Analysis

SpaceX May Not Escape Shareholder Suits' Orbit So Easily

By Sarah Jarvis

SpaceX's recent blockbuster initial public offering includes a novel and untested framework to steer shareholder disputes to Texas' Business Court and arbitration while prohibiting investor class actions, in a move attorneys said will certainly be challenged in court and could lead to the company facing an impractical number of arbitration proceedings.

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Trump Says 100% Tariff On Generic Drugs Coming In 2028

By Jack McLoone

Generic drugs imported into the U.S. will be hit with a tariff of 100% in 2028 and 200% in later years in an attempt to drive manufacturing into the country, President Donald Trump said on social media.

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OpenAI Says AI Agent Hacked Startup Platform During Testing

By Allison Grande

OpenAI disclosed "an unprecedented cyber incident" that occurred when two of its artificial intelligence models broke out of their testing environment and accessed the servers of Hugging Face, a third-party AI and machine learning startup that operates an open-source platform for developers and others to share models and datasets.

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Exxon Convinces 5th Circ. To Scrap OSHA Mental Illness Reg

By Patrick Hoff

The Fifth Circuit nixed an Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule requiring employers to keep track of employees' work-related mental illnesses, concluding that Congress didn't give the agency authority to regulate mental health in the workplace.

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Federal Judge Blocks NYC Uber, Lyft Driver Deactivation Law

By Linda Chiem

A New York federal judge has blocked New York City from enforcing a new ordinance prohibiting Uber and Lyft from "deactivating" drivers without formal notice and investigation, saying the ride-hailing companies have made a strong showing that the regulation unconstitutionally interferes with their contractual rights.

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Mich. Gets Judge With Blue Slips In 1st For Trump Admin

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 on Wednesday to confirm Michael Martin, a longtime federal prosecutor, to the Eastern District of Michigan and Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to the Sixth Circuit.

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Retired Judges Rip Bid To Ban Foreign-Born Federal Judges

By Courtney Bublé

A group of 58 retired federal judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, on Wednesday came out strongly against recent proposals from Republican lawmakers that would require federal judges to be natural-born U.S. citizens and relinquish any citizenship that is not of the United States.

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DC Bar Leaders Say DOJ Ethics Suit Encourages Misconduct

By Emily Sawicki

Washington, D.C., attorney regulators continue to garner support in their effort to toss a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged "weaponizing" of executive branch lawyer discipline, with D.C. bar organizations, scores of legal scholars and more than 500 former DOJ attorneys backing the disciplinary authorities.

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Pa. Justices Say Resisting Arrest Case Lacked Valid Warrant

By Matthew Santoni

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has held that convicting someone for resisting arrest when officers are trying to follow a warrant requires proof the underlying warrant was valid — vacating the conviction of a man arrested after a police database and dispatcher said he had bench warrants in his name.

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SEC To Pay Coinbase's Atty Fees In FOIA Suit Settlement

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that it will pay $150,000 in attorney fees and share its document retention policies to resolve a Coinbase-backed lawsuit seeking internal documents surrounding closed crypto investigations.

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Nadex Seeks To Shield OG Prediction Market Biz In Wash.

By Rachel Riley

North American Derivatives Exchange asked a Washington federal court Wednesday to protect its prediction market platform OG from potential enforcement action by the state, pointing to the state attorney general's lawsuit going after Kalshi for alleged violations of state gambling law.

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House Republicans Urge Fed To Speed Up Bank M&A Reviews

By Jon Hill

Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee are calling on the Federal Reserve to explore what else can be done to speed up its bank merger reviews, urging it to look into clearing long-delayed applications and allowing more approvals without a board vote.

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GOP Sens. Unveil Crypto Bill With New Gov't Ethics Provision

By Aislinn Keely

U.S. Senate Republicans released an updated draft of a bill to regulate digital asset markets Wednesday that includes an ethics provision limiting President Donald Trump's and other officials' involvement with crypto, but a coalition of Democrats said the text "falls short" on several issues.

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Sen. Warren Urges Watchdog Probe Of CFTC Staff Cuts

By Sarah Jarvis

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Wednesday urged the Government Accountability Office to investigate the impact of staffing cuts at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, saying the reductions come as the CFTC faces increased responsibilities in overseeing prediction markets and implementing cryptocurrency market legislation.

