Public Policy

  • March 31, 2026

    Lobbyist Blocked Rivera After Tying Him To $50M Oil Deal

    Republican lobbyist Brian Ballard was "exceptionally angry" and blocked former Florida Congressman David Rivera's number after Rivera insinuated Ballard was tied to a $50 million consulting agreement Rivera signed with the U.S. affiliate of Venezuela's state-owned company, Ballard testified Tuesday in federal court.

  • March 31, 2026

    DOL's Push To Curb 401(k) Suits Could Face Court Challenges

    The U.S. Department of Labor's recent proposal to give retirement plan fiduciaries legal cover to select a broader range of investments aims to reduce ERISA litigation, but attorneys on both sides of the bar say they expect the rule to face legal challenges if finalized as proposed.

  • March 31, 2026

    'God Squad' Exempts Gulf Drillers From Species Protections

    A federal committee with the power to waive Endangered Species Act protections convened for the first time in 34 years on Tuesday and granted an exemption for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • March 31, 2026

    Trump Order Cutting Off Funds For NPR, PBS Blocked

    A D.C. federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump's executive order stripping all federal funding from the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio was unconstitutional Tuesday, writing that the order met all three elements of retaliation for protected speech.

  • March 31, 2026

    FCC Floats Adding Yet More Foreign Gear To 'Covered List'

    The Federal Communications Commission wants to block the importation of telecommunications gear that was put on its so-called covered list — a list of equipment the agency has deemed poses national security risks — before it had passed rules banning the authorization of such equipment.

  • March 31, 2026

    Bias Challenge To Juror Strike Wasn't Waived, Justices Told

    A Black man on Mississippi's death row told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that state courts failed to properly address his objections to the prosecution's peremptory juror strikes at his 2006 trial, which he said were racially motivated.

  • March 31, 2026

    Senate Dems Probe Musk's Alleged Role In CTA Retreat

    Three Democratic senators have asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to provide information on Elon Musk's possible involvement in the rollback of the Corporate Transparency Act, saying the department's moves allow entities tied to the billionaire to operate in obscurity.

  • March 31, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Rethink Apple App Store Injunction

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday refused Apple's bid to reconsider part of a panel decision in Epic Games Inc.'s favor that largely affirmed an injunction blocking Apple from charging developers "prohibitive" commissions on iPhone app purchases made outside its payment systems, declining to clarify what fees Apple can charge.

  • March 31, 2026

    Judge Vacates DHS' Termination of Noncitizens' Parole Status

    A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration has broad authority to mass terminate parole, but failed to justify canceling parole for hundreds of thousands of noncitizens who used a government app to be admitted to the U.S.

  • March 31, 2026

    Nonprofit Says Colo. County Jail Censors Incoming Mail

    Weld County, Colorado, officials have mail policies that unconstitutionally prevent a nonprofit from sending educational and outreach materials to people incarcerated at the county's jail, the nonprofit alleged Tuesday in Colorado federal court.

  • March 31, 2026

    7th Circ. Scolds Ex-Judge For Citing Fake Cases In Brief

    A Seventh Circuit panel admonished an attorney and former chief federal immigration judge for submitting a brief citing two nonexistent cases and a false quotation, saying while such errors can be "tell-tale signs" of AI hallucinations, her denial she used AI is "plausible" and the court won't consider further sanctions.

  • March 31, 2026

    Blumenthal Presses DHS Chief To Scrap ICE Warrant Memo

    Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, is looking for assurances from the newly installed secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, that he will honor his apparent pledge to rescind a policy that allows immigration agents to enter private property without a judicial warrant.

  • March 31, 2026

    Cruz, Dems Rip FCC's Staff-Level OK Of $6.2B Nexstar Deal

    Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joined Senate Democrats to attack the Federal Communications Commission's decision to approve the planned $6.2 billion tie-up of broadcast chains Nexstar and Tegna at the staff level without a vote by the regulatory body.

