Public Policy

  • 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.

  • June 04, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Homes In On 'Adherence' In Canvas Duty Appeal

    A Federal Circuit panel considered conflicting interpretations of an antidumping order on artist canvases Thursday as it reviewed whether the U.S. Department of Commerce properly found a company's products to be in scope, focusing questions on what it means for canvases to promote "adherence" of paint.

  • June 04, 2026

    Live Nation Remedies Discovery To Wait On New Trial Motions

    A New York federal judge said that state attorneys general will have to wait on discovery to bolster their bid for a Live Nation Entertainment Inc. breakup, preferring to first tackle the live music giant's bid to upend jury findings faulting the company for monopolizing the industry.

  • June 04, 2026

    Judge Pans Feds' Fee Fight In 'Anemic' Detention Defense

    A Washington federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to pay $41,000 in attorney fees in a habeas case and blasted its contention that a lesser amount was warranted after it failed to meaningfully defend the unlawful detention of an asylum-seeker from Afghanistan.

  • June 04, 2026

    New Conn. Pollution Laws Focus On Releases, Not Transfers

    Under new release-based cleanup regulations that took effect March 1, Connecticut now requires pollution to be reported and remediated when it is found, not when property changes hands, a shift lawyers say expands reporting requirements and accelerates cleanup timelines.

  • June 04, 2026

    Blanche's AG Bid Could Face Rocky Path In Senate

    Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will be tapped for the permanent role, but he might not have a smooth path to confirmation.

  • June 04, 2026

    Feds Seek To Vacate Endangered-Lizard Listing To Settle Suit

    Texas and the U.S. Interior Department asked a federal judge to approve a settlement vacating the Biden-era designation of a lizard species as endangered, after Texas argued that the move was unfounded and imperiled energy development around the Permian Basin.

  • June 04, 2026

    Conn. Looks To Wipe Out CFTC's Contract Crackdown Suit

    Connecticut has taken aim at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, blasting the agency's federal lawsuit to halt the state's efforts to police event contract trading as "wrongheaded."

  • June 04, 2026

    House GOP Bill Would Cut DOL Funding, Eliminate OFCCP

    The House Appropriations Committee introduced a funding bill Thursday that would cut the U.S. Department of Labor's budget by nearly $4 billion, including a decrease in the Wage and Hour Division's budget and the elimination of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Ruling Shows How Texas Law Altered Derivative Suit Outlook

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    In the first test of S.B. 29's new ownership threshold requirement for shareholder actions, a Texas federal court recently dismissed Gusinsky v. Reynolds, a derivative action brought by a minority Southwest Airlines shareholder, offering key guidance for navigating the new Texas corporate litigation landscape, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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