Public Policy

  • July 23, 2026

    Judge OKs $27.5M Cost Agreement For Calif. Cleanup Suit

    A California federal judge Wednesday approved a $27.5 million agreement a Golden State regulator and seven companies submitted for litigation over the cleanup of a former lead smelting and battery recycling facility near Los Angeles.

  • July 23, 2026

    Mich. Parent Tells 6th Circ. School Limited Her Free Speech

    Counsel for a Michigan parental rights advocate told a Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday that a cease and desist letter from a Lowell Area Schools administrator barring her from contacting teachers directly violated the parent's First Amendment rights, even though the letter provided a process for Stefanie Boone to communicate through administrators.

  • July 23, 2026

    DraftKings Fights Uphill To Beat Suit Over Calif. Gambling Law

    U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer said Thursday he's inclined to deny DraftKings' bid to toss a putative class action accusing the sportsbook of skirting California gambling laws, saying he thinks the plaintiff consumers have sufficiently alleged a monetary injury — and that the games are likely prohibited by state law.

  • July 23, 2026

    House Panel Summons CEOs Over Private Listing Partnership

    A House antitrust subcommittee requested a briefing with Midwest Real Estate Data CEO Rebecca Jensen and Compass International Holdings CEO Robert Reffkin over their companies' private listing partnership.

  • July 23, 2026

    Hawaii, Green Groups Fight EPA Rebuff Of Regional Haze Plan

    Hawaii and environmental groups asked the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to overturn a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to partially reject a plan the Aloha State submitted to improve air quality in national parks that would have retired some older power plants.

  • July 23, 2026

    Colo. Panel Clarifies Worker Retaliation Claim Requirements

    The Colorado Court of Appeals held for the first time Thursday that two Colorado statutes meant to close gender pay gaps do not require workers to allege gender discrimination, partially reviving a former human services caseworker's retaliation case against the county department she had worked for.

  • July 23, 2026

    Domino's Noncompete Rules Illegal In Wash., Ex-Worker Says

    Domino's Pizza LLC illegally blocked its Washington workers from moonlighting at certain businesses, a former employee claimed in a proposed class action filed Tuesday, alleging that a company conflict-of-interest policy violated two state laws barring many noncompete agreements.

  • July 23, 2026

    PTAB Eligibility Affirmance Rate Fell After Squires Took Over

    Early data on Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on patent eligibility determinations by examiners shows a slight dip in the affirmance rate under U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires, according to an analysis by McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP.

  • July 23, 2026

    Colo. Says Space Command Move Part Of Trump Retaliation

    Colorado has urged a federal judge to reject the Trump administration's bid to pare the state's lawsuit alleging the relocation of U.S. Space Command and other federal actions were part of a campaign to punish Colorado over its mail-in voting policies and an election-related prosecution.

  • July 23, 2026

    Pa. AG Criticizes 'Inadequate' Felony Murder Sentence Bill

    Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has urged lawmakers to reject a proposed new sentencing framework for people convicted of second-degree murder, calling a proposal amended Thursday too lenient even as a deadline set by the state's Supreme Court draws near.

  • July 23, 2026

    US To Impose Widespread Tariffs As Temporary Duties Expire

    Tariffs covering most imports into the U.S. at 10% and 12.5% will take effect Friday as President Donald Trump's temporary global duty expires, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Thursday.

  • July 23, 2026

    Brazil Wants Crackdown On Alleged Media Rights Cartel

    Antitrust authorities in Brazil on Thursday called for a slew of convictions against what it described as an international cartel that colluded to fix prices and suppress competition in the market for sports broadcasting rights.

  • July 23, 2026

    Kate Hudson Activewear Customer Drops Tariff Refund Claim

    A customer of Kate Hudson's activewear business Fabletics has dropped her claim for refunds of global tariffs she alleged the actress's company passed on to customers before the U.S. Supreme Court found them illegal.

  • July 23, 2026

    Trump Admin Sued Over Fee Waiver Ban For Immigrant Youth

    Advocacy groups sued the Trump administration in California federal court Wednesday over a fee waiver ban following the enactment of the 2025 budget reconciliation bill that imposes a $250 fee for indigent youth seeking special immigrant juvenile status, even though they have no legal means of earning income.

  • July 23, 2026

    HUD Says States Aren't Harmed By Fair Housing Standards

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development told a California federal court to toss a suit filed by the District of Columbia and 15 states over past standards for receiving funding for fair housing enforcement, arguing that the plaintiffs lack Article III standing because they have not shown how they have been harmed by the funding standards.

  • July 23, 2026

    Lack Of Jurisdiction Dooms $273M 'Rip And Replace' Suit

    The Court of Federal Claims has tossed a complaint from a telecom that says the Federal Communications Commission wrongly denied it $273 million in "rip and replace" funds for replacing Chinese-made equipment, saying that the company's dispute belongs in federal appeals court.

  • July 23, 2026

    BIA Justice Office Says Cocaine Ring Hit SD Reservation

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services says it has dismantled a trafficking operation responsible for distributing cocaine throughout South Dakota and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that has led to the indictments of 14 people and the seizure of narcotics, guns and cash.

  • July 23, 2026

    DOJ Looks To Streamline Some Merger Reviews

    The U.S. Department of Justice introduced a new model timing agreement for merger reviews on Thursday, as part of what it said was an effort to help antitrust enforcers focus their investigations on key issues early in the process.

