Public Policy

  • May 20, 2026

    Go West: Ex-CFPB Chief Poised To Make Mark Next In Calif.

    Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra's next act in government is poised to unfold on a new stage in California, but financial firms will likely recognize the script. Watch this space, attorneys tell Law360.

  • May 20, 2026

    Va. Gov.'s Cannabis Bill Veto Keeps State In Legal Limbo

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's veto of legislation to tax and regulate the sale of adult-use cannabis will keep the commonwealth in a state of cannabis legal limbo for the foreseeable future.

  • May 20, 2026

    Hong Kong Hikes Transaction Tax For High-End Homes

    Hong Kong lawmakers adopted legislation Wednesday to hike the rate of a tax on residential real estate transactions valued above HK$100 million ($12.7 million).

  • May 20, 2026

    Missouri Budtenders Say Dispensary Group Mishandled Tips

    A proposed class of budtenders for dispensaries run by GL Partners Inc. is suing in Missouri federal court, alleging the dispensaries are violating federal labor laws by sharing tips with managerial staff and otherwise mishandling them to use as petty cash or to balance cash registers.

  • May 19, 2026

    New CFTC Policy Eyes Smaller Fines, More Declinations

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday issued a revised policy on cooperation credit in enforcement matters, outlining how factors such as self-reporting, cooperation and remediation can help respondents secure fine reductions or potential declinations.

  • May 19, 2026

    States Tell CIT To Reject Gov't's Request To Stay Tariff Ruling

    The federal government's arguments to stay a permanent injunction against the collection of President Donald Trump's temporary global duties for two small businesses and the state of Washington while it appeals the ruling are overblown, a coalition of states told the U.S. Court of International Trade on Tuesday.

  • May 19, 2026

    9th Circ. Leans Toward FCC In Appeal Over SIM Card Beef

    The Ninth Circuit seemed to have its doubts Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission made the wrong call in finding it had no say over a Haitian mobile carrier's decision to deactivate SIM cards that were brought into the United States and used to evade international calling rates. 

  • May 19, 2026

    Monsanto To Pay Mich., RI Up To $302M Over PCB Pollution

    Monsanto has reached multimillion-dollar deals with Michigan and Rhode Island to end claims that the company contaminated waterways and natural resources with polychlorinated biphenyls, agreeing to pay the states as much as $240 million and $62 million, respectively, with most of that money contingent on how the company recovers from separate lawsuits.

  • May 19, 2026

    Intel Says Texas Law Doesn't Support Russian Missile Claims

    Intel and other semiconductor manufacturers asked a Texas federal judge to throw out claims that they negligently sold products the Russian government used to build missiles that killed Ukrainian civilians, saying Tuesday that the civilians' claims have no basis in Texas law.

  • May 19, 2026

    6th Circ. Rejects Mich. City Dispensary Co.'s Due Process Claim

    A cannabis investment company can't sue a city within metro Detroit for refusing to allow it to open a dispensary, the Sixth Circuit ruled, saying a local official's alleged promise to "grandfather" the company in, despite a ban on new retailers, can't supersede a city ordinance.

  • May 19, 2026

    Wells Fargo Asks Out Of Denver Schools Mortgage Lawsuit

    Wells Fargo asked a Colorado state court judge Friday for an early exit from a lawsuit brought by a group of Denver Public Schools parents who allege the academic system has illegally been mortgaging numerous school district-owned properties to the bank for decades, according to the bank's motion to dismiss.

  • May 19, 2026

    Trump Admin Asks 9th Circ. To Revive Voter Data Suits

    Federal prosecutors urged the Ninth Circuit Tuesday to revive lawsuits against California and Oregon claiming states are required to hand over voter registration lists that include driver's license and Social Security numbers, saying the data would be used to look for noncitizens and others not eligible to vote.

