Public Policy

  • August 14, 2026

    Court Clears RI Pot Licensing After Law Drops Residency Rule

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday dissolved a court order blocking the state's social equity and adult-use cannabis licensing program, saying recent changes to state law mooted the reasons for enjoining the program in the first place.

  • August 14, 2026

    4th Circ. Altria Decision Spotlights Risks From ERISA Docs

    A recent Fourth Circuit decision in a retirement plan dispute between tobacco giant Altria and an ex-worker underscored how service provider contracts can introduce snags in litigation, with benefits attorneys warning that employers may want to review documents with the potential for disclosure in mind.

  • August 14, 2026

    Trump Aims To Rebuild US Maritime Industrial Base

    President Donald Trump signed a memorandum aimed at addressing backlogs in U.S. Navy shipbuilding by directing the Pentagon to pursue direct investments in the U.S. maritime industrial base from foreign suppliers to boost competition. 

  • August 14, 2026

    Trump-Backed Crypto Co. Gets Initial OK For Bank Charter

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday preliminarily approved a closely watched charter application from World Liberty Financial, moving the Trump family-tied cryptocurrency venture closer to launching a federally regulated trust bank.

  • August 14, 2026

    4 Questions On Excess Manufacturing Capacity Tariffs

    Stakeholders anticipate new tariffs on key trading partners stemming from allegations that excess manufacturing capacity is causing harm to U.S. businesses, but several open questions remain about the extent to which duty burdens will increase and whether countries will retaliate in response. Here, Law360 considers four such questions.

  • August 14, 2026

    6th Circ. Says Cops Forcing Man To Pee In His Yard Unlawful

    A Michigan man who was forced to urinate on his front lawn because police, who were conducting a search of his home, would not allow him to use his own bathroom had his Fourth Amendment rights violated, a Sixth Circuit panel determined on Thursday.

  • August 14, 2026

    Mich. Panel Gives Dog New Chance In Euthanasia Fight

    A Michigan appeals court has overturned an order requiring a Port Huron woman to euthanize her dog after he bit off a guest's nose, ruling that a lower court applied the wrong standard when deciding whether the guest provoked the dog by putting her face inches away from the dog's face.

  • August 14, 2026

    10th Circ. Backs $5M Verdict In Fight Over Toll Lanes Contract

    The Tenth Circuit on Friday unanimously upheld a Denver federal jury's award of $5.25 million to construction design firm Aecom, wholly rejecting a contractor's request for a new trial in a contract dispute over a Colorado toll lanes project.

  • August 14, 2026

    Conn. City Settles Wrongful Conviction Suits For $30.5M

    After the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, publicly announced a $30.5 million settlement, a federal judge dismissed two lawsuits accusing the city of civil rights violations tied to two wrongful murder convictions, for which each plaintiff spent nearly 20 years in prison.

  • August 14, 2026

    SEC Staff Halt Responses To Proxy Proposal Exclusion Bids

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday made permanent a previous decision to step back from responding to companies' bids to exclude shareholder proposals from their ballots, following comments from the agency's chairman that the most recent proxy season saw none of the "dire predictions" some had forecast after the retreat.

  • August 14, 2026

    Idaho Abortion Ban Needs Health Exceptions, Judge Finds

    An Idaho federal judge barred the state from criminalizing abortions in cases where continuing a pregnancy puts a patient at risk of lasting harm or death via self-harm, finding that the 14th Amendment establishes a fundamental right to health- and life-preserving abortion care.

  • August 14, 2026

    Calif. Tribe Failed To Show Harm Over 40-Acre Land Transfer

    A California tribe can't block the U.S. Department of the Interior from transferring 40 acres into trust for a fellow tribe's casino project, a D.C. district court judge has determined, saying action on the contested land isn't imminent and there's no demonstrable irreparable harm.

  • August 14, 2026

    Can Texas, Nevada Replicate Delaware's Corporate Edge?