  • July 23, 2026

    Feds Withdraw Subpoenas To NYT Over Trump Jet Reporting

    The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office on Thursday withdrew grand jury subpoenas served on four New York Times journalists who reported on security flaws aboard a jet gifted to President Donald Trump for use as Air Force One, after a federal judge threatened to quash the inquiries.

  • July 23, 2026

    7th Circ. Backs Chicago's Tenant Payout Ordinance

    The Seventh Circuit held Wednesday that a Chicago ordinance requiring owners of foreclosed rental buildings to pay tenants $10,600 to help with relocation costs is not an unconstitutional taking of property, saying that state and local authorities have broad power to regulate landlord-tenant relationships.

  • July 23, 2026

    NJ Rule Change Proposed To Shield AG's Atty Training Docs

    A potential rule change would exempt New Jersey's attorney general from having to publicly release certain government attorney training materials, like those at the center of a government watchdog's recent lawsuit.

  • July 23, 2026

    Senate Confirms 2 Judges, Advances Ohio And Colo. Picks

    The Senate on Thursday voted 48-47 to confirm Judge Daniel Traynor of the District of North Dakota to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and 49-44 to confirm Antonio M. Pozos, a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, as a judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

  • July 23, 2026

    USTR Says EU's Google Actions Cast Cloud On US Trade Deal

    The U.S. trade deal with the European Union may be undermined by European Commission actions against Google owner Alphabet, including penalties totaling over $1 billion and claims that the U.S. technology giant unfairly favored its own services in certain applications, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Thursday. 

  • July 23, 2026

    Conn. Banking Dept. Says Debt Servicer Lacks Key Atty Ties

    An Illinois servicing company that says it provides administrative services to debt relief lawyers cannot avoid Connecticut Department of Banking enforcement efforts because it does not appear to be connected to licensed in-state attorneys, the department has said, urging a state judge to dismiss a challenge to its authority.

  • July 23, 2026

    2026 Marks Banner Year For AI Changes To Insurance Industry

    The first half of 2026 has seen continued development of artificial intelligence systems in the insurance industry, including new coverage terms for policyholders and evolving regulatory scrutiny for insurers. The changes promise to alter the insurance market in the months to come.

Expert Analysis

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Raises Bar For Avoiding Default Interest

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    Following a New York bankruptcy court's recent decision in 33 Mako, solvent debtors may find it significantly harder to avoid paying contractual default interest to oversecured lenders under Section 506(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 'Skinny Label' Arguments Spotlight Induced Infringement Risk

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma highlight the uncertain boundary between lawful generic competition through so-called skinny labels and induced patent infringement, with potential implications for patent holders’ communication, enforcement and causation strategies across industries, says Anton Hopen at Trenam.

  • What Jury Holdouts Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Strategy

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    Though a hung jury can be a disappointment, a psychological understanding of jury holdouts can help trial lawyers shape their damages arguments and understand leadership and group composition as a function of jury selection, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

  • 'Mobile' Sources For On-Site Generation May Be A Risky Bet

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering treating large on-site generators used at data centers as mobile rather than stationary sources under the Clean Air Act, a significant policy change that would leave developers that adopt this solution at risk of regulatory reversals, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • AI Investment Advice May Fail Investor Protection Rules

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    Based on an ongoing study of artificial intelligence platforms' investment advice given to retail investors, direct access to AI may not yield recommendations for typical households that are suitable under relevant securities rules, raising new and important issues in the regulation of financial markets, says Bruce Carlin at Rice University.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

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    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • AG Watch: Reconciling 2 Maryland Data Privacy Statutes

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    In-house counsel should map the interplay between the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act's strictly necessary standard to deliver a requested service, and the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act's exemption of consent-based pricing within loyalty programs, before the state attorney general begins enforcement on the latter in October, says Erek Barron at Mintz.

  • EPA Listing Signals New Scrutiny Of Drugs In Drinking Water

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    The recent publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest draft drinking water contaminant list highlights pharmaceuticals as a category of concern, marking the start of a process that could shape future research priorities, monitoring requirements, and federal and state actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • New Cuba Sanctions Raise Risks For Foreign Banks, Cos.

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    President Donald Trump's bold move leveling secondary sanctions against Cuba expands enforcement risk for foreign banks and companies with no U.S. nexus, signaling that non-U.S. businesses should reassess related transactions, counterparties and exposure as regulators test this broader authority, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • SEC Clarifies 'Baby Shelf' Restrictions For Small Cos.

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    For smaller public companies looking to access the capital markets, the so-called baby shelf requirements can be a significant limitation, but recent guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission helps to alleviate the effect of subsequent baby shelf restrictions on an at-the-market facility, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Nexstar Offers A Cautionary Tale On State-Level Deal Scrutiny

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    State-enforcement challenges to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger remind legal practitioners that federal approval isn't always sufficient to deliver certainty on closing, integration and timetable assumptions, says Brett Story at Britehorn Securities.

  • How 'Bundling' Enforcement Is Parsing Efficiency, Access

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    Recent antitrust enforcement actions have taken a selective view of companies' bundling of products or services — challenging it when it shuts out rivals, but tolerating it when it creates efficient scale — making the real test now less about lower prices than about whether competition is being blocked, says attorney Alan Kusinitz.

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