Public Policy

  • May 15, 2026

    Spokane Firefighters Denied Early Win In Vax Exemption Suit

    A federal court refused Friday to hand a quick win to a group of firefighters who said the city of Spokane, Washington, refused to accommodate their religious objections to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling they hadn't provided enough information about their beliefs.

  • May 15, 2026

    Groups Drop CFPB Suit Over Stalled Biden-Era Small-Biz Rule

    Consumer-aligned groups that sued to force the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to implement its Biden-era reporting requirements for small-business lenders have voluntarily dropped their case, according to a Friday federal court filing.

  • May 15, 2026

    MLB's Rays, Local Officials Reach $2.3B Ballpark Framework

    Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, along with city and county officials, announced Friday that they've reached the basics of a $2.3 billion deal using public and private money to pay for a new ballpark for the team.

  • May 15, 2026

    IRS Asks Fed. Circ. To Overturn COVID-Era Deadline Ruling

    The IRS announced Friday that it will ask the Federal Circuit to overturn a claims court decision allowing a California business owner to recover penalties and interest he had tried to get refunded during the COVID-19 pandemic, challenging an interpretation that offered potential relief for others. 

  • May 15, 2026

    Lawmakers Decry USDA Plan To End Roadless Forest Rule

    Federal Democratic lawmakers are backing environmental and tribal advocacy groups' opposition to the Trump administration's plan to rescind the long-standing Roadless Area Conservation Rule, arguing the rollback will cause widespread harm to public lands, wildlife, frontline communities and regional economies.

  • May 15, 2026

    8 Questions For Rural Broadband Advocate Mike Romano

    Several developments in rural connectivity, from a cascade of federal grants to legislative efforts to shore up the Universal Service Fund, means a crowded plate for the NTCA's new boss, Mike Romano. Here, Law360 catches up with Romano to hear more about his plans as he settles into his role.

  • May 15, 2026

    Michigan Says DOE Lacked Crisis To Extend Coal Plant Life

    A D.C. Circuit panel attempted Friday to find the limit on the U.S. Department of Energy's emergency authority to keep power plants running without a regional utility's request, with Michigan arguing that no emergency existed to justify the federal government's orders to keep a Consumers Energy plant online.

  • May 15, 2026

    DOJ Says Grant Condition Stay Must Stop At 3 Programs

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Rhode Island federal judge that a stay blocking grant conditions tied to immigration status and diversity efforts should apply only to several programs and that a nonprofit coalition is improperly trying to expand its reach.

  • May 15, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revisit Wash. Professor Free Speech Ruling

    The Ninth Circuit won't revisit a decision saying the University of Washington violated a computer science professor's First Amendment rights after he voiced opposition to the school's policy that acknowledges Indigenous tribes as the traditional caretakers of the campus' land.

  • May 15, 2026

    Senators Seek Info From SBA On Tariff Loan Gap

    The top Democratic lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Finance and Senate Small Business committees asked the Small Business Administration for information regarding loans for companies seeking assistance following increased tariff costs, according to a letter made public Friday.

  • May 15, 2026

    Texas Justices Revive Anti-SLAPP Bid In Abortion Fund Suit

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday revived a woman's anti-SLAPP bid in an abortion fund's suit against her, holding that the suit was filed in response to the woman's earlier attempt to investigate the fund's deputy director for potential violations of state abortion law.

  • May 15, 2026

    6th Circ. Upholds $10M Verdict Against Detective In Brady Suit

    The Sixth Circuit has upheld a $10 million jury verdict for a Michigan man who spent more than six years in prison before prosecutors concluded he was not guilty of murder, ruling that a Detroit detective could not use the man's vacated conviction to block his civil rights suit.

  • May 15, 2026

    Bankers Group Backs Stricter Robocalls Regs

    The American Bankers Association is backing a Federal Communications Commission effort to ensure that companies routing outgoing robocalls know that the communications are legitimate.