  • March 31, 2026

    Mich. Judge OKs Bias Training For Healthcare Workers

    A Michigan judge has upheld a state requirement that healthcare professionals undergo implicit bias training to obtain or renew their licenses, finding the mandate was within the state licensing bureau's power.

  • March 31, 2026

    Protest Targets Noem-Approved $641M Border Barrier Deal

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection violated federal contracting law when it awarded a $641 million contract to construct waterborne barriers in the Rio Grande Valley without conducting a competitive bidding process, a joint venture told the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Monday.

  • March 31, 2026

    DC Circ. Clears Maritime Commission's Refusal-To-Deal Rule

    A D.C. Circuit panel sided Tuesday with the Federal Maritime Commission as it defended a regulation governing how it will consider whether an ocean shipping company unreasonably refused to deal with would-be shippers, rejecting a trade group challenge and concluding the agency rightly baked rate analysis into its considerations.

  • March 31, 2026

    Transpo Tracker: Congestion Pricing Survives, EV Rule At Risk

    In our inaugural Law360 Transportation Tracker, a New York district court walloped the Trump administration's effort to cancel Manhattan's congestion pricing, the federal government continued its assault on California's vehicle emissions regulations, and Boeing investors scored class certification in 737 Max-related securities fraud litigation.

  • March 31, 2026

    Feds Ask 1st Circ. To Nix 'Slapdash' 3rd Country Notice Order

    A Massachusetts federal judge overstepped his authority in ordering the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide deportees being sent to so-called "third" countries where they have no prior ties an opportunity to challenge their destinations, the Trump administration told the First Circuit.

  • March 31, 2026

    Next-Gen TV Switch Must Happen Soon, Lawmakers Say

    More than 90 lawmakers called on the Federal Communications Commission to advance next-generation TV by setting a timeline for the switch to the latest broadcast standard.

  • March 31, 2026

    Squires Ends TikTok IP Challenges For Not Listing Foreign Ties

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has terminated Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges to seven Cellspin Soft patents that TikTok has argued were invalid, saying TikTok didn't list all the interested parties in the case, particularly those outside the U.S.

  • March 31, 2026

    Public Health Groups Challenge EPA's Mercury Limits Repeal

    The American Academy of Pediatrics and more than a dozen environmental and public health groups are calling on the D.C. Circuit to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of Biden-era limits on mercury and air toxins, saying the move will jeopardize children's health across the country.

  • March 31, 2026

    Judge Further Delays Trump Admin's College Data Demand

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday again pushed off a deadline for public colleges in 17 states to provide seven years of detailed admissions data to the U.S. Department of Education, as two organizations representing private schools seek to join a legal challenge to the new survey.

  • March 31, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revisit Order Keeping Migrant Facility Open

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday denied a request from environmental nonprofits to allow a lower court's order halting operations of a Florida immigrant detention facility, saying in a split decision that new issues were improperly raised for the first time. 

  • March 31, 2026

    US Bipartisan Bill Will Extend Key Tribal Housing Program

    U.S. lawmakers have proposed bipartisan legislation that will update and extend the key law for tribal housing support through 2032, arguing that for too long Indigenous communities have gone without the resources they need to build and maintain affordable housing.

  • March 31, 2026

    Pot Opponents Seek To Block CMS Hemp Benefit Program

    A coalition of anti-cannabis activists is suing federal health regulators to block a program designed to reimburse Medicare beneficiaries for the use of federally legal hemp products that have small amounts of THC.

Expert Analysis

  • What Texas Anti-Boycott Ruling Means For ESG Landscape

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    A Texas federal court's recent ruling in American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar that Texas' anti-ESG law is unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds will likely embolden legal challenges to similar laws in other states that have adopted fossil fuel boycott statutes, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How To Wield The Clarity Act As A Litigation Defense Tool

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    The Clarity Act is being discussed as a future compliance statute, but for litigators it can be used as a present-day defense tool to strengthen fair‑notice framing, argue for forward‑looking remedies rather than punitive ones and reprice settlement leverage as statutory clarity approaches, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: The Human Element

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    Law school teaches you to quickly apply intellect and logic when handling a legal issue, but every fact pattern also involves a person, making the ability to balance expertise with empathy critical to the growth of relationships with clients, colleagues and adversaries, says Rachel Adcox at Adcox Strategies.

