Public Policy

  • June 04, 2026

    Atkore Inks Additional $50M Deal In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row

    Atkore Inc. has reached another settlement in litigation claiming it conspired with other polyvinyl chloride pipe producers to fix prices, this time agreeing to pay $50 million to a class of end-user plaintiffs, according to a motion for preliminary approval of the deal filed Thursday in Illinois federal court.

  • June 04, 2026

    Jersey City Drops Suit Over Cops' Off-Duty Pot Use

    Jersey City dropped its federal lawsuit that sought to terminate police officers who used recreational marijuana while off duty after a New Jersey appeals court affirmed the officers' reinstatement, ruling that there was no conflict between federal firearm restrictions for drug users and state law.

  • June 04, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs FMCSA Block On Calif. Bus Driver Break Rules

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday validated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's conclusion that national hours-of-service regulations trump California's meal and rest break rules for bus drivers, saying the agency was justified in finding that the Golden State rules strain interstate commerce.

  • June 04, 2026

    OCC's Gould Defends Trump EO On Immigrant Bank Scrutiny

    Republican tensions over President Donald Trump's recent order for greater immigration-related customer scrutiny at banks were on view Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives as one top regulator told a GOP lawmaker that her concerns about its industry impact were "overblown."

  • June 04, 2026

    Ex-FirstEnergy Execs Face New Bribery Charges After Mistrial

    An Ohio grand jury hit two former FirstEnergy executives Wednesday with a fresh round of corruption charges alleging they bribed a utility regulator to secure a controversial $1.3 billion bailout for two FirstEnergy nuclear plants, beefing up accusations against the executives after a jury deadlocked on the initial charges.

  • June 04, 2026

    DOJ Says Meta And Others Froze $3.8M Tied To Crypto Fraud

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced that private sector corporations, including Meta Platforms Inc. and Google LLC, voluntarily froze over $3.8 million in stolen cryptocurrency during an event known as "Disruption Week."

  • June 04, 2026

    Feds Tout Medicaid Fraud Crackdown In Ohio, Slam Hawaii

    The Trump administration on Thursday praised Ohio's fight against Medicaid fraud and said Hawaii was doing too little, as federal officials pushed states to ramp up anti-fraud prosecutions or risk the loss of federal funding.

  • June 04, 2026

    Bolton To Plead Guilty In Classified Info Case

    Former National Security Advisor John Bolton will plead guilty to charges that he illegally retained classified national defense information.

  • June 04, 2026

    Interior Dept. Must Face Suit Over National Park Sign Removal

    Conservation groups have standing to challenge the removal of information about climate change, slavery and Indigenous history from national park sites and can proceed with their lawsuit, a Massachusetts federal judge said Thursday.

  • June 04, 2026

    Legislative Update: Cannabis And Psychedelics Bill Roundup

    New York lawmakers gave final approval to legislation designed to curb the flow of illicit product into the state's cannabis market; Iowa's governor signed into law a bill to double the number of licensed medical cannabis dispensaries; and Louisiana legislation allowing terminally ill patients to access medical marijuana became law. Here are the major moves in cannabis and psychedelics legislation from the past week.

  • June 04, 2026

    USPTO Mulling Certain Patent Apps After 'Atypical' Case

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is asking why it should keep reviewing patent applications that would not end up giving their owners rights to assert against alleged infringers, following a Federal Circuit decision in what the appellate court called an "atypical" appeal.

  • June 04, 2026

    NTIA Chief Presses To Close 'Gap' In Gov't Spectrum Fund

    The head of the U.S. Department of Commerce agency that manages federal spectrum pushed Thursday to change a legal provision that could delay the transfer of government-held airwaves to the private sector.

  • June 04, 2026

    NC Justices Launch Commission To Tackle Legal Deserts

    Forty-eight of North Carolina's 100 counties are classified as legal deserts, and a commission established by the state's supreme court will aim to address this dearth of attorneys at a meeting Friday, the North Carolina Judicial Branch said.

  • June 04, 2026

    5th Circ. Prods Feds On Controversy In Texas Dream Act Suit

    A Fifth Circuit panel pressed Texas and the federal government to explain where the controversy existed in a suit seeking to end a state law allowing in-state tuition for unauthorized immigrants, saying Thursday the parties "desired the same result."

  • June 04, 2026

    Compass Under Antitrust Probe After $1.6B Anywhere Deal

    New York state has launched an antitrust investigation into Compass Inc. after the country's biggest real estate brokerage announced last year that it would acquire Anywhere Real Estate, the second-largest brokerage, in a $1.6 billion deal.

  • June 04, 2026

    Ex-Newark Deputy Mayor Gets Prison In Bribery Scheme

    A former Newark deputy mayor was sentenced to just over a year in prison in New Jersey federal court for accepting cash and luxury gifts from two real estate developers involved in redevelopment projects for city-owned properties.

  • June 04, 2026

    Calif. And Santa Barbara Beat Land Use Challenge, For Now

    A California federal judge dismissed, for now, a lawsuit by a developer seeking to build a multifamily housing project near Santa Barbara's Old Mission over a new state law that allegedly singled out the project for additional environmental review, while acknowledging Tuesday there are "serious constitutional questions raised here."

  • June 04, 2026

    Cities, Doctors' Group Seek Bar On ACA Marketplace Reforms

    Several cities and groups representing doctors and small businesses urged a Maryland federal court to strike down recently finalized Affordable Care Act marketplace reforms, arguing they will strain community resources by increasing the population of underinsured and uninsured Americans.

  • June 04, 2026

    Colorado Enacts PPE, Meat Plant Worker Protections

    Colorado workers will no longer have to foot the bill for their own personal protective equipment under a new state law that also guarantees restroom breaks for meat processing workers.