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Brief

NY Stablecoin Rule Update Advances Amid Genius Act Rollout

By Jon Hill

New York's Department of Financial Services moved Wednesday to formally propose rules that would align its existing stablecoin oversight framework with federal standards, advancing a fresh draft following a so-called preproposal version released last month.

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Judge Blocks Exxon's Due Process Claims In Records Suit

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts state court judge on Wednesday rejected Exxon Mobil's bid to revive constitutional claims in what he called an already "over-litigated" public records lawsuit against state environmental regulators.

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EPA 'Defying' Order Reviving $2.8B Grant Program, Judge Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A South Carolina federal judge Wednesday told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency it must comply with the court's prior order and continue administering a $2.8 billion environmental and climate justice grant funding program that was authorized by Congress in 2022.

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Texas Judge OKs Deal Cutting Lizard's Endangered Listing

By Tom Lotshaw

A Texas federal judge approved a settlement in which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to scrap a Biden-era rule Texas challenged that listed the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered, sparking an outcry from the group that sought the listing.

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Judge Won't Pause Bison Plan Fight For New NEPA Review

By Crystal Owens

A Montana federal judge says the U.S. Department of the Interior can't pause challenges to its Yellowstone National Park bison management plan while the agency prepares a supplemental environmental impact statement, finding the conservation group plaintiffs would suffer a hardship if the proceedings were put on hold.

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9th Circ. Won't Reopen Vax Bias Suit Against Wash. Officials

By Patrick Hoff

The Ninth Circuit upheld a Washington state agency's win in a suit alleging it unlawfully fired over a dozen employees rather than accommodate their religious objections to the COVID-19 vaccine, ruling they hadn't shown the agency was purposely hostile toward religion.

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Analysis

6 Copyright Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2026

By Ivan Moreno

An appeal over whether an AI-powered legal research tool unlawfully used Westlaw material and a long-running fight involving a Miles Davis tattoo could produce some of 2026's most significant copyright rulings. Here is Law360's list of the most notable copyright cases to watch for the rest of the year.

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Squires Grants 4 IPRs, Issues No Discretionary Denials

By Dani Kass

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has granted four more petitions for inter partes review, bringing his institution rate to just shy of 30%.

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Writers Guild Wants Paramount-Warner Bros. Block Extended

By Bryan Koenig

The Writers Guild of America asked a California federal judge Wednesday to extend the two-week injunction against Paramount Skydance's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, warning that permitting the deal to close while challenges proceed would allow the companies to shut down projects and share negotiation information.

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States Say Nielsen Ruling Backs Claims In Live Nation Suit

By James Boyle

A recent Second Circuit ruling in a data-tying case was invoked Wednesday to support a motion by more than a dozen state attorneys general opposing Live Nation's attempt to overturn a federal jury verdict against the company.

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11th Circ. Mulls Forcing Board To Testify In Book Ban Suit

By David Minsky

Members of a Florida school board on Wednesday told the Eleventh Circuit they shouldn't be forced to testify on their reasons for banning library books about people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, arguing their actions are protected by legislative privilege. 

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Amazon's Deal To End Gambling Suit Draws App Makers' Ire

By Ben Adlin

Developers of casino-style mobile apps sought to intervene Wednesday in Amazon's tentative deal to end consumers' proposed class action accusing the platform of enabling illegal online gambling, arguing that the settlement would leave the developers on the hook for $140 million while forcing Amazon to pay just $2.5 million.

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Wash. Law Bars Discriminatory HOA Enforcement, Panel Says

By Isaac Monterose

The Washington State Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of the Washington State Human Rights Commission's administrative housing bias complaint against a homeowners association and other parties, ruling that the state's discrimination law stops homeowners associations from using their rules to discriminate against people.

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DOL Asset Manager Exemption Proposal Sent To White House

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits subagency transmitted a proposal affecting a popular exemption to strict prohibitions on many types of transactions involving federally regulated benefit plans to a White House office for review, teeing up the regulation for release.

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DOL Proposes E-Delivery Rule For Employer Health Plans

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm unveiled a proposal Wednesday that would provide more opportunities for electronic delivery of employer-provided health plans' mandatory disclosures.

