Public Policy

  • September 17, 2026

    EU Antitrust Chief Says AI Competition Mitigates Risk

    Europe's top antitrust enforcer raised concerns Thursday about the need to regulate artificial intelligence companies, while a top U.S. official said enforcers need to hear more about potential collaborations on AI safety before deciding if they're problematic.

  • September 17, 2026

    10th Circ. Debates Bid To Revive Colo. Atty Fee Law Challenge

    Colorado residents and community watch groups urged the Tenth Circuit on Thursday to revive their constitutional challenge against a Colorado law that mandates attorney fee awards to local governments in certain land use disputes, fielding court questions on the case's reviewability and whether sovereign immunity applies.

  • September 17, 2026

    Trump Withdraws ICE Nominee Schroyer After Senate Delay

    The White House announced Thursday that it withdrew President Donald Trump's nomination of former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his nomination stalled in the Senate.

  • September 17, 2026

    EPA Sued Over Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Rule Repeal

    Environmental and public health groups on Thursday sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its repeal of greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants, accusing the agency of renouncing its legal obligation to tackle climate change-related pollution from the power sector.

  • September 17, 2026

    DHS Says Western Hemisphere Asylum Claims Are Meritless

    U.S. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival sent a letter to the American Immigration Lawyer's Association this week warning that attorneys who file frivolous asylum applications will be "subject to penalties."

  • September 17, 2026

    Michigan Court Pilot Aims To Aid Unrepresented Litigants

    The Michigan Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it is launching a pilot project, based on recent reforms in Utah and Arizona, that will allow trained nonlawyers to provide in-court support to people who cannot afford a lawyer in civil cases.

  • September 17, 2026

    Tribe Says HHS Defied High Court On Contract Funding

    A California tribe has sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Indian Health Service in Washington, D.C., federal court, accusing them of unlawfully slashing about $2.37 million in contract support costs to less than $100,000.

  • September 17, 2026

    Judge Nixes DEI Conditions For Federal Education Funds

    A Massachusetts federal judge Thursday found the U.S. Office of Management and Budget cannot stipulate education research funding on rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, but declined to force the government to spend certain education funds before they expire this month.

  • September 17, 2026

    Ore. Judge Denies HHS' Attempt To Amend Gender Care Order

    An Oregon federal judge on Thursday rejected the Trump administration's bid to narrow an earlier order that voided a policy declaration central to the government's crackdown on gender-affirming care for minors.

  • September 17, 2026

    Weaponization Fund Plaintiffs Say Discovery Ruling Was Right

    Plaintiffs suing over the Trump administration's once-proposed "anti-weaponization fund" are telling a Virginia federal judge to reject the U.S. Department of Justice's objections to a magistrate judge's discovery order, accusing the administration of stonewalling their requests and urging prompt discovery production.

  • September 17, 2026

    Industry Groups, IP Attys Back High Court PTAB Denials Case

    The bar association for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a group of intellectual property law attorneys and others have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to scrutinize the discretionary denial policies of current U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leadership.

  • September 17, 2026

    Colo. $2B Graduated Tax Proposal Faces Signature Challenge

    A proposal to cut Colorado income tax rates for most earners, raise rates for high earners and raise $2 billion annually failed to gather the signatures needed to reach the state's November ballot, a lawsuit against state election officials charges.

  • September 17, 2026

    Groups Seek 4.4 GHz Revamp, But Clash On Exclusive Use

    Top wireless carriers and shared-spectrum advocates issued reports this week saying the government needs to set the 4 gigahertz band on a path toward industry use, but are at odds on whether to set aside the airwaves for full-power exclusive licenses.

  • September 17, 2026

    DOJ Official Says Political Appointees Play Antitrust Role

    Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. on Thursday defended the role political appointees play in enforcing antitrust laws, saying it would be "blatantly unconstitutional" if U.S. Department of Justice leadership merely deferred to unelected officials.

  • September 17, 2026

    Electricity Tax Rules Kept In Irish EU Reg Draft, Over Protests

    The Irish government, currently leading the Council of the European Union, kept rules requiring tax rates on electricity to be no less favorable than those on natural gas in its revision of a draft EU regulation, despite some member states' objections, according to a document obtained Thursday by Law360.

  • September 17, 2026

    Judge Finds NM PFAS Label Likely Violates First Amendment

    A New Mexico federal judge temporarily blocked the state from requiring manufacturers to place a PFAS label on any product intentionally made with forever chemicals, finding the groups opposed to the mandate likely have First Amendment grounds to challenge it.

  • September 17, 2026

    Judge Nixes Workers' Bid To Halt IRS Withholding Rules

    A Texas federal judge dismissed two workers' claims that the Internal Revenue Service's income tax withholding regulations resulted in employers overdeducting taxes from their employees' paychecks, finding that federal law bars the workers' bid to prevent tax collection.

  • September 17, 2026

    Senate Confirms Kirkland Partner To Texas Federal Bench

    The Senate voted 49-45 on Thursday to confirm Kasdin Miller Mitchell, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Texas.

  • September 17, 2026

    NIH Grant Terminations Violate First Amendment, Court Told

    The National Institutes of Health is violating the First Amendment by terminating research grants based on policies aimed at suppressing "disfavored" viewpoints on gender identity, climate change and a host of other topics, researchers told a California federal court in a proposed class action suit.

  • September 17, 2026

    Cruz, Markey Urge Senate To Pass Bill On AM Radio In Cars

    Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., have called on the Senate to advance the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act following its passage in the House of Representatives.

