Public Policy

  • July 20, 2026

    DOJ Says $1.8B Fund Is Dead, Urges Court To Toss Suit

    A Virginia federal judge should dismiss a suit challenging the U.S. Department of Justice's $1.8 billion settlement fund that was to be included in a deal to close President Donald Trump's tax leak suit, the federal government said, arguing the case is moot.

  • July 20, 2026

    Kalshi's Prediction Market Biz Facing Shutdown In Wash.

    A Washington federal judge Monday granted the state's bid to preliminarily enjoin Kalshi's operations in the state, agreeing with Attorney General Nick Brown that the prediction market platform offers unlicensed sports wagering and other illegal online gambling activities.

  • July 20, 2026

    Uber, Lyft Urge Court To Block NYC Driver Deactivation Law

    Uber and Lyft have told a Manhattan federal judge that New York City overstepped in enacting an unconstitutional new ordinance prohibiting the ride-hailing companies from "deactivating" drivers without formal notice and investigation, saying that carving out certain provisions from the regulation still doesn't save it from scrutiny.

  • July 20, 2026

    FCC Poised To Pull Co.'s Test Lab Status Over China Ties

    A Federal Communications Commission office is ready to pull a company's certification as an authorized test lab for devices sold into the U.S. market because of its ownership ties to the Chinese government.

  • July 20, 2026

    Judge Questions Exxon Bid To Revive Claims In Records Suit

    A Massachusetts judge on Monday appeared unlikely to let Exxon Mobil revive equal protection claims in a public records lawsuit against state environmental regulators, saying counsel for the company was essentially asking him to second-guess a colleague who tossed the allegations in March.

  • July 20, 2026

    NJ Justices Call Land Swap An Abuse Of Eminent Domain

    The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that a municipality violated state law and constitutional limits when it condemned two privately owned parcels of land to trade them to a developer, holding that the town never intended to put the seized properties to public use.

  • July 20, 2026

    Pa. District Owed Refund For Improper Water Fees, Court Told

    The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has continued to improperly collect stormwater fees even after a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision found the fees to be illegal taxes, the city's public school district said in a complaint filed Monday, arguing it is entitled to a $1.9 million refund.

  • July 20, 2026

    Exxon Climate Suit Fate May Hinge On Preemption Precedent

    A Connecticut state judge on Monday seemed inclined to wait for upcoming U.S. Supreme Court preemption guidance before ruling on the state's attempt to nix one of ExxonMobil's defenses in an environmental marketing lawsuit, though both sides drew some skepticism during oral argument Monday.

  • July 20, 2026

    Trump Curbs Foreign Sourcing Waivers For Weapon Materials

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing the secretary of defense to limit waivers that allow weapons contractors to obtain certain materials from nonallied countries.

  • July 20, 2026

    SD Judge Blocks Abortion Ad Ban Against Atty, Nonprofit

    A South Dakota federal judge barred the state from enforcing an abortion advertising ban against a reproductive health education nonprofit and an attorney, ruling that doing so would likely violate the First Amendment.

  • July 20, 2026

    Water Transfer Co. Seeks $351K In Worker Credit Refunds

    The Internal Revenue Service owes a water transfer services company nearly $351,000 in employee retention tax credit refunds, the business told a Pennsylvania federal court, saying the agency improperly retained the overpayments to offset a supposed civil penalty against the company.

  • July 20, 2026

    Vanda's NDA Rejection Challenge Can't Be Heard At DC Court

    A D.C. federal judge has said he no longer has jurisdiction to hear Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s challenge alleging the FDA violated the appointments clause by allowing a non-officer exercise "signatory authority" and reject its new drug application for tradipitant, since Vanda previously went to the D.C. Circuit raising the same argument already.

  • July 20, 2026

    Trade Court Backs Thai Pipe Duties On Third Try

    A Thai steel pipe producer will be hit with a 15% antidumping duty after the U.S. Court of International Trade signed off on a federal government determination finding the record was missing necessary information.

