Public Policy

  • July 21, 2026

    DC Circ. Backs Nuclear Plant Enviro Review Rules

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's updated rules for renewing nuclear power plant licenses, rejecting arguments from antinuclear groups that the rules don't adequately account for climate change risks.

  • July 21, 2026

    Ohio Can't Pause Halt Of Hemp Law During Appeal, Judge Says

    Ohio lost its bid Monday in federal court to be allowed to enforce a new law that reclassifies hemp products as marijuana, as a judge rejected the state's arguments that the hemp product manufacturers and sellers waited too long to file their lawsuit.

  • July 21, 2026

    FCC Launches 1st Foreign Drone Enforcement Action

    The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that it has launched the first action to revoke authorizations from a company for allegedly trying to get around a blanket ban on foreign-made drones.

  • July 21, 2026

    Chamber Asks 2nd Circ. To Back Toss Of Pepsi Smoking Suit

    A New York federal judge rightly tossed allegations that Pepsi violated federal benefits law by making employees who smoke pay more for health insurance, the nation's largest business lobby argued in an amicus brief, urging the Second Circuit to affirm dismissal of the suit.

  • July 21, 2026

    DC Circ. Sides With FCC In Spectrum Revamp Row

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday rejected challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's overhaul of the 4.9 gigahertz public safety band, ruling that the Spectrum Act gave AT&T partner FirstNet broad authority to build its network without confining it to just one band.

  • July 21, 2026

    Senate Confirms Trade Court Pick Despite Past GOP Posts

    The U.S. Senate voted 50-48 Tuesday evening to confirm Kara Westercamp, associate counsel to the president, to the U.S. Court of International Trade, who said during her confirmation in March she regretted her past social media posts critical of Republicans, including Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and the late Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

  • July 21, 2026

    10th Circ. Backs Kan. Library's Ban On Protest Signs Inside

    A Kansas public library can prohibit protesting and the display of signs inside its property, the Tenth Circuit held Tuesday in finding the library's policies prohibiting disruptive behavior did not violate the First Amendment.

  • July 21, 2026

    18 State AGs Sue EPA Over Hydrofluorocarbons Rollback

    Eighteen Democratic attorneys general and the city of New York filed a petition with the D.C. Circuit Tuesday over a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule they argue will weaken federal limits on hydrofluorocarbons, which are refrigerants used in air conditioning and cooling systems.

  • July 21, 2026

    DOJ Says Enforcing Colo. Magazine Ban Violates Civil Rights

    The federal government pushed back on Colorado's claim that the statute it cited to challenge the constitutionality of a 2013 Colorado law banning large-capacity magazines is too narrow, arguing Congress intentionally created the statute to be broad and that the law applies to the challenge, according to a response brief filed Tuesday.

  • July 21, 2026

    FCC Aims For Changes To Rural Healthcare Program

    The Federal Communications Commission will consider a plan next month to let rural healthcare providers use previously approved rates in a telehealth program without needing to file new paperwork to justify costs.

  • July 21, 2026

    NJ Gov. Says Software Glitch Let 400 Noncitizens Vote

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Tuesday that a software glitch in the state's motor vehicle system between 2023 and 2024 accidentally registered about 6,600 individuals to vote and that roughly 400 of them voted.

  • July 21, 2026

    Peter Navarro Loses DC Circ. Appeal Of Contempt Conviction

    The D.C. Circuit Tuesday upheld Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro's contempt of Congress conviction, saying President Donald Trump never invoked executive privilege to allow Navarro to flout congressional subpoenas concerning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

  • July 21, 2026

    High Court Ruling Doesn't Impact Pipeline Fight, 9th Circ. Told

    California and environmental groups have told the Ninth Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision clarifying federal arbitration jurisdictional lines has no bearing on their lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's assertion of jurisdiction over an in-state oil pipeline system.

  • July 21, 2026

    DC Circ. Revives Challenge To EPA's $3B Grant Cut

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday revived a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's termination of nearly $3 billion in environmental justice grants, saying a district court had neglected a key jurisdictional question when it dismissed the suit.