  • June 04, 2026

    Feds Appeal Trade Court's Emergency Tariff Refund Order

    The federal government has appealed the U.S. Court of International Trade's order requiring refunds on all duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after the U.S. Supreme Court struck them down this year, according to filings in the trade court and Federal Circuit.

  • June 04, 2026

    Pot Business Tells 6th Circ. Mich. City Defied Court Order

    The clerk of a Michigan city intentionally sabotaged a plan to revitalize a deserted shopping center to prevent cannabis businesses from operating there, a real estate company told a Sixth Circuit panel Thursday in hopes of reviving its suit over the delays and setbacks.

  • June 04, 2026

    DHS Wants Some Migrants To Show Need For Work Permits

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday proposed rolling back work authorization for noncitizens paroled into the country, along with recipients of deferred action and those with final removal orders released on orders of supervision.

  • June 04, 2026

    Texas AG Says ActBlue 'Fraud' Outweighs Free-Speech Concern

    Counsel for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urged a skeptical Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday not to block an enforcement action against Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, arguing any "incidental" infringement of the group's First Amendment rights is outweighed by alleged evidence that it violated a Texas consumer protection law.

  • June 04, 2026

    Yurok Tribe Sues California City Over Sacred Land Authority

    The Yurok Tribe is asking a California district court to block the city of Trinidad from asserting jurisdiction over matters affecting an Indigenous village site, arguing that the city exceeded its authority in appointing another tribe to oversee its protection.

  • June 04, 2026

    Georgia Fed. Judge Facing Impeachment Threat, New DQ Bid

    A Georgia federal judge reportedly disciplined for having sexual intercourse in her chambers and attending a political event is facing renewed pressure, as a former UPS employee seeks her disqualification from his dismissed racial discrimination lawsuit and a Georgia congressman drafts articles of impeachment to remove her from the bench.

Expert Analysis

  • CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

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    It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • Rebuttal

    FTC Case Reinforces Established Price Discrimination Rules

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    Far from redefining price discrimination, as contended by a recent Law360 guest article, the Federal Trade Commission's suit against Southern Glazer's falls squarely within the historical interpretation of the Robinson-Patman Act, says retired attorney Irving Scher.

  • Prepping For White House's Proposed AI Framework

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    The artificial intelligence legislative framework issued by the White House last month reframes the policy landscape, creating a number of near-term developments for companies to track as congressional committees attempt to convert the framework into legislative text, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Defense Contractor Tips For Commercial Solutions Openings

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    Defense contractors interested in participating in the Army’s recently announced commercial solutions opening should familiarize themselves with the process, which promotes flexibility but requires prudence in preparing proposals, negotiating award terms, and crafting supporting documents such as teaming agreements and subcontracts, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Apple Discovery Fight Could Revive DOJ's Antitrust Appetite

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    Winning discovery disputes in the ongoing federal antitrust litigation over Apple’s app store practices is a huge opportunity for the Justice Department to return to its once-vigorous pursuit of product tying by tech monopolies, catch up with foreign competition regulators and establish clear standards for digital markets, says Ediberto Roman at Florida International University.

  • 5 Takeaways From Capital Proposals For Community Banks

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    While much commentary has centered on how federal regulators' proposed capital overhaul would affect the biggest banks, there are several aspects that regional and community institutions should note too, including the potential benefits of the expanded risk-based approach and reduced capital requirements for mortgage origination, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

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    Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

  • EPA's Retreat On GHGs Reshapes Preemption Debate

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    In the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its finding that it can regulate climate-threatening greenhouse gases, states are poised to step up their own GHG regulation — but the EPA's new framework creates substantial uncertainty over the extent of federal preemption, say attorneys at Holland & Hart.

  • The Federal Circuit's Evolving View Of Trade Secrets

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    In recent years, the Federal Circuit's approach to defining "readily ascertainable" information and determining sufficiency of trade secret identification has shifted, trending away from other circuits and potentially presenting a higher bar for trade secrets plaintiffs, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Trump Order Signals Tougher Benefits Fraud Probes

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    A recent order from President Donald Trump establishing a federal taskforce for addressing fraud in federally funded benefit programs emphasizes interagency information sharing, potentially affecting a broad range of areas including government contracts, administrative law considerations and False Claims Act cases, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Justices' Review Of Guam Case Will Mean For Permitting

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    In U.S. Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan, the U.S. Supreme Court will address whether a federal agency's permit application is a final decision that courts can review — a question whose answer could reshape the timing and strategy of environmental litigation across the federal permitting landscape, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Calculating Damages In IEEPA Tariff Refund Litigation

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    To calculate damages in the spate of refund litigation triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision invalidating tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the central question will be how to determine where in the supply chain their economic burden ultimately came to rest, say analysts at Charles River Associates.

  • Mortgage EO Casts Wide Net In Push To Ease Lending Rules

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    A recent executive order targeting mortgage credit access states an intent to promote competition among all types of lenders and is notable for its breadth, resetting regulatory expectations in a number of areas including origination, digitization and licensing, says Kara Ward at Baker Donelson.

  • Opinion

    Futures Market Anonymity Now Presents A Structural Problem

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    Following anomalous trading on prediction markets just before major recent policy announcements from the Trump administration, many have called on Congress to act, but the problem is not primarily a statutory gap — it is a structural one, built into the self-regulatory model that governs futures exchanges, says Tamara de Silva at De Silva Law Offices.

  • How Calif. Safety Worker Pension Bill Could Cost Employers

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    Public employers should carefully consider how pension costs and bargaining concerns could change under a California Legislature bill that would increase retirement benefits for safety employees like police and firefighters, which could erode previous efforts to fully fund the public retirement system without necessarily improving worker retention, says Michael Youril at Liebert Cassidy.

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