Public Policy

  • July 16, 2026

    Texas Judge Warns BNSF, Unions Against Tactical Litigation

    A Texas federal judge had stern words for both BNSF Railway Co. and two unions that are tangled in a labor dispute with the company, saying in a Thursday hearing that federal district courts do not exist to "provide leverage" in union negotiations.

  • July 16, 2026

    Calif. Says AT&T Mustn't Make Move From Copper 'Disorderly'

    The California Public Utilities Commission has told AT&T that it's not pleased to hear that the cost of certain copper services has gone up "exponentially" as the state and the mobile behemoth duke it out in federal court and at the Federal Communications Commission over AT&T's desire to end legacy copper service.

  • July 16, 2026

    Dish Freed From 5G Network Commitment

    A D.C. federal judge has signed off on the U.S. Department of Justice's request that Dish be freed from its commitment to build and run a nationwide 5G network following its sale of $40 billion worth of spectrum licenses to AT&T and SpaceX.

  • July 16, 2026

    Tillis Might Back Blanche, As AG Pick Met Epstein Survivors

    Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday afternoon met with a group of survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said his condition for supporting Blanche's appointment to the permanent position was for the nominee to speak to them face-to-face.

  • July 16, 2026

    Colorado County Housing Fee Upheld On Appeal

    A Colorado mountain community's housing impact fee methodology for residential homes survived a challenge from a Texas property developer attempting to overturn a roughly $250,000 permit fee for an 11,300-square-foot home after the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the fee complies with state law.

  • July 16, 2026

    Mich. Renews Enbridge Line 5 Permit, Tribes Vow Fight

    Michigan environmental regulators reissued key state permits for Enbridge Energy's proposed Great Lakes Tunnel project, allowing the company to continue pursuing approvals needed to replace the aging Line 5 pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac, while tribal leaders and environmental groups vowed to challenge the decision.

  • July 16, 2026

    SEC Proposes Making E-Delivery Default For Investor Docs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday proposed a new rule that would allow electronic delivery to be the default method for sending investors disclosures, shareholder reports, proxy statements and other information, replacing a standard by which many documents are delivered in paper format unless the recipient chooses otherwise.

  • July 16, 2026

    Gov't To Revive Digital Equity Grants, Minus Race, Judge Says

    The Trump administration is going to reinstate the Digital Equity Act Competition Grant Program, minus the provisions that require the government to consider race, a D.C. federal judge has said in an opinion striking down part of the law as unconstitutional.

  • July 16, 2026

    Republicans Call For Warnings On Shows With Trans Content

    Almost 50 House Republicans have come together to let the Federal Communications Commission know they're in "strong support" of the agency's inquiry into whether it should update the TV rating system to warn people when a program may include transgender or nonbinary characters.

  • July 16, 2026

    Noncitizens Awaiting U Visas Not Entitled To Leave, Reenter

    The Eleventh Circuit said noncitizens who were victims of the Parkland high school shooting, and their families, are not entitled to leave and reenter the country while awaiting their special visas for assisting law enforcement in investigating the crime.

  • July 16, 2026

    DEA Judge Lays Out Next Steps Following End Of Pot Hearing

    A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge has laid out upcoming deadlines following the conclusion of hearings on a proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

  • July 16, 2026

    FERC Pushes Reliability Standards For Data Centers

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday pressed for the continued development of reliability standards for power-hungry data centers and other computational loads, and ordered two western grid operators to report on coordination efforts at the seams of their operations.

  • July 16, 2026

    5th Circ. Upholds Gun Ban Against Domestic Abuser

    The Fifth Circuit ruled that a man convicted of domestic violence cannot have his right to own a firearm restored despite the U.S. Supreme Court's expansion of gun rights in recent years, and that Congress did not exceed its constitutional authority by limiting his Second Amendment rights.

  • July 16, 2026

    AG Fines, Not Damages Allowed After RealPage Renter Deals

    The attorneys general of D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington can seek civil fines and injunctive relief against RealPage Inc. and landlords for fixing rent prices, but claims on behalf of their residents are barred by deals made with private plaintiffs, a Tennessee federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • July 16, 2026

    Calif. Tells 9th Circ. AI Disclosure Law Helps Consumers

    The state of California has pressed the Ninth Circuit to affirm a district court's decision denying xAI's injunction request against a state law requiring artificial intelligence companies to disclose what's included in training their models, saying the law advanced "an important governmental interest" in providing transparency to the public.

  • July 16, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Revives Commerce's Korean Steel Duty Findings

    The U.S. Department of Commerce can adjust its countervailable duty rate for a South Korean steel manufacturer by reconsidering earlier determinations, a Federal Circuit panel said Thursday, reversing a trade court ruling that made the department stick with its older findings.

  • July 16, 2026

    Wyden Urges Admin To Protect US From Canadian Spy Law

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged the Trump administration Thursday to protect national security and American citizens from a proposed backdoor surveillance bill from Canada.

  • July 16, 2026

    DHS Finalizes Fixed Admission Terms For Foreign Students

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule on Thursday limiting foreign students' admission for academic and exchange visitor programs and replacing a policy that had allowed them to stay in the U.S. for the duration of their studies.

  • July 16, 2026

    Reps. Dingell, Clarke Push Menopause Workplace Bias Bill

    A pair of House Democrats have introduced a bill that would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers experiencing menopause-related symptoms, creating explicit federal workplace protections for a condition that supporters say is not directly addressed under current law.