  • July 21, 2026

    Judge Tosses Another Suit Challenging Seattle Housing Law

    A Washington federal judge leaned on a prior ruling to reject a constitutional challenge to Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability program, which requires developers to pay the city a fee in lieu of adding affordable units to project plans.

  • July 21, 2026

    DC Circ. Backs FAA In Conn. Airport Fight After Seven County

    The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administration sufficiently analyzed the environmental impacts of a regional Connecticut airport expansion project, saying the U.S. Supreme Court's Seven County ruling made clear that courts cannot override agencies' reasonable National Environmental Policy Act judgments or explanations.

  • July 21, 2026

    Mother Of Musk's Child Asks Texas Court To Toss XAI Suit

    The mother of one of Elon Musk's children has asked a Texas federal court to toss a suit brought by Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, that alleges breach of contract, telling the court that xAI's actions constituted "a race to the courthouse dressed up as a lawsuit."

  • July 21, 2026

    Dems Press Skadden On Trump Pro Bono Pact, Intel Deal Work

    A group of Democrats demanded Tuesday that Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration in light of allegations the firm advised both Intel Corp. and the U.S. Department of Commerce when the administration received a 10% company stake.

  • July 21, 2026

    Squires Pressed On 'Board Of Peace' TM Apps He Withdrew

    A Maryland congressman has asked U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires for more information about what he said was his "baffling and legally dubious" push to secure trademark protections for President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace."

  • July 21, 2026

    High Court To Hear Alaskan Pilot Plane Forfeiture Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a case in which the Alaska Supreme Court held that a pilot must forfeit his $95,000 plane to the state for transporting a six-pack of beer in a dry village.

  • July 21, 2026

    DOJ Says Diocese Objections Can't Block Border Land Taking

    The Trump administration told a New Mexico federal judge that free speech and religious exercise objections are no basis to stop it from seizing 14 acres of land from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces for a border security project.

  • July 21, 2026

    New Head Of US International Trade Commission Selected

    President Donald Trump has tapped the newest member of the U.S. International Trade Commission to serve as its chair, the ITC announced Tuesday.

  • July 21, 2026

    Sen. Warner Unveils 4-Part AI Guardrail Package

    Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., proposed legislation Tuesday that would create guardrails on artificial intelligence and impose disclosure requirements on data centers' demands on power and water infrastructure and effects on the environment.

  • July 21, 2026

    Tribes, Groups Back Iowa In Kalshi Sports Market Challenge

    Forty-one Indigenous groups, nations and the American Gaming Association are backing Iowa regulators in a challenge to stop the state from taking enforcement action against Kalshi's sports-events contracts, arguing that the prediction market "masks its wagers as derivatives contracts governed by the Commodity Exchange Act and Commodity Futures Trading Commission."

  • July 21, 2026

    2nd Circ. Bars Student's Habeas Case In Removal Fight

    A Second Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that a Vermont federal judge should not have ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release Palestinian green-card holder Mohsen Mahdawi because his claims should have been funneled through the immigration court process.

Expert Analysis

  • 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 intelligence 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.

  • Green Card Memo Warps Long-Standing Adjustment Process

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    A recent policy memorandum that treats a nonimmigrant visa holder’s decision to seek adjustment of status in the U.S., rather than at a U.S. consulate, as an adverse factor reinterprets existing discretionary frameworks, compounds risks for applicants required to apply abroad and changes practitioner approaches to application preparation, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Bolster Wrongful Conviction Framework

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    The Trump administration's recent decision to abandon its flawed “anti-weaponization” fund should not end the conversation about compensating those wronged by the U.S. justice system, — it should open the door for Congress to build a principled system that strengthens and expands the existing framework, say Marc Levin and Khalil Cumberbatch at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Shoring Up Corporate Law In Maryland

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    Launched more than 20 years ago to improve complex corporate adjudication, Maryland's Business and Technology Case Management Program has been a solid success in some areas, but there always is room for improvement, says Bill Krulak at Miles & Stockbridge.

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