Public Policy

  • April 20, 2026

    Justices Won't Review School's Handling Of Gender Transition

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a challenge to a Massachusetts school district's decision not to inform parents when their 11-year-old child began using nonbinary pronouns and a new name.

  • April 20, 2026

    CIT Directs Commerce To Be More Specific On Korean Duty

    The U.S. Department of Commerce must be more specific in its attempt to justify its determination that a South Korean steel plate exporter was benefiting from a government subsidy on electricity, the U.S. Court of International Trade said, ordering another redetermination.

  • April 20, 2026

    CFPB's Layoff Bid Belongs Before DC Judge, Union Says

    A federal labor union pushed back Friday against a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau bid to proceed with a plan for shedding roughly half its remaining staffers, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency's request should go first to the lower-court judge who froze layoffs there.

  • April 20, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week delivered another mix of procedural rulings, fiduciary duty disputes and deal litigation, highlighting both the court's gatekeeping role and its continued focus on stockholder rights and transactional fairness.

  • April 20, 2026

    Illinois' Suit Over Trump's National Guard Deployment Tossed

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit filed by the state and the city of Chicago challenging the deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois, agreeing with the Trump administration that the case is now moot because the troops have been demobilized or withdrawn and the orders authorizing their presence "are no longer alive."

  • April 20, 2026

    Justices Won't Consider Union's Right To Seek SpaceX Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court shut the door Monday on a challenge to a Fifth Circuit ruling that enables the National Labor Relations Board's targets to get its cases blocked, turning away a union's appeal of a decision refusing to let it join the case.

  • April 20, 2026

    Justice Jackson Faults Quick Reversal In DC Stop Case

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Monday chided her U.S. Supreme Court colleagues for reversing a D.C. Court of Appeals ruling involving the Fourth Amendment, saying in a dissent that the lower court was correct and that the case "does not merit the use of our summary discretion."

  • April 20, 2026

    Justices Won't Hear 1st Circ. Escrow Law Preemption Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it will not review a First Circuit decision allowing Citizens Bank NA to be sued for allegedly failing to comply with a Rhode Island interest-on-escrow law, declining to wade again into a fight over national bank preemption.

  • April 20, 2026

    Justices Skip Challenge To NC Surveyor License Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't take up an appeal from a North Carolina drone operator who says his state's licensing and regulatory requirements for land surveyors restricted his First Amendment rights.

  • April 17, 2026

    State Privacy & AI Watch: 4 Legislative Developments To Know

    The state data privacy law landscape continues to grow, with Alabama becoming the latest to join the fray and Kentucky moving to expand the types of sensitive data covered by its existing statute, although one state's legislature that had been pushing to enact what would have been one of the strictest frameworks in the nation adjourned for the year without finishing.

  • April 17, 2026

    Starbucks Wins 5th Circ. Bid To Scrap NLRB Subpoena Order

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday vacated a National Labor Relations Board order that dinged Starbucks for sending overbroad subpoenas to pro-union employees, saying in a published opinion that the board applied the wrong legal standard for determining whether the coffeehouse chain committed an unfair labor practice.

  • April 17, 2026

    Ex-Rep. Didn't Fund Venezuelan Opposition, Accountant Says

    A forensic accountant testified in Florida federal court on Friday that his investigation into the finances of politician David Rivera found that no funds were given to Venezuelan opposition officials, telling jurors how he followed the money trail of the one-time congressman accused of secretly lobbying for a foreign government.

  • April 17, 2026

    Where Cables Were Cut, AT&T Wants Be Done With Copper

    There are hundreds of places all over the country where AT&T's copper phone lines have been disrupted, either by accident, theft or natural disaster, and it's asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission not to replace them.

  • April 17, 2026

    Advocates Get FCC Prison Call Rate Cases Moved To 1st Circ.

    The D.C. Circuit has agreed that a series of consolidated appeals brought by prison phone service providers and advocacy groups challenging the Federal Communications Commission's latest prison phone rate order belongs in front of the First Circuit.

  • April 17, 2026

    American Airlines Shuts Down United Merger Rumors

    American Airlines on Friday shut down speculation of a potential combination with United Airlines, saying it's not currently engaged in any merger talks with the Chicago-based carrier.

  • April 17, 2026

    DC Judge Doubts Standing Of Cannabis Shops Alliance

    A D.C. federal judge told lawyers for an association of marijuana "gifting" shops either to drop their lawsuit challenging the district's new dispensary enforcement scheme or have their members join as parties, after the attorneys conceded that the association had only been formed to bring the litigation.

  • April 17, 2026

    States Seek Win To Restore DOE's Diversity Grant Cuts

    Eight states have asked a Massachusetts federal judge to restore $160 million to federal programs providing professional development to new teachers cut by the U.S. Department of Education last year, which the states said were unlawfully targeted by the Trump administration as diversity initiatives.

  • April 17, 2026

    Federal Judge Blocks DOJ's DEI, Citizenship Grant Conditions

    A Rhode Island federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Justice from imposing new conditions related to diversity, equity and inclusion activities and immigration status on domestic violence assistance grants, finding a nonprofit coalition likely to succeed in a legal challenge.

  • April 17, 2026

    RI Pot Regulators Sees No Easy Fix For License Injunction

    Rhode Island's Cannabis Control Commission said Friday it's looking at every possible option to undo a federal court's order that has stopped it from awarding recreational cannabis licenses, telling concerned industry leaders that the "extremely volatile and constantly evolving legal landscape" means there is no easy fix.

  • April 17, 2026

    PTAB Petitions Continue To Plummet As Reexams Surge

    The number of America Invents Act petitions continued to crater as the volume of reexamination requests skyrocketed in the first quarter of 2026 as policies by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires settled in, according to a new report from Unified Patents.

