Public Policy

  • June 18, 2025

    Harris County, Trump Admin Drop Suit Over Refugee Funds

    Harris County and the Trump administration have agreed to drop the former's lawsuit alleging the government was unlawfully freezing federal funds for a Houston-area refugee resettlement program.

  • June 18, 2025

    California Bar Exam Woes Latest Chapter In Ongoing Scrutiny

    Recent headline-grabbing blunders with the February California bar exam represent a stumbling block in a yearslong effort to reshape the exam, with an eye toward equity and accessibility for the more than 10,000 applicants who sit for the exam each year.

  • June 18, 2025

    Jeanine Pirro Faring Better Than Earlier Pick For DC US Atty

    President Donald Trump's second pick for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, former judge and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, seems to be having an easier time than the previous contender, Ed Martin.

  • June 18, 2025

    Union Praises NY Bills On AI In Advertisements, Digital Rights

    Entertainment labor union SAG-AFTRA has applauded the passage of two bills by the New York State Legislature that would require the disclosure of advertisements' use of artificial intelligence-generated performers and for permission to be obtained to use digital renderings of deceased performers in expressive works.

  • June 18, 2025

    Trump Organization Taps DLA Piper Atty As Ethics Adviser

    President Donald Trump's family business said Wednesday that it has named a leader of DLA Piper's government affairs and public policy practice as its outside ethics adviser.

  • June 18, 2025

    NC Bar Lacks Power To Punish NY-Licensed Atty, Panel Rules

    The North Carolina State Bar can't discipline lawyers who may reside in the state but are not licensed to practice there, a state appellate panel ruled Wednesday in reversing the disbarment of an immigration attorney who lives in the Tar Heel State but is licensed in New York.

  • June 18, 2025

    Ex-Public Defender Says Bogus Bias Reports Got Her Fired 

    The former chief public defender for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, said Wednesday in a lawsuit that she was wrongfully accused of racial bias and unilaterally fired by the county manager, rather than by the county executive who had appointed her.

  • June 18, 2025

    Senate Adds Full 5-Year Term For New FCC Commissioner

    The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Olivia Trusty, a newly added member of the Federal Communications Commission, to serve another five years in addition to the term ending June 30 that lawmakers had approved the day before.

  • June 18, 2025

    Judge Says A Ruling Unfreezing Wind Projects May Be Pyrrhic

    A Massachusetts federal judge said on Wednesday he will allow key claims to move forward in a suit challenging the Trump administration's halt of wind farm project reviews, yet he suggested even if the plaintiffs ultimately prevail, the administration could still simply deny requests for permits and leases.

  • June 18, 2025

    Mich. Housing Co-Op Suit On Hold After Disclosure Exemption

    A Michigan federal judge hit pause on a lawsuit from a group of housing cooperatives to escape requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act after the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said it would give U.S.-based entities a break from the rules.

  • June 18, 2025

    DOL Noms Vow To Confront Child Labor, Back Davis-Bacon

    President Donald Trump's nominees for key U.S. Department of Labor roles told a U.S. Senate panel Wednesday they will go after unlawful child labor and enforce prevailing wages under the Davis-Bacon Act, painting a picture of what the agency could look like as its leadership team rounds out.

  • June 18, 2025

    Justices Say 'Exhaustion' In Prisoner Suits Is A Jury Question

    The U.S. Supreme Court narrowly ruled on Wednesday that prisoners have a right to a jury trial when there's a factual dispute over whether they properly exhausted prison grievance procedures — a key requirement before suing over prison conditions under federal law.

  • June 18, 2025

    Supreme Court Says Biofuel Waiver Fights Belong In DC Circ.

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the D.C. Circuit is the proper venue for challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's denial of biofuel waivers to small refiners, while state-level disputes over national ozone air quality standards must be heard in regional circuit courts.

  • June 18, 2025

    Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Transgender Care Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, finding that the state law does not violate the equal protection clause.

  • June 18, 2025

    High Court Says Texas Can't Challenge Nuclear Waste Site

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday said Texas and a mineral owner could not challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in the state, while sidestepping the issue of whether the agency is authorized to license such facilities.

  • June 17, 2025

    Mass. Judge Expands Block On Trans Passport Policy

    A Massachusetts federal judge Tuesday expanded to thousands of people a preliminary injunction ordering the U.S. Department of State to issue or renew passports to six transgender or nonbinary people to reflect their gender identity.

  • June 17, 2025

    Mass. Judge Temporarily Blocks DOD Research Funding Cuts

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's planned cuts to U.S. Department of Defense-funded research, granting the injunction just a day after a slew of institutions sued on allegations that the move would "stop critical research in its tracks."

