Public Policy

  • September 03, 2026

    Trump Admin Fights Uphill To Beat Vaccine Overhaul Suit

    A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he is likely to reject the federal government's bid to toss litigation from states challenging the Trump administration's decision to cut vaccine recommendations for American children, saying he thinks the states have standing based on the effect the change will have on their healthcare systems.

  • September 03, 2026

    Pilot Plane Forfeiture Over 6-Pack Is Excessive, Justices Told

    An 83-year-old bush pilot has told the U.S. Supreme Court that Alaska flouted precedent and applied a grossly disproportionate standard by saddling him with the "ills of alcohol abuse statewide" in trying to forfeit his $95,000 plane for transporting a six-pack of beer to a dry village.

  • September 03, 2026

    GAO Says DHS Is Unlikely To Save $10.5B From Contract Cuts

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is unlikely to realize $10.5 billion in projected savings after terminating 438 contracts because the agency can obtain many of the same services through existing contracts. 

  • September 03, 2026

    OCC Gives Initial Nods To Digital Banks Revolut, OpenReserve

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency preliminarily approved charter applications from European digital bank Revolut and blockchain-based bank OpenReserve to establish national banks in the United States.

  • September 03, 2026

    Judge Decries 'Gamesmanship' In Nixing EPA Waiver Moves

    A federal judge has struck an initial blow against the Trump administration and congressional Republicans' aggressive use of the Congressional Review Act to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's move to make Clean Air Act waivers for California subject to potential rescission by lawmakers.

  • September 03, 2026

    Alaska's Izembek Road Work OK'd Despite Axed Land Swap

    A federal judge has slapped down an environmental group's bid to preliminarily stop the state of Alaska and a Native village corporation from beginning construction on 2.8 miles of road adjacent to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

  • September 03, 2026

    FCC Denies Retaliatory Pretext In ABC License Renewal Probe

    The Federal Communications Commission urged a D.C. federal court Thursday to toss ABC's suit over the agency's early review of eight station licenses, denying that a discrimination probe of network parent Disney was a pretext for retaliating against ABC.

  • September 03, 2026

    Ky. AG Sues NY Abortion Rights Org. Over Gas Station Ads

    A New York-based abortion advocacy nonprofit is violating Kentucky's consumer protection laws by illegally advertising mail-order abortion pills at gas stations throughout the state and flying ads over the state fair, the state's attorney general claimed in a lawsuit Thursday. 

  • September 03, 2026

    BIA Scraps Precedent Limiting In Absentia Removal Orders

    The full Board of Immigration Appeals said Thursday that immigration officials can rely on the most recent address on file when mailing removal notices, overruling 25-year-old precedent limiting in absentia orders for noncitizens who did not receive a mailed notice.

  • September 03, 2026

    FCC Told It Can't Preempt Local Utilities On Pole Attachments

    A municipally owned electric company from Kentucky wants the FCC to clarify that it doesn't plan to step on its toes or the toes of any other government-owned utilities as the agency seeks to pass rules that would allow it to preempt wireline decisions if localities are moving too slowly.

  • September 03, 2026

    Ga. Deputy Beats Taser Death Claims, Another Still Faces Suit

    A Georgia federal judge partly reconsidered his trimming of a lawsuit over two Burke County deputies' repeated tasing of a man who died after threatening violence, finding that a seizure occurred when one deputy tried to push him into a car, but declined to revive illegal seizure claims.

  • September 03, 2026

    HHS OIG Report Targets $380M In Medicare Organ Payments

    A report released by the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday estimated Medicare needlessly reimbursed roughly $380 million for organs that weren't used in Medicare-covered transplants, finding a "conflict" between federal statute and agency guidance on reimbursement practices.

  • September 03, 2026

    Fla. Panel Revives State's Indemnity Suit In Diving Injury Case

    A Florida appellate court revived an agency's lawsuit seeking indemnification from Miami Beach in a decades-old complaint brought by a man who became a quadriplegic from a diving injury, ruling the judgment in favor of the city was premature because the underlying case hasn't concluded.

