Public Policy

  • September 24, 2025

    Tower Developer Linked To Menendez Ally Wants Suit Tossed

    The developer behind a disputed high-rise project — once led by a businessman convicted in the bribery scheme involving former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez — is asking a New Jersey judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a neighboring municipality, arguing the case is incurably flawed.

  • September 24, 2025

    Ex-Amazon Worker Said Docs Could Lose FTC Suit, Jury Told

    An Amazon user experience researcher told a colleague in 2024 that documentation of consumers' frustration with the Prime sign-up process "will be the thing that loses the case" for the company if a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit were to reach trial, according to a message shown to a Seattle federal jury Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    USPTO Touts Declining Patent Backlog, Eyes Bigger Drop

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officials said Wednesday that its backlog of unexamined patent applications has shrunk this year after new initiatives to reduce it were put in place, and the office has set a goal of steeper drops in the years to come.

  • September 24, 2025

    Calif. Judge Blocks Feds' Transpo, Housing Grant Conditions

    A California federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from requiring cities and local governments to follow "impermissibly vague" directives relating to immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion policies in order to receive federal transportation, infrastructure, housing and other grants that had already been appropriated by Congress.

  • September 24, 2025

    FINRA To Nix Minimum Equity Requirement For Day Traders

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Wednesday that its board approved changes to its rules for so-called pattern day trading that would remove a minimum equity requirement for such traders.

  • September 24, 2025

    Michigan's 'Buy Local' Power Rule Shores Up Grid, Judge Told

    Michigan's utility regulator and one of the state's largest utilities have defended a requirement that power providers serving the state must source some of their electricity locally, saying in a court filing the rule helps ensure grid reliability.

  • September 24, 2025

    ACLU, Feds Spar Over Classwide Relief In Guantánamo Case

    The American Civil Liberties Union and the Trump administration filed dueling briefs on whether a D.C. federal judge can certify a class and grant classwide relief in a suit challenging the government's transfer of some detained noncitizens to Guantánamo Bay.

  • September 24, 2025

    High Court Won't Review Legality Of Wilcox, Harris Firings

    The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected former National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox's and former Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris' requests for decisions on whether their firings were lawful, saying it will only review the legality of former Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter's ouster.

  • September 24, 2025

    Court Sides With Texas, Nixes Medicaid Tax Funding Rule

    The federal government improperly expanded a Medicaid funding restriction to private parties that was meant only to govern the use of state taxes to fund the health insurance program, a Texas federal court ruled Wednesday in vacating guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

  • September 24, 2025

    GAO Says Energy Dept. Must Review PFAS At Dozens Of Sites

    The U.S. Department of Energy needs to speed up its review of how forever chemicals are and have been used at its sites across the nation, the congressional watchdog agency said Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    DOJ Seeks Dismissal Of Pot User's Gun Charge

    The U.S. Department of Justice wants to end its prosecution of a cannabis user charged with possession of a firearm, telling an Oklahoma federal court on Tuesday that the case is old and it's very likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon address the gun law at issue.

  • September 24, 2025

    FTC Merger Filing Overhaul Is Clear Overstep, Chamber Says

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups challenging the Federal Trade Commission's recent overhaul of its premerger reporting requirements told a Texas federal court the changes create an unnecessary burden for thousands of deals that raise no competition concerns.

  • September 24, 2025

    Keep Rules Against Phone 'Slamming,' NY Agency Says

    New York state officials want the Federal Communications Commission to keep safeguards in place against phone service "slamming" even though the incidence of people's service being switched without their permission is fading as technology advances.

  • September 24, 2025

    EU Commission Provides Guidance For Blocwide VAT Rules

    The European Commission issued guidance Wednesday to help European Union member states enact blocwide value-added tax rules for the digital economy, including real-time e-invoicing on cross-border transactions.

  • September 24, 2025

    Trans Youth Care Ban Discriminatory, Mo. High Court Hears

    The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on a law that bans gender-affirming care for minors and restricts Medicaid coverage for transgender care at any age, but the justices gave little indication of how they might rule.

  • September 24, 2025

    Medical Marijuana Operators Claim Okla. Undermines Industry

    A group of Oklahoma medical marijuana interests allege in a new federal lawsuit that state officials are unlawfully hindering their operations as part of a broad crackdown on the industry.

  • September 24, 2025

    Mobile Cos. Claim Chilling Effect From Local Permitting

    Wireless industry players are having problems with local permitting that would be fixed by the Federal Communications Commission's new proposal, which would use federal preemption to help companies clear permitting hurdles, according to a major trade group.

  • September 24, 2025

    Let States Use Leftover BEAD Funds, Sen. Wicker Says

    States should be able to use money left over from federal grants aimed at broadband deployment for other projects to boost high-tech growth, a Republican senator said.