  • July 20, 2026

    Wis. Village Can't Void Tribal Land Trust Order, 7th Circ. Told

    The U.S. Department of the Interior is asking the Seventh Circuit to reject a Wisconsin village's appeal that seeks to undo the agency's decision to place 500 acres into trust for the Oneida Nation, arguing that the municipality can't overcome Congress' power to regulate Indian affairs.

  • July 20, 2026

    Masonry Co. Owner To Pay $7.2M Over Amtrak Bribery Plot

    The owner of an Illinois-based masonry contracting company who last year pled guilty to conspiring to bribe an Amtrak employee to get favorable contract terms for the renovation of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station has agreed to pay more than $7.2 million to resolve civil claims stemming from the scheme, prosecutors said.

  • July 20, 2026

    IMF Paper Backs Destination-Based VAT For Digital Services

    The most coherent way to tax digital services is with value-added taxes that have place-of-supply rules to ensure they apply on a destination basis to final domestic consumption, according to a working paper by the International Monetary Fund.

  • July 20, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Points To Audit Issues In Malpractice Trial

    A corporate founder seeking more than $100 million in a malpractice case against Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP endured a withering cross-examination in Florida state court Monday over his companies' money flows and an auditor's refusal to certify their financial statements two years after the fundraising transaction he believes the firm botched.

  • July 20, 2026

    Activist Seeks Mich. Judicial Candidate Records

    A suburban Detroit political activist who has brought several challenges to candidates and state election rules sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and state election officials, claiming they violated the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to provide identity documents filed by a Wayne County judicial candidate. 

  • July 20, 2026

    Unions Seek To Block Texas Tech Curriculum Censorship

    A professors union and its Texas affiliate asked a Texas federal court to stop Texas Tech University's chancellor and board from enforcing policies that, the unions say, censor academic speech on race, gender identity and sexual orientation, arguing the policies will cause irreparable harm to the university's teachers.

  • July 20, 2026

    Trump Demands Review Of Judges' Science Manual

    President Donald Trump has escalated a recent controversy over a scientific manual for federal judges that has been around for over three decades. 

  • July 20, 2026

    Legal Center Tells 4th Circ. To Reject FCC Campaign Ad Rule

    The Campaign Legal Center has asked the Fourth Circuit to set aside recent FCC guidance on political ads, saying it violates the Communications Act of 1934.

  • July 20, 2026

    Rural Providers Laud Latest Broadband Map Push

    Rural telecoms are pressing lawmakers to advance a new bill to improve granular detail to broadband maps across the U.S. introduced by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

  • July 20, 2026

    Ga. Gov. Names US Magistrate Judge To State Appellate Court

    Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Georgia as a Georgia Court of Appeals judge, a move that came after the judge made the short list for a Georgia Supreme Court justice vacancy last year.

  • July 20, 2026

    Samsung Directed To Pay Interest Atop $445M Patent Verdict

    A Texas federal judge has ordered Samsung to pay prejudgment and postjudgment interest on a $445 million jury verdict that found the South Korean electronics firm was infringing patents covering wireless communications network efficiency.

  • July 20, 2026

    Pension Guarantor Proposes Rule On Disclosure Penalties

    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. proposed a rule Monday on monetary penalties for failures to provide information on single-employer and multiemployer benefit plans that clarifies how plan sponsors can lower what's owed when they run afoul of their disclosure duties under federal benefits law.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Justices' Parole Ruling Degrades Green Card Holders' Rights

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blanche v. Lau, holding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can parole a returning lawful permanent resident without clear and convincing evidence of a crime, weakens the statutory and practical protections Congress intended, say attorneys at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners.