  • May 15, 2026

    Judge Blocks Part Of Texas Migrant Arrest Law Once More

    A Texas federal judge blocked key provisions of a state law criminalizing unauthorized entry or reentry of noncitizens into the state Thursday, ruling for the second time in less than three years that the legislation likely intrudes on an area of law controlled by the federal government.

  • May 15, 2026

    Sherwin-Williams Hit With Nuisance Suit Over Pa. Paint Plant

    Sherwin-Williams has been hit with proposed class claims in Pennsylvania federal court alleging noxious odors have been spewing out of one of its western Pennsylvania manufacturing plants, causing nuisance to nearby residents.

  • May 15, 2026

    Buddhists' Fla. Temple Suit Is Moot, Army Corps Says

    The Army Corps of Engineers asked a Florida federal court Friday to either pause or dismiss Buddhists' lawsuit alleging environmental and religious violations, arguing that an Everglades restoration project surrounding a temple was paused because of funding reallocation and because relief isn't possible since some construction was already completed.

  • May 15, 2026

    Trade Probes Likely To Be Strong Bulwark For Trump's Tariffs

    President Donald Trump will likely deploy new tariffs this summer across numerous countries under a law that provides the federal government with its strongest legal footing yet in federal court for a global tariff regime.

  • May 15, 2026

    New Jersey AG Traces Her Path To Public Service

    New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport talked shop at the State Bar Association's annual meeting, dishing on what it was like to get the call to be the state's top law enforcement officer, how her time as general counsel for a public utility informs her new role and what it's like to be both friend and foe to the federal government. The Cape May County native also revealed her favorite diner.

  • May 15, 2026

    Detroit Says Robinhood Sports Contracts Imperil Its Economy

    The city of Detroit has urged a Michigan federal court to deny Robinhood Derivatives LLC's bid to block the state from enforcing its state gaming laws, arguing the company's sports-related event contracts threaten Detroit's tax revenue and local economy.

  • May 15, 2026

    Va. Resentencing Law Provides Relief To Cannabis Offenders

    The governor of Virginia signed a bill Friday enacting resentencing legislation that will allow people who are serving sentences for marijuana-related convictions to seek reductions for conduct that, since 2021, wasn't a chargeable offense in the state, her office said.

  • May 15, 2026

    4 Key Takeaways From SEC's Semiannual Reporting Proposal

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently put forth a plan that could allow publicly traded companies to move from a quarterly to a semiannual reporting schedule, but whether they choose to do so and how that could impact both the growth of the public markets and insider-trading plans for corporate leaders remains up for debate.

  • May 15, 2026

    Renters Seek Approval For $218M In RealPage Landlord Deals

    A class of renters asked a Tennessee federal court to preliminarily approve more than $218 million worth of settlements that aim to resolve antitrust claims against a group of multifamily landlords accused of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s technology for rent price-fixing.

  • May 15, 2026

    Girardi Trial Judge Josephine Staton To Take Senior Status

    The California federal judge who sentenced disgraced trial attorney Tom Girardi to prison for wire fraud last year has announced that she'll be taking senior status in the fall, allowing President Donald Trump to appoint her successor.

  • May 15, 2026

    EEOC Poised To Scuttle EEO-1 Reporting Requirement

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is close to ending its annual collection of workplace demographic data now that a proposed rule that would rescind employers' reporting requirements has been sent to the White House for approval.

  • May 14, 2026

    'Who's Telling The Truth?' Musk-OpenAI Fight Goes To Jury

    Elon Musk's counsel urged a California federal jury during trial closings Thursday to find OpenAI breached its charitable trust aided by Microsoft Corp. and slammed OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's credibility, while OpenAI's counsel argued Musk is trying to attack his competitor and urged jurors to ask themselves, "Who's telling the truth?"

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • Rebuttal

    Pro Codes Act Does Not Pose Constitutional Concerns

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    A recent Law360 guest article that raises constitutional alarms concerning the proposed Pro Codes Act, under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives, overstates the potential harm to standards development organizations and mischaracterizes existing law, says James Gourley at Carstens Allen.

