Public Policy

  • June 10, 2026

    One And Done? Patent Examiner Interviews Now Hard To Get

    In the months since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office changed how patent examiners are credited for applicant interviews, which can be the difference between prosecution stalemates and progress, attorneys say the interviews are getting harder to come by — and they've changed tactics as a result.

  • June 10, 2026

    Feds Immune From Atty's Suit Over Lake Debris Impalement

    A Washington federal judge has thrown out an attorney's lawsuit blaming the federal government after he was gravely injured when he jumped off a dock at a National Park Service campground and landed on wooden debris in Lake Chelan, concluding Tuesday the stick was natural and unknown to the government.

  • June 10, 2026

    Ariz. Judge Backs Homebuilders, Voids Water Surplus Rule

    An Arizona state judge has rejected a rule from state regulators requiring housing subdivision developers in the Phoenix area to arrange 25% more water than a project actually needs in order to win approvals, in a policy that a trade group argued amounted to a water tax.

  • June 10, 2026

    DOT Scrubs Disparate Impact From Discrimination Regs

    The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday eliminated disparate impact from its regulations governing discrimination, as part of the Trump administration's sweeping rejection of the theory of liability premised on seemingly neutral policies having discriminatory effects.

  • June 10, 2026

    Trump Picks Bank Exec, Ex-BigLaw Partner For CFPB Director

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday tapped former BigLaw partner Brian Johnson for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a move that comes as White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought's time as interim head of the agency approaches its expiration date.

  • June 10, 2026

    NJ High Court Says Nonprofit Hospital Gets Limited Immunity

    The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously concluded Wednesday that a nonprofit federally qualified health center isn't immune from a patient's negligence suit under a statute shielding nonprofits organized "exclusively" for charitable or educational purposes, reversing a lower court's finding to the contrary.

  • June 10, 2026

    4 Key Questions Surrounding US Forced Labor Tariff Rates

    New proposed U.S. tariffs meant to address goods tied to forced labor are likely to create new administrative burdens for importers, from new compliance hurdles domestically to the potential for retaliatory measures by trading partners on U.S. goods shipped abroad, attorneys told Law360.

  • June 10, 2026

    Union May Tap Surety For Unpaid Benefits, Mass. Court Says

    A labor union's benefits fund is entitled to pursue a claim against a general contractor's surety bond after two subcontractors failed to make contractually obligated contributions, the Massachusetts intermediate appellate court ruled Wednesday in reversing a lower court.

  • June 10, 2026

    DC Circ. Asked To Freeze DOJ's Medical Pot Rescheduling

    A trade association for drug-testing companies and a biopharma firm developing marijuana-derived drugs have urged the D.C. Circuit to hit pause on a U.S. Department of Justice rule rescheduling state-sanctioned medical pot while their challenge to the policy change plays out.

  • June 10, 2026

    NC GOP Official Accused Of Duping Lenders, Hiding Assets

    A lender accused a North Carolina Republican Party official and furniture heir in federal court on Tuesday of using his family name and its political legacy to influence him into lending over $6.2 million only to let payments fall months in arrears while hiding assets in his father's trust.

  • June 10, 2026

    EU, African Countries Reach First-Of-Its-Kind Trade Deal

    The European Union and four African countries have reached a deal on the bloc's first free trade agreement with sub-Saharan African nations in the hopes of mutual economic benefits, the European Commission said Wednesday.

  • June 10, 2026

    Calif., Others Sue Ed Dept. Over Special Education Grant Cuts

    California and other states sued the U.S. Department of Education in federal court Tuesday alleging it canceled special education service grants supporting students with disabilities for "political reasons," and rejected their applications for using "equity-related language" that comply with the General Education Provisions Act requiring proposals to ensure equitable access.

  • June 10, 2026

    Use 'Great Care' In Covered List Changes, Rural ISPs Tell FCC

    Rural internet service providers want the Federal Communications Commission to make sure only companies posing known risks are barred from interconnecting high-speed networks as the FCC looks to expand a national security program.