  • NEPA Reforms Can Fix Permitting Without Weakening Review

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    Recent National Environmental Policy Act reforms, in tandem with a Senate bill proposing faster permitting reviews and greater agency coordination, mark a long overdue move toward more efficient energy and infrastructure permitting that does not sacrifice environmental assessment, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • 2 Microsoft Matters Could Help Shape AI Antitrust Outlook

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    A pending federal court case and investigation focusing on Microsoft's allegedly anticompetitive conduct in the deployment of artificial intelligence tools are testing whether antitrust law can distinguish ordinary competition to supply the AI ecosystem from conduct that distorts how that competition unfolds, says Kylie Kim at Massey & Gail.

  • Preparing For Next Congress With Eye On Investigation Risk

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    Rod Rosenstein, Brian Whisler and Bruce Linskens at Baker McKenzie offer advice for organizations seeking to build a proactive response plan to potential congressional oversight as the election looms.

  • RETRACTED: Updated Fraud Sentencing Guidelines Add New Defense Tools

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    Editor's note: This guest article has been removed to address author updates.

  • Asylum Ruling Signals Larger Separation Of Powers Battle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that border officials may turn away asylum-seekers without inspection is part of a broader conversation about the reach of institutional safeguards that subject governmental authority to legal constraint, says Dree Collopy at American University's Washington College of Law.

  • Solar's Momentum At Mid-2026 Will Help It Overcome Snags

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    The rapid expansion of U.S. solar development in the first half of 2026 is likely to continue its pace, even amid ongoing shifts in federal trade policy and supply chain regulations, obstacles to permitting reform, and an increasing divide between states enacting policies to encourage or stymie project development, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • The Debanking Minefield: Navigating Fair Access In 2026

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    Federal regulators' recent elimination of reputational risk from bank supervision, alongside a growing patchwork of state fair access laws, is reshaping how banks make account and service decisions and ushering in a new compliance era requiring individualized, objective and risk-based access determinations, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Carbon Health Settlement Highlights Why Evidence Is Key

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    The California Attorney General's Office's first-of-its-kind settlement with Carbon Health, imposing penalties for alleged corporate practice of medicine violations, shows that friendly professional corporation challenges usually hinge not on the parties' management services agreement, but on whether the operational record matches it, says Ben Dubin at VC Expert Services.

  • What PE Practitioners Need To Know About New Del. ABC Act

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    Delaware's new Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors statute represents a structural shift in how companies backed by private equity can be wound down and provides a more streamlined tool for managing sponsor liability without the public visibility of a bankruptcy proceeding, says Evelyn Meltzer at Troutman Pepper.

  • How To Brace For A Potential Democratic Oversight Push

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    With the possibility of a shift in congressional control after the November midterm elections, companies and their general counsel should prepare now by mapping oversight exposure, reviewing government interactions, preserving records and developing coordinated communications strategies, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Opinion

    Labor Contract Bill Would Introduce Sweeping Risks For Cos.

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    The House-approved Faster Labor Contracts Act would force rapid first-contract bargaining, subject businesses to binding arbitration over key workplace terms, and create major uncertainty for nonunion companies, making it crucial for employers to assess their exposure and mitigate the risks now, say attorneys at FBT Gibbons.

  • Fed Autonomy Rests On Narrow Exception After Justices Rule

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter expand presidential removal power while temporarily preserving the Federal Reserve’s independence, but there is uncertainty about which of the Fed’s authorities fall within the court’s narrow monetary-policy exception, says Keith Bradley at Squire Patton.

  • Assessing New Risks After The End Of The SEC's Gag Rule

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rescission of its long-standing no‑deny gag rule marks a transition from a regime of enforced silence to one of strategic communication, meaning the question is no longer simply whether to settle, but how to manage the narrative that follows, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • New Pipeline Repair Rules Shift Burden To Engineer Judgment

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    A proposal from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to allow operators more flexibility to make analysis-informed repair choices, rather than hew to long-standing prescriptive criteria, could make documenting the engineer’s decision-making process as important to compliance as the ultimate repair performed, says Ahuva Battams at Beatty & Wozniak.

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