania federal judge allowed Uber to pursue Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims alleging a Philadelphia personal injury firm schemed with healthcare providers to fabricate medical records and inflate accident claims involving Uber and FedEx drivers, saying Uber doesn't lose standing just because its insurer paid its legal fees in underlying litigation.

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DOJ Cites Privacy Concerns In Rejecting NM Epstein Files Bid

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Department of Justice has rebuffed the state of New Mexico's request for the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files for its investigation into possible crimes at Epstein's Zorro Ranch, saying it would hinder law enforcement operations.

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Case Dropped Against Judge Accused Of Endorsing Violence

By Madison Arnold

Ethics charges against a Florida state court judge in Jacksonville alleging he made comments appearing to endorse violence, convey bias and demean individuals during several proceedings last year have been dropped.

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What The Justices Won't Hear: A Roundup Of Cert Denials

By Taylor Bowie

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant a writ of certiorari to another batch of applications Tuesday, including cases involving six-figure sanctions, wine shipment laws and overtime claims. 

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week saw stockholders challenge Nvidia Corp.'s roughly $20 billion deal with artificial intelligence chipmaker Groq Inc., Hertz Global Holdings Inc.'s electric vehicle strategy and more than $1.5 billion in Humana Inc. stock buybacks.

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