  • May 19, 2026

    Skechers Can't Kick Wash. Antispam Class Suit, Judge Rules

    A Washington federal judge rejected Skechers USA Inc.'s effort to throw out a proposed class action accusing the footwear giant of blasting state residents with unsolicited and misleading spam emails, ruling Tuesday that Washington's antispam law is consistent with federal law.

  • May 19, 2026

    4th Circ. Revives Freight Broker Suit After High Court Ruling

    The Fourth Circuit on Monday revived a South Carolina widow's lawsuit alleging that freight broker Echo Global Logistics negligently selected the trucking company involved in the 2022 accident that killed her husband, days after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling established that freight brokers can face state-based tort claims.

  • May 19, 2026

    Ex-Trump Fundraiser Dodges Prison For Straw Donor Scheme

    A New York man who raised funds for President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign avoided a prison sentence Tuesday after being found guilty at trial of charges stemming from a straw donor scheme partly intended to help Chinese nationals gain access to Trump.

  • May 19, 2026

    Sen. Warren Presses OCC On Crypto Trust Charter Approvals

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is demanding Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould share documents and communications related to the approval of national trust charters for cryptocurrency firms, which Warren argues are "seemingly ineligible" since the firms' business plans appear to wade into traditional banking activities.

  • May 19, 2026

    Split 8th Circ. Revives Challenge To NHTSA Brake Light View

    A split Eighth Circuit panel revived a lawsuit Monday by two Arkansas-based distributors of pulsing brake lights, ruling the companies can challenge the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's letters declaring the products illegal and laying out plans to "threaten" customers with fines.

  • May 19, 2026

    Ga. Judge Does About-Face On Election-Night Observers

    A Georgia judge issued an order Tuesday requiring Georgia Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Brad Raffensperger to allow poll watchers and State Election Board observers access to the state's election-night operations center, then declared that order void.  

  • May 19, 2026

    After Feds' Input, Gilstrap Denies Injunction In $445M IP Case

    U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap on Monday rebuffed Collision Communications Inc.'s bid for an injunction blocking Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. from selling products that a jury said were infringing in a $445 million verdict in a case that the federal government used to argue for broader use of injunctions in patent suits.

  • May 19, 2026

    DOJ Says Container Makers Fixed Prices During Pandemic

    Four of the world's largest shipping container manufacturers and seven of their current and former executives conspired to restrict production to drive up prices, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday in criminally charging them, although most may be beyond the reach of American courts.

  • May 19, 2026

    Black CU Regents Board Member Says Board 'Silenced' Her

    University of Colorado Board of Regents members sanctioned the board's sole Black member for speaking out against a university-funded campaign that she says pushed false and racist stereotypes about Black people, the board member alleged in Colorado federal court.

  • May 19, 2026

    TikTok Says 'Market Exploitation' Doesn't Give NC Jurisdiction

    TikTok is pushing the North Carolina Supreme Court to throw out claims by the state's attorney general alleging it deceptively marketed its platform as safe for minors, saying the "market exploitation" theory would in effect allow any business that operates on the internet to be hauled into any state court.

  • May 19, 2026

    CFTC Sues Minnesota Over Law Banning Prediction Markets

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Minnesota on Tuesday to block a newly enacted ban on prediction markets, the sixth state the CFTC has taken to federal court to assert control over regulation of the markets.

  • May 19, 2026

    SC Increases Manufacturing Tax Break Reimbursement Limit

    South Carolina increased a reimbursement cap for a manufacturing property tax exemption, mitigating potential reductions to exemptions for eligible properties, under a bill signed by the governor.

  • May 19, 2026

    States Sue Over Student Loan Limits On Professional Degrees

    A coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors are challenging a rule recently promulgated by the U.S. Department of Education, alleging in a complaint in Maryland federal court Tuesday that it unlawfully limits access to federal student loans for those pursuing professional degree programs.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    DOJ Delay Of ADA Web Rule Undermines Equal Access

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent decision to delay compliance dates for regulations ensuring accessible government services online benefits no one, as it is long overdue for disabled Americans and doesn't lessen covered entities' legal obligations or litigation risk, say Mark Riccobono at the National Federation of the Blind and Eve Hill at Brown Goldstein.