  • June 10, 2026

    CFTC Plans To OK Sports Betting On Prediction Markets

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed a rule Wednesday that could govern the way the agency oversees the prediction markets, indicating that trading platforms will be allowed to continue accepting bets on the outcome of professional and college-level sports.

  • June 10, 2026

    Transcripts Show Missteps, Tension In ICE Protest Grand Jury

    Newly unsealed grand jury transcripts reveal jurors repeatedly challenged Illinois federal prosecutors' push for the indictment of protesters accused of impeding a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent's vehicle, with one juror calling the case "a crock of shit" and others questioning if a felony conspiracy charge was a stretch.

  • June 10, 2026

    Judicial Noms Say Biden Won, But Critics Fault Their Caveats

    Three district court nominees on Wednesday said President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, a departure from other judicial nominees in the second Trump administration, but court watchers on the left took issue with how they couched those statements.

  • June 10, 2026

    IP Notebook: Cox's Reach, 'Top Gun' Appeal, 'Lazy' Videos

    This round of Law360's review of emerging copyright and trademark issues looks at the ripple effects from the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on secondary copyright liability and highlights looming high court bids over "Top Gun" and Roberto Clemente's likeness on commemorative license plates.

  • June 10, 2026

    Ga. Federal Judge Faces 2nd Set Of Impeachment Articles

    A Georgia congressman has filed articles of impeachment against a federal judge who was reprimanded for having sex with a police officer in her Atlanta chambers within earshot of staff, the second lawmaker this week to do so. 

  • June 10, 2026

    9th Circ. Grants Family Stay On Removal Amid Policy Conflict

    A divided Ninth Circuit en banc panel has issued a stay protecting a Peruvian family from deportation amid their appeal of a removal order, finding that further en banc briefing and oral argument made clear that such relief is warranted.

  • June 10, 2026

    Debt Co. Says Conn. Can't 'Second Guess' Law Firm Work

    An Illinois servicing company for a debt adjustment law firm has filed a new challenge to the Connecticut Department of Banking's attempts to regulate its conduct, asking a state judge to block an enforcement action seeking $100,000 for each alleged violation of state licensing rules.

  • June 10, 2026

    Mass. Town Sues Over Affordable Housing Plan

    A Boston suburb is challenging the state's designation of 45 acres of land on a college campus as surplus to make way for a 180-unit housing development, saying the 2-year-old law allowing the plan is being misapplied.

  • June 10, 2026

    Warren Asks SEC To Delay SpaceX IPO Over 'Troubling' Risks

    U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to delay SpaceX's anticipated $75 billion initial public offering until steps are taken to protect investors and market integrity, expressing concerns that the company's books contain "troubling gaps," and the IPO poses "unique and precedent-setting" risk.

  • June 10, 2026

    Pa. Country Clubs' Dues Are Tax-Exempt, Panel Affirms

    A Pennsylvania township's business privilege tax cannot apply to the dues, fees and assessments collected by two country clubs because the tax can apply only to for-profit businesses, a panel for the Commonwealth Court ruled Wednesday.

  • June 10, 2026

    Former Sen. Tim Scott Staffer Joins K&L Gates In DC

    A former committee staff director for U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., has been hired at K&L Gates LLP, the firm announced Wednesday, following her time as a senior vice president with a bipartisan government relations and lobbying firm.

  • June 10, 2026

    DOJ Says Student Borrowers' Suit Is Moot After Rule's Vacatur

    The Trump administration is urging a D.C. federal judge to toss a lawsuit seeking to revive the Biden-era SAVE student loan repayment rule, arguing that the case is moot because there is no rule left to enforce after the Eighth Circuit ordered the plan vacated in March.

Expert Analysis

  • Unpacking The Take It Down Act's Compliance Ambiguities

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    The Federal Trade Commission’s recent guidance concerning the Take It Down Act suggests that covered platforms should build removal systems immediately and prioritize compliance, but until courts or regulators provide additional clarity, companies will be navigating a statutory framework that is urgent and uncertain, says Laura-Kate Bernstein at ZwillGen.

  • Protecting AI-Driven Innovation In Life Sciences IP

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    Recent developments, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's evolving inventorship standards, and the impact of artificial intelligence on the "person of ordinary skill in the art" standard demand that life sciences companies elevate AI patent strategy to a top priority, says Sandra Haberny at Quinn Emanuel.