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DOL IG Says Info-Sharing Pacts Lacked Safeguards

By Irene Spezzamonte

U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito testified Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee that during the Biden administration, the department shared confidential information with plaintiffs' attorneys without notifying the Wage and Hour Division or the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

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AGs Appeal Order Blocking RealPage Damages In MDL

By Jared Foretek

Attorneys general for Kentucky, Washington state, New Jersey, Maryland and D.C. have asked the Sixth Circuit to review a district court ruling barring them from seeking damages on behalf of their residents alongside private plaintiffs' settlements in a sweeping multidistrict litigation accusing landlords of using RealPage software to collude on rent prices.

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Analysis

Gov't Contracting Policies To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2026

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Trump administration's final rule expanding foreign ownership requirements to more than 37,000 defense contractors and subcontractors and the Pentagon's review of the second phase of cybersecurity requirements headline five policy initiatives that government contractors should look for in the second half of this year.

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Trump Admin Can't Get Suit Over $600M Cuts Transferred

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge ruled Tuesday that he has jurisdiction over a suit filed by Illinois and three other Democratic-led states over the Trump administration's termination of more than $600 million in public health funding and denied the federal government's bid to transfer the case to the Court of Federal Claims.

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States Seek Win Over Trump Admin In DEI Contracts Dispute

By Madeline Lyskawa

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are urging a Maryland federal judge to vacate federal agencies' implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order requiring government contractors to agree that they won't engage in "racially discriminatory" diversity, equity and inclusion activities.

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Judge Skeptical Of Harm From Chinese Military Co. Label

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday appeared skeptical of a Chinese pharmaceutical company's claims that it has suffered irreparable damage from the U.S. Department of Defense's recommendation that it be designated a "Chinese military company."

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Trade Court OKs Canadian Softwood Duty After 4 Remands

By Jack McLoone

A pair of Canadian softwood lumber producers' imports to the U.S. will be subject to a countervailing duty after the U.S. Court of International Trade signed off on the U.S. Department of Commerce's fourth pass at the rate calculation, finally resolving the dispute.

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Brief

Commerce Opens Probe Into Canadian Spray Foam Imports

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce will determine whether spray foam systems assembled in Canada with Chinese components and then exported to the U.S. are circumventing duties placed on a foam-making chemical, the department said Wednesday.

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Trump's Expiring Global Tariff Is Valid, US Tells Fed. Circ.

By Dylan Moroses

President Donald Trump's temporary global tariff is lawfully authorized under a statute allowing the executive branch to address serious balance-of-payment deficits, a term that can easily be construed to include the economic conditions referenced in the implementing order, the government told the Federal Circuit.

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Brief

US Finalizes Duty Rates For Chinese Animal Feed Additive

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Department of Commerce finalized antidumping and countervailing duty rates for an imported animal feed-grade additive from China, according to notices published Wednesday.

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Brief

Indonesian, Malaysian Fatty Acids Face US Duties

By Jack McLoone

Imports of certain fatty acids into the U.S. from Indonesia and Malaysia are facing countervailing duties after the U.S. Department of Commerce determined Wednesday they are benefiting from government subsidies.

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Illinois Crypto Tax Unfairly Targets Traders, Suit Says

By Maria Koklanaris

Illinois' new tax on cryptocurrency, the first in the nation, discriminates against those who trade in crypto and is illegal, a trade group argued in a complaint in a state court.

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Irish To Propose €1.5B In Tax Cuts For Workers, Gov't Says

By Kevin Pinner

The Irish government will propose €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in new tax cuts for workers in its €8.5 billion budget for next year, the country's Department of Finance said Wednesday.

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US Marshals Can't Make Immigration Arrests In DC Court

By Rae Ann Varona

A D.C. federal judge Wednesday refused to toss a lawsuit from a certified class of immigrants challenging immigration arrests by U.S. marshals in D.C. Superior Court, declaring that the marshals lack authority and necessary training for the arrests.

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NJ Judge Says ICE Can't Detain Man Leaving Voluntarily

By Tom Lotshaw

A New Jersey federal judge Wednesday ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release a Colombian man it continued to detain after it had prevented the man from voluntarily leaving the country in line with an immigration judge's order.

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Migrants Seek Stay Of DHS' 'Life-Altering' Fines

By Carolyn Muyskens

Lawyers for noncitizens challenging steep fines on people who remain in the U.S. after a final removal order urged a Massachusetts federal judge Wednesday to halt the fines now, citing crippling effects on immigrants seeking lawful status.