    Texas and Nevada have spent the past few years rewriting corporate laws and building specialized business courts in an effort to challenge Delaware's long-standing dominance as the preferred home for U.S. companies. While a handful of high-profile corporations have already made the move, corporate law experts say creating another Delaware will require far more than new statutes and judges.

  • August 14, 2026

    Colo. Taxpayer Says $490M Court Project Violates TABOR

    A Colorado county's decision to build a half-billion-dollar judicial center required voter approval under the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a county council member said in a suit, attempting to halt the project.

  • August 14, 2026

    1st Circ. Becomes 7th To Reject Trump's No-Bond Policy

    The First Circuit became the seventh appellate court to reject the Trump administration's argument that noncitizens arrested in the interior U.S. can be detained without bond, ruling that immigrants who entered the country unlawfully years earlier can seek release on bond.

  • August 14, 2026

    USPTO Wants Input On Southwest Outreach Office

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking to increase its community outreach in the Southwest and is asking for public input on where it should set up offices in the six-state region.

  • August 14, 2026

    Law Student's Race Bias Claim Survives In Kirk Discipline Suit

    A Texas federal judge on Friday allowed a former Texas Tech law student to proceed with her claim that the university board was discriminatory in disciplining her over comments she made allegedly celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk because non-Black students who spoke about the assassination weren't investigated.

  • August 14, 2026

    Chicago Auto Lease Tax Is Unconstitutional, Suit Says

    A Chicago tax applied monthly to leased vehicles violates the state's constitution, a taxpayer told a state court, arguing the levy flouts the uniformity clause.

  • August 14, 2026

    IRS Expands Carbon Capture Tax Credit's Safe Harbor

    A safe harbor for the carbon sequestration tax credit's reporting requirements will apply to a method that uses carbon oxide used as a tertiary injectant in qualified oil and gas extraction projects, the IRS announced Friday, expanding earlier guidance for the incentive.

  • August 14, 2026

    White House, BigLaw Atty Picked For Tenn. Federal Bench

    President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is nominating a White House attorney and former BigLaw associate to serve as a Tennessee federal judge.

  • August 14, 2026

    Trump Hits Imported Drones With Up To 100% Tariffs

    Large drones and those with certain capabilities "that are particularly sensitive for national security purposes" and their components will face a 100% ad valorem tariff starting in September, President Donald Trump ordered, with smaller drones and other components facing a 25% tariff.

  • August 14, 2026

    Trump Asks Justices To Raze Block On Ballroom Construction

    President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to lift a ban on construction of a new White House ballroom, arguing a federal judge who ordered the work to stop overstepped his authority by vetoing national security officials' determinations that the ballroom is "vitally required." 

  • August 14, 2026

    UN Seeks Input On Draft Tax Convention And Protocols

    The United Nations is seeking input on a draft version of its proposed framework international tax convention, a protocol on taxing cross-border services and conventions on dispute prevention and resolution, the body's Department of Economic and Social Affairs said Friday.

  • August 14, 2026

    CFPB Will No Longer Post Narratives In Complaint Database

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday it will stop publishing consumer complaint narratives and data visualizations, a move consumer advocates warn will limit public visibility into patterns of alleged financial company misconduct.

  • August 14, 2026

    NRA Sues Denver Over Gun Carry Ban For Visitors

    The National Rifle Association and two out-of-state gun owners have sued Denver and Colorado state officials in federal court, arguing that the combined effect of the state's residency requirement for concealed carry permits and the city's ban on open carry leaves nonresident visitors with no lawful means to carry a handgun for self-defense.

Expert Analysis

  • Challenging Detention After 5th Circ. Ends Bond Clocks

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    After the vacatur of the Fifth Circuit’s holding that the U.S. Constitution requires bond hearings for detained noncriminal noncitizens, practitioners should go back to filing habeas petitions, pending the court's en banc rehearing, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • Patent Eligibility Bulletin: New USPTO Guidance And AI Risks

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    In the second quarter of 2026, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office updated its subject matter eligibility declarations in line with its increasingly permissive patent eligibility stance, while the Federal Circuit rigorously applied the Alice framework in a decision that highlighted risks facing patent claims that utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning, say attorneys at Banner Witcoff.