  • July 16, 2026

    Senate Democrats Revive Bill To End Federal Marijuana Ban

    Senate Democrats on Thursday once again reintroduced a cannabis legalization bill that would remove the drug entirely from the ambit of the Controlled Substances Act and impose a tax-and-regulate scheme akin to what is currently in place for alcohol and tobacco.

  • July 16, 2026

    Swedbank To Pay $50M Fine In Panama Papers-Linked Case

    Swedbank AB and its New York branch have agreed to pay a $50 million civil penalty to the New York State Department of Financial Services to resolve claims that the bank failed to fully cooperate with department requests for information related to Swedbank's relationships with Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of the 2016 Panama Papers leak.

  • July 16, 2026

    Walgreens Sues Mass. Medicaid Program Over Drug Rates

    Walgreens says administrators of the Massachusetts Medicaid program cannot rely on drug prices negotiated with pharmacy benefit managers to determine reimbursement rates, in a challenge to the state's effort to claw back $242,000 in alleged overpayments.

  • July 16, 2026

    $200B Swipe Fee Deal Merits $206M For Attys, Merchants Say

    Merchants who secured a $200 billion settlement over Visa and Mastercard swipe fees asked a New York federal court Wednesday to approve $206 million in attorney fees and costs, saying: "The result achieved here did not come easily and was far from certain."

  • July 16, 2026

    Senate Confirms Trump's ITC Commissioner Picks

    The U.S. Senate confirmed five nominees to become commissioners for the U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday.

  • July 16, 2026

    Biggest Sports & Betting Deals To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2026

    The year so far has seen increased private equity investment in pro teams and college sports, U.S. pro soccer's plans to capitalize on the World Cup and the Chicago Bears' hunt for a new host city. Here, Law360 highlights the most significant sports deals to watch for the remainder of 2026.

Expert Analysis

  • Binance Win Shows Constraints On Anti-Terrorism Act Claims

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    The Southern District of New York's recent ruling in Troell v. Binance illustrates that the Second Circuit's earlier decision in Ashley v. Deutsche Bank is holding weight with courts, and companies facing aiding and abetting risk should thus monitor evolving case law and assess exposure based on nexus allegations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Understanding The Insider Trading Gap In Prediction Markets

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    While the first-ever insider trading indictment involving a prediction market — the recent prosecution of a service member involved in the capture of Nicolás Maduro — comprised extreme facts and straightforward legal theories, future cases will test the bounds of insider trading law, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Accelerated Psychedelic Therapy Pathways Require Caution

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    President Donald Trump's new executive order aiming to accelerate the approval of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental health disorders will likely bolster investigational psychedelic therapies, but parties within the psychedelic product supply chain will still need to prepare for potentially burdensome compliance requirements, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • The Growing Importance Of Nature-Related Disclosures

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    The International Sustainability Standards Board's recent vote to develop nonmandatory nature‑related disclosure guidance reduces immediate compliance pressure, but it does not eliminate the practical relevance of such risks for companies that already prepare sustainability reports or operate across jurisdictions with differing expectations, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Rightsizing Regulation To Usher In Next-Generation Nuclear

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    Next-generation nuclear seems to be having its moment as a recent flurry of Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemaking aims to fast-track the licensing and deployment of such technologies, says Hilary Jacobs at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Live Nation Shows States, Experts Key To Antitrust Verdicts

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    A New York federal jury's recent finding that Live Nation unlawfully monopolized primary ticketing services and amphitheaters demonstrates that states will not defer to federal agencies when they believe anticompetitive conduct warrants stronger action and highlights the vital role of economic expert testimony in antitrust cases, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Expect US Enforcers' Cartel Crackdown To Continue

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    Since agencies’ coordinated enforcement efforts targeting cartel-related activity have not slowed, U.S. companies in Latin America should assess new business lines for designated-cartel ties, scrutinize highest-risk third parties, and enhance training and internal investigation practices, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How To Limit Accounting Fraud Risk As SEC Focus Persists

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    Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pullback on crypto, cybersecurity and recordkeeping cases, accounting fraud remains a core enforcement priority, making it important for public companies and auditors to strengthen controls, investigations and whistleblower processes, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • OCC Proposal Frames Key Genius Act Implementation Issues

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently proposed rule under the Genius Act previews federal expectations on permissible activities for stablecoin issuers, offering an early guide to potential compliance burdens and state-federal equivalency debates as the stablecoin regulatory regime continues to take shape, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • FCC Rule Changes Could Accelerate The Space Economy

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    A series of recently proposed Federal Communications Commission rulemakings that would expand opportunities for commercial space and satellite operations signal a regulatory shift toward greater flexibility, faster processing and more deliberate spectrum planning for space-adjacent and emergent space activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 9th Circ.'s Silence Prolongs Uncertainty On Cemex Framework

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    By affirming a bargaining order in Cemex Construction Materials v. National Labor Relations Board without opining on the NLRB’s 2023 expansion of its authority to issue such orders, the Ninth Circuit avoided direct conflict with the Sixth Circuit’s rejection of the same framework, prolonging uncertainty for employers facing union elections, say attorneys at Dinsmore & Shohl.

  • Arguments Show Justices Vacillating On Geofence Warrants

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    Questions and statements by the justices during recent oral arguments in Chatrie v. U.S., probing the Fourth Amendment limits of geofence warrants, revealed a Supreme Court that is skeptical of the government’s most sweeping claims, uncomfortable with the petitioner’s broadest theories and searching for a narrow off-ramp, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Surveying The CFTC Campaign To Control Prediction Markets

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is simultaneously asserting exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and signaling aggressive enforcement within them, a combination that will reshape the regulatory landscape for event contract platforms — pending the outcome of several court cases throughout the country and a likely circuit split, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

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