  • As Justices Mull Suncor, Cos. Face New Climate Suit Realities

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Suncor Energy v. Boulder County — its first case analyzing the litigation impact of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding — companies must consider new preemption questions surrounding climate lawsuits after the rescission, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • 7 Steps For Gov't Contractors In Post-IEEPA Tariff Landscape

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    In response to U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down tariffs issued by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, there are several actions federal contractors should take to preserve their place in any refund waterfall, and to manage audit, overpayment and False Claims Act risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How DExit, Mandatory Arbitration Could Alter IPO Outlook

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    As companies continue to leave Delaware and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission begins allowing companies to implement mandatory arbitration provisions, these developments could have a major impact on the initial public offering, securities class action, and directors and officers insurance landscapes, says Walker Newell at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

  • How High Court Recast State Sovereign Immunity In Galette

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in Galette v. New Jersey Transit, asserting that the state-chartered transit agency has independent corporate personhood and sole obligation to pay judgments against it, turned on substance rather than form — and its analysis should be carefully reviewed in courthouses and statehouses, say attorneys at McCarter & English.

  • Get Smart: Navigating The Genius Act's Regulatory Gaps

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    While some recent Genius Act rulemaking has covered consumer protection issues within the stablecoin market, the context is generally narrow and the final outcome remains uncertain for financial institutions or companies in the evolving landscape, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Opinion

    Ga. HOA Reform Bills Risk Undermining Local Governance

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    Lawmakers considering several bills in Georgia that would centralize regulation of homeowners associations should acknowledge that effective reform needs to protect homeowners’ rights while preserving the financial and governance structures that allow communities to function, says Julie Howard at NowackHoward.

  • Why Prediction Market Regulation Is At Major Inflection Point

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    As prediction markets experience tremendous growth and rapid mainstream adoption, regulators have begun to exercise enforcement authority to ensure market integrity and protect participants, though forthcoming guidance will shed light on how aggressively the agencies will police the fast-changing landscape, say attorneys at Latham.

  • How Cos. Should Prepare For NY RAISE Act Compliance

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    With the New York Responsible AI Safety and Education Act taking effect March 19, state regulators will expect subject artificial intelligence governance policies to understand whether appropriate safeguards and protocols are in place to prevent or mitigate discriminatory or adverse outcomes by frontier models, says Michael Paulino at Gordon Rees.

  • Compliance Takeaways Amid Increased Auto Finance Scrutiny

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    Recent supervisory focus on consumer protection in auto finance by agencies such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. provides meaningful signals regarding areas of heightened regulatory scrutiny for lenders, including data accuracy, AI risk management and vendor oversight, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • The Benefits Of Choosing A Niche Practice In The AI Age

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    As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly accessible, lawyers with a niche practice may stand out as clients seek specialized judgment that automation cannot replicate, but it is important to choose a niche that is durable, engaging and a good personal fit, says Daniel Borneman at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • How PBMs Can Adapt To Plan Sponsors' Disclosure Demands

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    As federal reforms, growing state regulation and litigation threats push plan sponsors to expect visibility into revenue streams, pharmacy benefit managers should leverage transparency strategically, including by simplifying how they get paid, offering clients audit-ready data and co-designing contracts that are easy for fiduciaries to explain and defend, says Kristie Blase at Frazer + Blase.

  • Section 122 Tariffs Show Shift In Strategy, Not Trade Policy

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    By imposing temporary tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act as a stopgap measure while it pivots to less transitory statutory authorities, the Trump administration sent a clear message that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources v. Trump, invalidating duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, will not precipitate a change in policy direction, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

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