  • A Shift In How Policymakers Are Approaching PBM Regulation

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    Recent federal and state legislative and regulatory activity involving pharmacy benefit managers represent a change in focus from transparency to PBM compensation structures, vertical integration and competitive effects, say attorneys at Barclay Damon.

  • Workplace Menopause Laws Demand New HR Playbooks

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    A recent wave of state and local legislation that makes menopause an expressly protected condition in the workplace creates new compliance obligations amid an already ambiguous federal framework, and demands a workplace culture where employees feel safe asking for support, says Elliot Griffin at Ballard Spahr.

  • How State Actions Are Reshaping Surveillance Pricing Risk

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    Amid heightened state enforcement activity and expanding legislative action to curb surveillance pricing concerns related to transparency, fairness and discrimination, businesses should closely examine how consumer data is used in pricing decisions, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • State Of Insurance: Q2 Notes From Illinois

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    The second quarter of 2026 featured a trio of auto insurance opinions from Illinois' appellate courts, addressing a notice requirement, narrowing insurers' exposure for delayed payment of underinsured motorist claims, and creating a district split on coverage for employee-drivers under employers' policies, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • Tips For Issuers Left In Lurch Without Genius Act Final Rules

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    The compliance runway envisioned by the Genius Act is steadily shrinking after regulators failed to finalize all the required implementing regulations by July 18, so stablecoin issuers should begin implementing "no-regrets" compliance measures and securing outside vendors before the law takes full effect in January, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Why Courts Are Pushing Back On Greenwashing Laws

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    Recent Fourth Circuit and California federal court decisions blocking state greenwashing statutes on First Amendment grounds reveal a tension at the heart of environmental marketing regulation — while states want clarity, courts aren't prepared to let legislatures flatly ban categories of truthful commercial speech, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What NYC Bridge Crash Signals About Micromobility Liability

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    A recent fatal crash between a cyclist and a man riding a high-powered electric scooter on New York City's Queensboro Bridge highlights how litigation over accidents involving micromobility devices may increasingly shift away from ordinary negligence and toward product liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • 3 Ways Tokenization Is Moving To Traditional Finance

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    Recent initiatives reflect efforts to integrate distributed ledger technology into existing regulatory frameworks for securities, banking and payments settlements while preserving the underlying rights and obligations of market participants, say attorneys at Hughes Hubbard.

  • At The Intersection Of Right-To-Repair Laws And IP Rights

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    Right-to-repair legislation passing through Congress highlights a broad tension between manufacturers' security measures and consumer autonomy, with important repercussions for the automotive industry's intellectual property rights, says Keith Noe at Lando & Anastasi. 

  • Opinion

    States Should Reconsider Forced PBM Divestiture Laws

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    State legislatures are attempting to enact policies intended to force pharmacy benefit managers to divest from pharmacies, but these laws would have the practical effect of reducing patient access and competition, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution in the process, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

  • HSR Deals Proceed More Steadily Than Narratives Suggest

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    The most recent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data show that transaction volume remained relatively stable, transaction values continued to increase and enforcement activity remained low, suggesting that enforcement rates have been relatively consistent across presidential administrations despite widely differing public rhetoric regarding merger enforcement, says Amanda Wait at Michael Best.

  • Assessing The Benefits Of Fla.'s Newest Business Structure

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    As of July 1, Florida business owners can create protected series LLCs to shield assets from liability while avoiding increased costs and wasted time, but burdensome recordkeeping obligations are crucial to maintaining the very protection that makes them attractive in the first place, says Gregory Ritter at Moritt Hock.

  • Key Post-Proposal Shifts Likely In CFPB Loss Mitigation Rule

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    Mortgage servicers, borrowers and consumer advocates should prepare for a likely narrowed version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's loss mitigation rule, which is likely to permit sequential reviews, defer to investor guidelines, extend compliance timelines and preempt conflicting state standards, say attorneys at Goodwin.

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