  • Series

    Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

  • Fresenius Ruling May Shift Anti-Kickback Enforcement

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Fresenius v. Bonta suggests that businesses have a First Amendment right to donate to certain charities, even if those donations are motivated by economic self-interest, potentially calling into question years of Anti-Kickback Statute proceedings against pharmaceutical manufacturers for making similar donations, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

  • Written Consent Ruling May Signal Change For Telemarketing

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    The Fifth Circuit's ruling in Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control is a takedown of the Federal Communications Commission's prior express written consent regulation, and because Loper Bright empowers courts to disregard agency interpretations, Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigants now have an opportunity to challenge previously settled FCC regulations, orders and interpretations, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • Prediction Market Platform Probes Merit Strategic Responses

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    As the battle over the regulation of prediction markets is being waged between states and the federal government, investigations into insider trading allegations are increasingly originating from inside the exchanges themselves, creating obvious risks for market participants — as well as opportunities, say attorneys at Kobre & Kim.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

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    Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

  • Tokenized Securities Have Capital Parity, But Details Matter

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    Recent guidance from the federal banking agencies clarifies that the use of distributed ledger technologies to issue and transact in securities will not affect the capital treatment of those instruments, but banks looking to apply parity treatment to tokenized securities should be prepared to document their qualification processes, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • What Employers Should Know About Wash. Noncompete Ban

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    Washington state recently passed one of the most expansive prohibitions on noncompetes in the country, marking a significant shift in the state's approach to restrictive covenants and requiring employers to carefully assess how this change will affect their current and future agreements, say attorneys at Cozen.

  • Mitigating Multistate Risks As California Expands Tax Reach

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    Though California's new sourcing rules and extension of the pass-through entity election have created uncertainty, practitioners should file protective returns to respect the law's ambiguity and take certain other steps to protect clients from the costs of losing a future audit, says attorney Delina Yasmeh.

  • Crypto Trading App Statement Advances SEC's New Direction

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's staff statement from last week carving out an exemption from broker-dealer registration for crypto-trading apps isn't a formal or permanent rule, it's the clearest signal yet of a quickly emerging coherent regulatory framework for digital assets, says Stephen Aschettino at Fox Rothschild.

  • How Cos. Can Prep For Conn. Data Privacy Amendments

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    Effective July 1, 2026, amendments to the Connecticut Data Privacy Act narrow the safe harbor for data used by banks, insurance companies and other financial services businesses, highlighting how state regulators plan to focus on how companies handle sensitive data and honor the data rights of the state's residents, say attorneys at Day Pitney.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On ESI Control

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    Several recent federal court decisions have perpetuated a split over what constitutes “control” of electronically stored information — with judges divided on whether the standard should turn on a party's legal right or practical ability to obtain the information, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Record Penalty Sets Stage For FinCEN Whistleblower Awards

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    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s record $80 million penalty against Canaccord, together with the agency's recently proposed rule on whistleblower awards, signals an increasingly aggressive enforcement posture and illustrates the significant financial stakes associated with reporting violations, says Marlene Koury at Constantine Cannon.

  • How Guidance Narrows Federal Telework Accommodations

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    A recent FAQ from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management offers agencies several ways to narrow telework as an accommodation for federal employees, including through in-office alternatives, revisiting prior approvals and substituting leave for situational telework, says Lori Kisch at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • What GAO Report Reveals About CFPB Cutbacks

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    The U.S. Government Accountability Office's first report on the downsizing of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau details an agency facing less funding and aggressive efforts to shrink its workforce and docket — suggesting that the bureau will face sharper choices about where to deploy staff and litigation resources, say attorneys at Troutman.

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