  • High Court's Cox Ruling Leaves ISP Copyright Rules Intact

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    Though some commentators predicted a cataclysmic impact from the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cox v. Sony, in actuality the decision correctly maintains the status quo for internet providers' copyright infringement liability, says Courtney Sarnow at CM Law.

  • FTC Focus: Ad Deal Signals Viewpoint Suppression Is A Risk

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent settlement of an antitrust case accusing major ad agency holding companies of colluding on brand safety standards underscores the risk of industry coordination on politically or socially sensitive issues and signals heightened viewpoint suppression scrutiny for companies and antitrust practitioners, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Navigating The Annulment Of NY Wetlands Permitting Rules

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    A New York state court's recent unprecedented annulment of the state's wetlands regulations brings uncertainty about the standards for determining and classifying wetlands jurisdiction and assessing compliance with permitting requirements as next steps are determined, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Banks Face Cloudy Rate Horizons As Opt-Outs Spread

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    Banks and fintechs are grappling with a fragmented, fast-changing consumer lending landscape as more states consider opting out of preemption under the Depository Institutions and Monetary Control Act, which may ultimately lead to a decrease in interstate lending and access to credit, says Marc Franson at Chapman and Cutler.

  • How Oregon Ruling Affects Federal Gender Care Crackdown

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    In a favorable development for healthcare providers, an Oregon federal court recently vacated certain U.S. Department of Health and Human Services restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, but the government's broader campaign against this care, including proposed rulemaking and agency investigations, leaves significant uncertainty, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • AI Data Center Boom May Spur Wave Of Toxic Tort Suits

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    Nascent litigation matters against data center operators, set against limited government regulation and a growing body of public health research, suggests we may be on the cusp of an era of mass toxic tort claims, with a liability framework firmly rooted in precedent from other industries, says Benjamin Heller at RFZ Law.

  • A Core Weakness In The Challenge To Birthright Citizenship

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    The government’s recent oral arguments against birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara would have the Supreme Court use modern immigration classifications as markers for a constitutional boundary that is not expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment, making the theory easier to administer but weaker as a matter of text and history, says attorney Tara Kennedy.

  • Bet On Prediction Market Regulation To Accelerate

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    Watershed developments concerning prediction markets — such as the first insider trading charges, major speeches from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission leadership, and the introduction of rulemaking and legislation — dominated the first quarter of 2026, a trend that will likely continue throughout the rest of the year, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Opinion

    Financial Meltdown Fears Don't Warrant Private Credit Regs

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    Recent withdrawals from business development companies have resurfaced theories that private credit growth poses a crisis-level risk to the financial system, but arguments that more regulation is needed should be viewed with beady and careful eyes, says James Deeken at Akin.

  • New Risks Emerge As States Push Proxy Voting Legislation

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    Recent state proxy voting laws have increasingly emphasized financial returns while intensifying scrutiny of proxy advisory firms and stewardship practices, creating new compliance challenges and risks, according to attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Suit's Dismissal Would Not Settle Gold Card Visa's Legality

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    The government’s recent assertion that the plaintiffs in American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security lack standing to challenge the Trump administration’s pay-to-play immigration program does not address whether an agency can deem a million-dollar gift evidence of eligibility for immigration benefits carefully defined by Congress, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • Enviro Ruling And A New Law Signal Shift In La. Legacy Cases

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    Together, a Louisiana state court decision in WMH Farms v. Apache Corp. and an incoming statutory regime signal a sea change for legacy litigation in Louisiana, as courts make it harder to establish proof of contamination, and lawmakers narrow available remedies once contamination is proven, says Philip Wood at Jones Walker.

  • DOJ's Stance On Antitrust And Patent Law Reflects Balance

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    Recent statements of interest in patent litigation and a speech from a key U.S. Department of Justice official communicate the view that strong patent rights and competition policy are complementary, and offer important guidance for intellectual property practitioners and businesses navigating patent enforcement, standard‑setting and licensing, say attorneys at Wiley.

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