  • June 17, 2025

    Block On Job Corps Cuts Extended As Judge Weighs Injunction

    A New York federal judge on Tuesday extended a temporary restraining order prohibiting the U.S. Department of Labor from "suspending" most of the Job Corps program, which contractors and others say is tantamount to shuttering the youth education and vocational training program and will likely result in student homelessness.

  • June 17, 2025

    Sunoco Pipeline Leak Class Claims Return To Philly Court

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has sent environmental class claims over a Sunoco pipeline leak back to state court in Philadelphia, ruling that a carveout to federal class action law where the majority of plaintiffs reside in the same place makes it a state court matter.

  • June 17, 2025

    States Say Trump Admin Can't Freeze EV Charging Funds

    An attorney for the Washington Attorney General's Office on Tuesday urged a federal judge in Seattle to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the Trump administration to release funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects in 16 states, saying the administration cannot "go back in time" and eliminate congressionally approved funding.

  • June 17, 2025

    Senate Passes Stablecoin Legislation With Bipartisan Support

    The Senate's proposal to regulate stablecoins passed the chamber on Tuesday with support from both parties, sending it on to the House where lawmakers are still working on their own proposal.

  • June 17, 2025

    La. Law Will Make Tesla Sales Less Onerous, Justices Told

    Louisiana regulators are hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will hold off on considering their request to take up a Tesla-brought case targeting the state's ban on direct sales by automakers, saying a new law is about to change things and the justices should wait until it takes effect.

  • June 17, 2025

    Ex-Low Power TV Owner Hit With $188K In Fines

    A Federal Communications Commission administrative law judge has slapped the former licensee of Hispanic Christian Community Network with $188,000 in fines, finding the man paid "utterly no attention ... to statutory and regulatory responsibilities."

  • June 17, 2025

    EPA Ordered To Rethink Enviro Justice Grant Terminations

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority by canceling certain grants without a "reasoned explanation" beyond the Trump administration's deprioritization of "environmental justice" initiatives, a Maryland federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying the grant terminations must be vacated and sent back to the EPA for further review.

  • June 17, 2025

    9th Circ. Skeptical Of Blocking National Guard Deployment

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Tuesday to striking down a temporary restraining order — currently paused — that would block President Donald Trump from sending the National Guard into Los Angeles, with two judges repeatedly citing case law suggesting the president has broad discretion to mobilize the Guard.

Expert Analysis

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

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    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

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    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Action Steps To Prepare For Ramped-Up Export Enforcement

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    In light of recent Bureau of Industry and Security actions and comments, companies, particularly those with any connection to China, should consider four concrete steps to shore up their compliance programs given the administration's increasingly aggressive approach to export enforcement, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • DOJ Signals Major Shift In White Collar Enforcement Priorities

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    In a speech on Monday, an official outlined key revisions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure, corporate monitorship and whistleblower program policies, marking a meaningful change in the white collar enforcement landscape, and offering companies clearer incentives and guardrails, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

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    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

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    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews

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    The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption

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    If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.

  • Balancing Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order, Int'l Agreements

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing exploration and exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources appears to conflict with the evolving international framework regulating such activities, so companies and investors should proceed with care and keep possible future legal challenges in mind, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • CFTC Memos Clarify When 'Sorry' Still Gets You Subpoenaed

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    A pair of Commodity Futures Trading Commission advisories released in February and April open a new path to self-reporting but emphasize that serious breaches still warrant a trip to the penalty box, prompting firms to weigh whether — and how — to disclose potential violations in the future, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • Parsing The SEC's New Increased Co-Investment Flexibility

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new co-investment exemptive orders simplify processes and reduce barriers for regulated funds — and rulemaking may evolve further to allow investors access to additional investment opportunities and increase available capital for issuers seeking to raise money from fund complexes, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Cos. Must Assess And Prepare For Cartel-Related FCPA Risks

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    Given the Trump administration’s strong signaling that it will focus on drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations when it resumes Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, global businesses should refresh their risk assessments and conduct enhanced due diligence to account for these shifting priorities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • State AGs Shape Regulatory Dynamic In Trump's 1st 100 Days

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    With President Donald Trump's promised rollback of long-standing federal regulations and enforcement actions just beginning, alongside a flurry of executive orders, what state attorneys general do now will influence the complex state-federal regulatory landscape for years to come, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Opinion

    New Hospice Regulations Should Enforce Core Principles

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    As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General prepares to research and expand on oversight of Medicare hospice care, the OIG should keep in mind certain core principles, such as an emphasis on preventing the entry of hospices that raise red flags, says Bill Dombi at Arnall Golden.

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