Public Policy

  • July 24, 2026

    Alaska Tribes Say Road Permits Risk Birds, Subsistence

    Three Indigenous Alaskan villages and a conservation group are challenging a Clean Water Act permit and biological opinion the government issued that will allow for construction of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, alleging in a new lawsuit the decisions violated a slew of environmental laws.

  • July 24, 2026

    Senators Urge FTC To Deny X's Petition To Drop Settlement

    Three Senate Democrats are asking the Federal Trade Commission to reject Elon Musk's bid to vacate a 2022 consent decree resolving allegations that X, formerly Twitter, misled users when asking for their contact information.

  • July 24, 2026

    Top Product Liability Cases Of 2026: Midyear Report

    In one of the most-watched cases for product liability so far this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that failure-to-warn claims about the alleged cancer risks of Monsanto's widely used pesticide Roundup are barred by federal law. Social media titans were also rocked by the first verdicts delivered in cases alleging mental health harms to youth.

  • July 24, 2026

    Housing Groups Sue Over HUD Grant Program Overhaul

    Two fair housing groups asked a Massachusetts federal judge to block the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from slashing grants for a program to assist housing discrimination victims and funneling awards to groups that Congress never intended as recipients.

  • July 24, 2026

    World Cup National Bodies Get IRS Filing Requirement Waived

    The Internal Revenue Service will waive a filing requirement for tax-exempt national soccer associations that participated in this year's FIFA World Cup if they lack income connected to the U.S. other than prize money, the agency said Friday.

  • July 24, 2026

    DOL E-Delivery Push Pleases Mgmt. And Worker Attys Alike

    Recently proposed U.S. Department of Labor regulations that would encourage e-delivery of employee health plan documents are winning plaudits from both sides of the benefits bar for potentially streamlining the process and augmenting online transparency. Here are three things to know about the DOL's proposal.

  • July 24, 2026

    CFTC Wants More Input On Energy Contracts, 24/7 Trading

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has extended the public comment period for its proposals on around-the-clock trading and perpetual contracts in the energy industry, offering additional questions for consideration following the regulator's "extensive conversations" with the industry.

  • July 23, 2026

    FEMA Is Illegally Tying Funds To Election Rules, States Say

    A group of mostly Democratic-led states asked a Rhode Island federal court Thursday to stop the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from withholding disaster-relief funds unless they comply with the Trump administration's election administration and immigration enforcement demands.

  • July 23, 2026

    Proposed AI Bill Lets DHS Hit 'Kill Switch' On Risky Systems

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security may order the shutdown of artificial intelligence systems deemed capable of causing "catastrophic harm" under a bill bipartisan lawmakers introduced Thursday, citing OpenAI models' recent inadvertent and autonomous hack of AI startup Hugging Face.

  • July 23, 2026

    Trump CFPB Pick Says He Has 'Open Mind' On Staffing Levels

    President Donald Trump's choice for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director signaled at his confirmation hearing on Thursday that he could revisit the agency's plan to shed hundreds of staff, saying he has an "open mind" about how many workers the agency needs.

  • July 23, 2026

    Nordstrom Worker Claims Missed Breaks Cost Wash. Staff Pay

    A Nordstrom Inc. worker has hit the Seattle-based retailer with a proposed wage-and-hour class action in Washington state court, accusing the company of failing to provide employees with legally mandated meal and rest breaks, then further failing to compensate them for the missed breaks.

  • July 23, 2026

    Paramount-Warner TRO Extended As Injunction Fight Looms

    A California federal judge Thursday extended a temporary restraining order preventing Paramount Skydance Corp. from closing its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

  • July 23, 2026

    Judge's Deportation Probe 'Off The Rails,' DOJ Tells DC Circ.

    The Trump administration urged the full D.C. Circuit to either order U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to terminate his criminal contempt inquiry into the administration's Alien Enemies Act removals last year, or order him to forgo live testimony in the probe.

  • July 23, 2026

    FCC Seeks Ban On Foreign Military-Grade Drones

    The Federal Communications Commission is considering prohibiting people from buying foreign-made military-grade drones and is seeking public input on the idea of adding them to the so-called covered list.

  • July 23, 2026

    OCC Denies Wise Trust Charter Over Compliance Gaps

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency shared Thursday it has denied a national trust bank application from Wise US Inc. over concerns the money transfer fintech wouldn't meet compliance and anti-money laundering standards.

  • July 23, 2026

    Trump Touts Pledge As Ratepayer Protection From AI Boom

    President Donald Trump during a Thursday event urged utilities, data center developers and states to sign a voluntary pledge to prevent average ratepayers from shouldering the cost of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

  • July 23, 2026

    11th Circ. Argues Legality Of Fishery Council Over Catch Limits

    An Eleventh Circuit panel appeared wary Thursday as it weighed whether members of a regional fishery management council were lawfully appointed, in challenge to a National Marine Fisheries Service regulation that sharply reduced how many gag grouper fish could be caught in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • July 23, 2026

    10th Circ. Won't Undo Crypto Firm Founder's 5-Year Sentence

    The Tenth Circuit refused to alter a cryptocurrency investment firm co-founder's five-year prison sentence and obligation to pay over $174,000 in restitution to victims of a fraud scheme he orchestrated, writing the district court's sentencing and loss amount estimation was reasonable.

  • July 23, 2026

    Texas Panel Overturns Abortion Injunction Against Midwife

    A Texas appellate court overturned a temporary injunction against a licensed Houston-area midwife accused by state prosecutors of violating Texas' abortion ban, finding Thursday a trial court wrongly admitted probable-cause affidavits from a related criminal case.

  • July 23, 2026

    Calif. Backed By Consumer Advocates In AT&T Fight At FCC

    As California fights to keep AT&T from convincing the Federal Communications Commission to let it stop providing plain old telephone service in the Golden State, lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups are lining up behind the state, urging the FCC not to let AT&T out of its obligations.

  • July 23, 2026

    Judge Would Void Order Halting RI Pot Licensure

    A court order blocking Rhode Island's social equity and adult-use cannabis licensing program will likely come to an end after a federal judge indicated that she would undo her prior ruling, if given the opportunity, since lawmakers have removed the challenged residency requirements.

  • July 23, 2026

    Colo. Nonprofit Says ICE Facility Violates Town's Land Codes

    A nonprofit and a resident of Hudson, Colorado, claimed in Colorado state court Wednesday that the town is ignoring its own land use codes by allowing a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center to be built and operated within the city, and is using federal preemption as an excuse to not act.

  • July 23, 2026

    Creek Freedmen Sue Tribe To Enforce Citizenship Ruling

    Members of the Muscogee Creek Black Freedmen are asking a federal court to block officials with Oklahoma's Muscogee (Creek) Nation from denying them citizenship, saying in a lawsuit brought Thursday that those governmental leaders are defying a tribal Supreme Court ruling that gave them the right.

  • July 23, 2026

    Red States Back DOT In DC Circ. Immigrant Driver Rule Fight

    Florida and 22 other GOP-leaning states have urged the D.C. Circuit to uphold the U.S. Department of Transportation's new restrictions on commercial drivers' licenses for foreign truckers, saying motorists and highways must be protected from threats posed by large commercial vehicles driven by unqualified truckers.

  • July 23, 2026

    Squires To Review 2024 PTAB Ax That Followed Vidal Ruling

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires on Thursday said he is going to review a 2-year-old Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that found claims in an EagleView Technologies patent on measuring roofs to be invalid.

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.

  • 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.

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

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