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Brief

5th Circ. Stays Lower Orders In 90-Day Bond Hearing Review

By Tom Lotshaw

The Fifth Circuit granted the Trump administration's request to pause several habeas judgments while the court reconsiders whether the federal government has the authority to detain noncitizens for more than 90 days without providing a bond hearing.

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2 Charged In Alleged $52.7M COVID-19 Tax Scheme

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Two men have been indicted in Pennsylvania on allegations that they participated in a multistate conspiracy to bilk the government out of $52.7 million in a COVID-19-related false tax return scheme, according to federal prosecutors.

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DC Judge Wary Of Tribe's Bid To Halt Border Wall In Arizona

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge appeared reluctant Wednesday to hand the Tohono O'odham Nation a preliminary injunction blocking the construction of 62 miles of border wall within what the tribe claims are its lands, saying that what the tribe was asking him to do was unprecedented.

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FCC Clears Way For Upper C-Band Auction To Sell 160 MHz

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to set up an auction to sell exclusive licenses in the upper C-band airwaves, getting the process moving at what FCC Chair Brendan Carr called an "unprecedented" speed following Congress' order last year to expedite the sale long awaited by wireless carriers.

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FCC Overhauls 'Nutrition' Labels For Broadband Services

By Christopher Cole

Consumers can expect to soon see a change in broadband "nutrition" labels detailing the metrics of high-speed services after the Federal Communications Commission voted to overhaul the labeling rules Wednesday.

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Reps. Hit With Robocalls As They Discuss How To Stop Them

By Nadia Dreid

Robocalls were the thing on everyone's mind Wednesday morning as a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee heard from witnesses about a half dozen bills that lawmakers hope will protect the nation's telecommunications networks.

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Brief

Bipartisan Bill To Speed Broadband Permits Clears Committee

By Christopher Cole

A bipartisan bill aimed at making federal agencies accelerate reviews of broadband permit applications passed the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday.

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Bipartisan Bill Would Tax And Regulate Hemp THC Products

By Sam Reisman

Members of Congress on Wednesday unveiled a bipartisan bill to legalize, regulate and tax the manufacture and sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products, while a federal ban on virtually all consumable hemp products is still due to take effect in less than four months.

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Mamdani Taps Lina Khan, McKinsey Partner For EDC Roles

By Craig Clough

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday named former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan board chair of the ​New York City Economic Development Corp. and Anthony E. Shorris, a partner at consulting giant McKinsey & Co., as its president.

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EEOC Enforcement Plan Signals DEI, Religious Bias Scrutiny

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.

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Immigration Order Raises Customer ID Stakes For Banks

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.

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Holland & Knight Hit With $1.2B Malpractice Suit

By Madison Arnold

A real estate firm is accusing Holland & Knight LLP and three attorneys of malpractice in a new complaint filed in Florida state court and is seeking up to $1.2 billion in damages after more than 30 states opened investigations into the company's practices.

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Co. Turned Away Simpson Thacher's Deal Meeting, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A retired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handled the fundraising round alleged to have destroyed Patriot National Inc. testified in a Florida state malpractice trial Wednesday that the insurance services company waved off his attempt to present details to the board.

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Brief

Pillsbury Data Breach Suit Voluntarily Dismissed

By Matt Perez

A proposed class action against Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP over a data breach last year has been voluntarily dismissed by the named plaintiffs, following a granted motion to stay in April to discuss mediation.

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DLA Piper Says Deception, Not Bias, Cost Palestinian Atty Job

By Grace Elletson

DLA Piper urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a Palestinian attorney's suit claiming the firm revoked a job offer out of discrimination, arguing it rescinded the offer because she concealed allegations that she assaulted someone at a protest.

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Gov't Attys May Face Broader Duty To Report Misconduct

By Alison Knezevich

Attorneys representing the government could face "more demanding" obligations to disclose misconduct by people within their client organizations than attorneys representing private entities, according to an ethics opinion issued Wednesday by the American Bar Association.

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Securities Class Action Deals On Target To Hit 6-Year High

By Katryna Perera

The value of class action settlements is on track to reach a six-year high of $4.4 billion, fueled in part by a handful of "mega settlements" and other high-dollar deals, a Cornerstone Research report released Wednesday said. 

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