  • September 24, 2025

    Ga. Panel Reverses Trial Court's Same-Sex Motherhood Ruling

    The Georgia Court of Appeals Wednesday reversed a trial court order that refused to recognize the legitimacy of a woman's parental relationship to a child conceived by artificial insemination during her marriage to another woman.

  • September 24, 2025

    ITC's IP Cases Mainly Target Computer And Telecom Products

    New data from the U.S. International Trade Commission has shown that intellectual property activity at the agency in 2024 remained relatively the same, with investigations primarily looking into computer and telecommunications products.

  • September 24, 2025

    American Airlines, US Gov't Sued Over Potomac Crash

    A new wrongful death complaint brought by the wife of an American Eagle Flight 5342 victim names both American Airlines and the United States government as liable in the "wholly avoidable tragedy" that killed 67 people on the Potomac River in January.

  • September 24, 2025

    Dems Probing Skadden, Kirkland, Paul Weiss' Work For Trump

    Top Democratic legislators are investigating whether pro bono work reportedly being performed by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP for the U.S. Department of Commerce is in violation of federal law, according to letters the lawmakers sent the firms Wednesday.

  • September 24, 2025

    HHS Allocates $1.5B To States, Tribes To Combat Opioid Crisis

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has allocated more than $1.5 billion to states and tribal communities that the agency says will provide critical resources in addressing the country's opioid overdose crisis.

  • September 24, 2025

    Tribal Groups Back 9th Circ. Bid To Block Ariz. Land Transfer

    Two tribal advocacy groups are backing a Ninth Circuit bid to block a 2,400-acre federal land exchange in Arizona to make way for a billion-dollar copper mining project they say will destroy an ancient worship site, arguing that federal policies are systematically stripping Indigenous nations of their homelands.

  • September 24, 2025

    States Say Ed Dept. Must Face Suit Over Mental Health Cuts

    A group of 16 states led by Washington has asked a federal judge not to let the U.S. Department of Education escape the states' claims that the agency violated federal law by discontinuing mental health grants given to public schools to help students cope with school shootings.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Consumer Protection Compliance Issues In NY State Budget

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    Companies that engage with New York consumers should promptly familiarize themselves with new state budget provisions that require finance and retail companies to make certain business practices more transparent and easier for customers to execute, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Balancing The Promises And Perils Of Tokenizing Securities

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    Tokenizing listed securities offers the promise of greater efficiency, accessibility and innovation, but a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission statement makes clear that the federal securities laws continue to apply to tokenized securities, so financial institutions and technology developers must work together to create clear rules, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • How To Increase 3rd-Party Preissuance Patent Submissions

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    Attorneys Marian Underweiser and Marc Ehrlich, who helped draft the America Invents Act, discuss changes that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could potentially implement to facilitate its hopes for increased participation in front-end patent challenges.

  • How Cos. In China Can Tailor Compliance Amid FCPA Shifts

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement guidelines create a fluid business environment for companies operating in China that will require a customized compliance approach to navigate both countries’ corporate and legal systems, say attorneys at Dickinson Wright.

  • 7 Ways Employers Can Avoid Labor Friction Over AI

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    As artificial intelligence use in the workplace emerges as a key labor relations topic in the U.S. and Europe, employers looking to reduce reputational risk and prevent costly disputes should consider proactive strategies to engage with unions, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Open Banking Is On Ice As CFPB Seeks To Toss Its Own Rule

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    Even as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's efforts to toss its open banking rule play out in Kentucky federal court, it remains statutorily required to effectuate consumer access to data, raising questions about how it would replace the previously finalized standard, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • SEC, FINRA Obligations In Changing AI Regulatory Landscape

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    Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent withdrawal of its proposed artificial intelligence conflict rules, financial regulators remain focused on firms developing the correct AI compliance framework, as well as continuously testing and supervising them to ensure they're fit for purpose, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Trump Air Emissions Carveouts Cloud The Regulatory Picture

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    President Donald Trump's new proclamations temporarily exempting key U.S. industries from air toxics standards, issued under a narrow, rarely-used provision of the Clean Air Act, will likely lead to legal challenges and tighter standards in some states, contributing to further regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement Will Help US Compete

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    The U.S. Department of Justice settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise clears the purchase of Juniper Networks in a deal that positions the U.S. as a leader in secure, scalable networking and critical digital infrastructure by requiring the divestiture of a WiFi network business geared toward small firms, says John Shu at Taipei Medical University.

  • How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

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    Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Assessing Impact Of USPTO's New Patent Policies

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    Recent data shows how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new patent policies are affecting America Invents Act trial institution rates, including spurring an uptick in discretionary denials, say attorneys at Armond Wilson.

  • What US Medicine Onshoring Means For Indian Life Sciences

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    Despite the Trump administration's latest moves to onshore essential medicine manufacturing, India will likely remain an indispensable component of the U.S. drug supply chain, but Indian manufacturers should prepare for stricter compliance checks, says Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.

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    The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

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