  • April 17, 2026

    Plea Change Hearing Set For Former Conn. Budget Official

    A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for Monday afternoon for Konstantinos M. Diamantis, a former Connecticut budget official, elected politician and attorney facing an impending federal corruption trial for allegedly pocketing bribes while helping end a state Medicaid audit of an optometry practice operated by his friend's fiancée.

  • April 17, 2026

    4 Firms Lead Kraken's $550M Buy Of Crypto Derivatives Biz

    Four firms including Haynes Boone and Jones Day guided Kraken's $550 million acquisition of regulated crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial, according to a Friday announcement from Kraken.

  • April 17, 2026

    DOJ's NFL Probe May Reshape Sports Broadcasting Law

    Though antitrust charges are in play in the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into the NFL's deals with services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, experts say they don't see a strong federal case against the league's broadcasting practices, as focus may shift to updating a decades-old law governing how sports leagues negotiate television deals.

  • April 17, 2026

    CFPB Could Soon Issue Overhauled Small-Biz Loan Data Rule

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is awaiting White House clearance to publish a final rule that would complete its revamp of small-business lender reporting requirements issued during the Biden administration, according to a new regulatory notice.

  • April 17, 2026

    Groups Say EPA Used Faulty Math In GHG Finding Repeal

    Sixteen health and environmental groups said this week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must reconsider its February repeal of the scientific finding allowing the agency to regulate greenhouse gases, because the final rule relied on error-filled technical analyses that weren't included in the proposed version.

Expert Analysis

  • How Leveraged Lending Pivot May Alter Bank Risk Oversight

    Author Photo

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent withdrawal of leveraged lending guidance introduces several principles that may allow banks to better apply enterprisewide risk management programs and potentially create additional competition in the private credit loan market, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Pros And Cons Of FDA's Push For Nonprescription Drugs

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent moves to shift more prescription drugs to over-the-counter status could increase access to important medications, but also bring potential safety risks and other trade-offs for drug companies, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Why SDNY May Be Dusting Off The Financial Kingpin Statute

    Author Photo

    The Southern District of New York’s recent fraud indictments against executives of bankrupt companies Tricolor and First Brands have seemingly revived the Continuing Financial Crimes Enterprise statute, and if the cases succeed, prosecutors across the country will have ample reason to reach for this long-dormant tool, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • What's Changed In Army Corps' Reissued Nationwide Permits

    Author Photo

    The final rule recently issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, renewing and revising nationwide permits for projects covered by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, makes measured adjustments rather than sweeping revisions, addressing key operational and compliance concerns while maintaining the existing framework, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • What Kalshi Cases Reveal About State Authority, Regulation

    Author Photo

    Prediction markets like Kalshi have ignited complex legal battles that get to the heart of how novel financial products intersect with traditional state enforcement authority, and courts are already beginning to divide over whether federal law preempts state enforcement authority restricting these offerings, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

  • Parsing Clarifications On Foreign Entity Rules For Tax Credits

    Author Photo

    Recent U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department guidance answers taxpayer questions on several key foreign entity rules under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but questions remain over transactions with companies that have ties to covered nations such as Iran, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • What US Arms Sales Reforms Mean For Defense Industry

    Author Photo

    A recent executive order with the goal of increasing U.S. arms sales transparency, speed and government-industry collaboration carries both promise and risk for the defense industry as the government seeks to leverage the private sector and use commercial products for defense purposes, say attorneys at Fluet.

  • Prepping For The Future Of No Surprises Act Enforcement

    Author Photo

    This year is expected to be a transition point for the No Surprises Act framework from regulatory delay to operational enforcement, so stakeholders should use this time to stress-test systems, clean up processes and prepare for enforcement, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • A Tale Of 2 Self-Disclosure Policies: How SDNY, DOJ Differ

    Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s recently announced corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy shares many similarities with that of the U.S. Department of Justice, the two programs differ in meaningful ways, including subject matter scope and timeline to declination, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Aligning Microsoft Tools With NYC Bar AI Recording Guidance

    Author Photo

    The New York City Bar Association’s recently issued formal opinion, providing ethical guidance on artificial intelligence-assisted recording, transcription and summarization, raises immediate questions about data governance and e-discovery for companies that use Microsoft 365 and Copilot, say Staci Kaliner, Martin Tully and John Collins at Redgrave.

  • What Employers Should Know About Calif. PAGA Proposal

    Author Photo

    Recently proposed regulations concerning the Private Attorneys General Act evidence an intent by California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency to play a greater role in the prosecution of PAGA actions, including more oversight over the exhaustion notices and settlement process, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • FTC Focus: Antitrust Spotlight On 'Acqui-Hires,' Noncompetes

    Author Photo

    A recent Federal Trade Commission focus on labor issues, like 'acqui-hire' deals, in which only a company's workforce is acquired, and noncompetes, shows that the agency is scrutinizing these issues on a case-by-case basis, necessitating a meaningful look at these transactions, particularly in the technology and artificial intelligence industries, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • FDA's Biosimilarity Guidance Holds Uncertain Implications

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new draft guidance aimed at simplifying the biosimilarity demonstration process may not be enough to overcome the barriers that have historically constrained biosimilar competition, and could affect biosimilar access in unexpected ways, say analysts at Analysis Group.

  • Unpacking Key Themes From NY's New Healthcare Strategy

    Author Photo

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2026 State of the State agenda, read together with the state's fiscal year 2027 executive budget, reflect a clear framework to utilize Medicaid as the state's operating platform for healthcare reform, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • A Single DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy Raises Questions

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice's soon-to-be-released uniform corporate criminal enforcement policy could address the challenges raised by the current decentralized approach, but it will need to answer a number of potential questions amid scant details, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.