  • September 17, 2026

    Tech Co. Settles Suit Over Flawed NC Digital Court System

    A putative class of individuals who alleged they were wrongfully arrested or detained due to glitches in North Carolina's electronic court system has settled its federal lawsuit against Tyler Technologies, the software developer behind the new digital court system, according to a notice filed Wednesday.

  • September 17, 2026

    Canada Commits To Trade Initiatives With EU, Southeast Asia

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday committed to work with European Union officials to enhance the trading relationship between the bloc and Canada as the country's top trade official is scheduled to visit major partners in Asia in the coming days to advance negotiations on trade agreements.

  • September 17, 2026

    Tenn. Prosecutor Immune In $850K Hemp Seizure Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge has dismissed a hemp distributor's claims against a district attorney general over 216 pounds of hemp that was seized, then destroyed, following a 2023 traffic stop, finding he has prosecutorial immunity.

  • September 17, 2026

    Calif. Judge Holds Off On Sanctioning ICE Amid GEO Talks

    A California federal judge deferred imposing sanctions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday after the agency said it's working to give monitors access to health records for detained immigrants at a facility where the judge has twice ordered conditions to be improved.

  • September 17, 2026

    Minn. Homeowner Asks Justices To Undo Costs Order

    A self-represented Minnesota homeowner's effort to throw out tax court order recovering a county's litigation costs in a property valuation dispute will go before the state Supreme Court, according to a writ of certiorari filed Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Courts Are Pushing Back On Greenwashing Laws

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    Recent Fourth Circuit and California federal court decisions blocking state greenwashing statutes on First Amendment grounds reveal a tension at the heart of environmental marketing regulation — while states want clarity, courts aren't prepared to let legislatures flatly ban categories of truthful commercial speech, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What NYC Bridge Crash Signals About Micromobility Liability

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    A recent fatal crash between a cyclist and a man riding a high-powered electric scooter on New York City's Queensboro Bridge highlights how litigation over accidents involving micromobility devices may increasingly shift away from ordinary negligence and toward product liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • 3 Ways Tokenization Is Moving To Traditional Finance

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    Recent initiatives reflect efforts to integrate distributed ledger technology into existing regulatory frameworks for securities, banking and payments settlements while preserving the underlying rights and obligations of market participants, say attorneys at Hughes Hubbard.

  • At The Intersection Of Right-To-Repair Laws And IP Rights

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    Right-to-repair legislation passing through Congress highlights a broad tension between manufacturers' security measures and consumer autonomy, with important repercussions for the automotive industry's intellectual property rights, says Keith Noe at Lando & Anastasi. 

  • Opinion

    States Should Reconsider Forced PBM Divestiture Laws

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    State legislatures are attempting to enact policies intended to force pharmacy benefit managers to divest from pharmacies, but these laws would have the practical effect of reducing patient access and competition, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution in the process, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

  • HSR Deals Proceed More Steadily Than Narratives Suggest

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    The most recent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data show that transaction volume remained relatively stable, transaction values continued to increase and enforcement activity remained low, suggesting that enforcement rates have been relatively consistent across presidential administrations despite widely differing public rhetoric regarding merger enforcement, says Amanda Wait at Michael Best.

  • Assessing The Benefits Of Fla.'s Newest Business Structure

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    As of July 1, Florida business owners can create protected series LLCs to shield assets from liability while avoiding increased costs and wasted time, but burdensome recordkeeping obligations are crucial to maintaining the very protection that makes them attractive in the first place, says Gregory Ritter at Moritt Hock.

  • Key Post-Proposal Shifts Likely In CFPB Loss Mitigation Rule

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    Mortgage servicers, borrowers and consumer advocates should prepare for a likely narrowed version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's loss mitigation rule, which is likely to permit sequential reviews, defer to investor guidelines, extend compliance timelines and preempt conflicting state standards, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

  • Noncompete Laws Show States Focusing On Bans, Healthcare

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    The first half of 2026 confirms that state legislatures are driving the most consequential changes in noncompete law, including a few state bans and several healthcare-specific laws, making a one-size-fits-all approach increasingly untenable for multistate employers, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's Inside Proposed, Expanded NY Stablecoin Regulations

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    New York's recently proposed regulations for payment stablecoin issuers would, if adopted, increase the regulatory burdens of a state license, and midsize issuers considering a conversion to a federal charter should weigh the associated costs of both options, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Justices' Tax Sale Ruling Tees Up Auction Fairness Battles

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan, that taxpayers are not entitled to fair market value of real property seized to satisfy a tax debt shifts attention to the fairness of state and local auction procedures, and whether taxpayers claiming surplus proceeds face unwarranted hurdles, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

  • What Corporate Counsel Can Learn From OpenAI Test Breach

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    The significance of the recent artificial intelligence testing breach involving OpenAI and Hugging Face lies in what it reveals about the path of AI’s evolution, because legal professionals must translate that trajectory into actionable governance, contractual and advisory frameworks, says Jason Mueller at Vorys.

  • Patent Eligibility Reforms Keep Chasing The Wrong Fixes

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    Repeated efforts to create a consistent, predictable patent eligibility standard under Section 101 have centered on replacing judge-made exceptions with new statutory language, but the better fix is to align examination standards with how courts actually apply eligibility doctrine, says former Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge Amee Shah.

  • Opinion

    Qualified Immunity Bill's Reach Goes Beyond Federal Officers

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    The federal Qualified Immunity Abolition Act, introduced earlier this year and described by the bill sponsors as a federal-officer measure, would in actuality reach the entire universe of Section 1983 defendants, a distinction that matters as much to defense counsel as to plaintiffs, says attorney V. James DeSimone.

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