  • NY's UCC Updates Spell Change In Digital Asset Lending

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    Given the state’s role as a preferred jurisdiction for financing transactions, New York’s recent enactment of Uniform Commercial Code amendments, which establish control as a central concept for determining who has rights to a digital asset, will encourage nationwide growth toward a more technology-neutral approach to secured transactions, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • How Trump's Nuclear EO Has Transformed The NRC

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    In the year since President Donald Trump issued Executive Order No. 14300, directing sweeping reforms of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency has revised key oversight programs and proposed major rulemakings and new licensing frameworks — but the NRC must continue to center transparency and trust as key values, says Brooke Clark at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Agentic AI And Securities Law: Steps Congress Should Take

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    Agentic artificial technology doesn't fit comfortably into the existing securities regulatory landscape, so Congress should avoid repeating the mistakes that led to the legal uncertainty crypto companies and investors have faced over the past decade-plus by providing a legislative framework before AI fully matures, says Joseph A. Hall at Davis Polk.

  • Weighing Trade-Offs Of SEC's Semiannual Reporting Proposal

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    Though public companies could benefit from a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposal that would allow them to file earnings reports just twice a year, widespread adoption could also increase market volatility, complicate capital raising and fragment disclosure standards to the detriment of issuers and investors, say attorneys at Seward & Kissel.

  • High Court's Hikma Decision Reshapes 'Skinny Label' Suits

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hikma v. Amarin marks a significant victory for generic drug manufacturers, but rather than putting an end to so-called skinny label inducement claims, it narrows and refocuses them, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Virginia's Cannabis Retail Veto Leaves Industry In Legal Limbo

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    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's recent veto of legislation that would have established a regulated retail cannabis framework halts momentum built by the General Assembly, but it also sends important signals about what a future regulatory framework must address to survive, says Charles Slemp at Cozen.

  • Opinion

    At High Court, Oil Cos.' Suncor Preemption Claims Fall Short

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    In Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, oil and gas companies argue that municipalities' climate deception claims are equivalent to emissions standards for their industry — but the suit is ultimately incapable of imposing such standards, say Thomas McGarity at the University of Texas School of Law and James Goodwin at the Center for Progressive Reform.

  • What Colorado AI Law's Major Rewrite Means For Employers

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    Colorado's landmark law regulating employers' use of artificial intelligence tools was recently replaced with a narrower regime that eliminates many burdensome obligations, but still imposes a host of requirements focused on transparency and accountability, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Operational AI Washing: The Next Frontier Of Fiduciary Risk

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    While there are still no final Delaware decisions applying Caremark specifically to artificial intelligence governance failures, previous case law provides a blueprint, so the question for boards is whether their governance architectures will satisfy Caremark when the first cases are decided, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • A Look At The Court's Next Steps In Live Nation Antitrust Case

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    Following a recent jury verdict that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as a monopoly to fix ticket prices, a New York federal court stands to weigh Live Nation's bid for a new trial, approve the U.S. Department of Justice's March settlement with the defendants, and impose remedies that include full structural separation, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • How Crypto Firms Can Prep As Clarity Act Inches Toward Law

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    Though the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act’s road to enactment remains uncertain, the statutory framework for regulating digital commodities recently advanced by the Senate Banking Committee is now sufficiently developed that market participants can begin preparing in several areas where the complicated legislation would affect them, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Checking For AI Errors Is Now A Two-Way Street

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    A handful of recent federal and state cases demonstrate the importance of checking for errors generated by artificial intelligence not only in your own court submissions, but also your opponent's, as well as when catching opposing counsel's AI mistakes could result in an award for attorney fees, says Tamara Barago at Hollingsworth.

  • Opinion

    SEC Enforcement Reforms Must Address Post-Wells Limbo

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent changes to how it notifies companies of a potential enforcement action fail to address what happens after the Wells process is over, highlighting the need for meaningful process reform that includes a formal closure determination, says Kimble Cannon at Mahdavi Bacon.

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