  • September 03, 2026

    Leon Black Says 'Intrusive' Epstein Subpoenas Are Invalid

    Rather than appear for a deposition about his connection to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black sued the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its chairman in Washington, D.C., federal court Thursday, saying subpoenas seeking private nondisclosure agreements exceed the committee's authority.

  • September 03, 2026

    Mass. Justices Say Town Can Take Northeastern U. Property

    Massachusetts' top appellate court granted a tiny Bay State town a win in an ongoing land battle with Northeastern University, finding that the community was within its rights to use eminent domain to take property the school had hoped to use to expand a research center.

  • September 03, 2026

    EPA Appeals Order To Determine Soot Standard Compliance

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it's appealing a California federal judge's decision ordering it to designate what parts of the country are meeting or not meeting new air quality standards for fine particulate matter by early February.

  • September 03, 2026

    Cities, Groups Ask Judge To Keep $3B EPA Grant Funding Alive

    Cities and groups challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's cancellation of nearly $3 billion in environmental climate justice grants asked a South Carolina federal judge, who ruled the termination unlawful, on Wednesday to preserve the funding while the agency appeals the decision.

  • September 03, 2026

    CFTC Says CME Perps Fight Is 'Much Ado About Nothing'

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission told a D.C. federal judge that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's suit over the agency's approval of Kalshi's bitcoin perpetual futures contract is "much ado about nothing" since the derivatives exchange is free to list its own version of the product.

  • September 03, 2026

    Kavanaugh Stays Out Of Mich. Voter ID Referendum Row

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined Thursday to wade into a dispute over Michigan election officials' refusal to put on ballots this November a proposed amendment to the state's constitution that would require voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship to participate in state and local elections.

  • September 03, 2026

    8 Patent Reviews Instituted By Squires, Only 1 Denied

    In his latest round of decisions, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires instituted eight patent reviews Wednesday and rejected only one challenge.

  • September 03, 2026

    Connecticut Has 'No Ability' To Regulate ICE, Judge Told

    The state of Connecticut cannot impose its own masking, identification or use-of-force standards on federal officers like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge Thursday in seeking to kneecap a new state law.

  • September 03, 2026

    Judge Tosses NY License Rule Over Pot Shop Proximity

    New York cannabis regulators cannot decide at the eleventh hour whether they will grant waivers permitting certain kinds of dispensary applicants to open within 1,000 feet of a rival, a state court has ruled after finding that officials arbitrarily denied an entrepreneur's request to open a Niagara Falls shop near a competitor.

  • September 03, 2026

    Ga. School District Wants Early Win In Nixed Job Offer Suit

    A Georgia school district asked a federal judge to grant it an early win in a high school Spanish teacher candidate's lawsuit alleging her job offer was rescinded after school officials discovered online comments alleging the administration of former President Joe Biden unfairly targeted her spouse's firearm business.

  • September 03, 2026

    Mich. Court Keeps Ann Arbor Public Power Measure On Ballot

    A Michigan appellate panel has kept a proposal to create a municipal electric utility in Ann Arbor on the November ballot, ruling that the city clerk was not clearly required to reject supplemental petition signatures submitted after the proposal's initial filing. 

  • September 03, 2026

    Pa. Opens Home Care Wage Probes Covering 100K Workers

    Pennsylvania is planning to step up enforcement of wage laws for home care employees, the state's labor secretary has announced, saying these workers are particularly vulnerable to wage theft.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices' FTC Ruling Weakens Qui Tam's Constitutional Base

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. Slaughter, expanding presidential control over those exercising executive power, suggests that courts may be receptive to arguments challenging the constitutional foundations of the False Claims Act’s qui tam mechanism, says Daniel Passeser at Wiggin.

  • 9th Circ. Rule Block Unlikely To Deter FinCEN Cartel Focus

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    The Ninth Circuit recently blocked the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit's border cash reporting rule, interpreting it as an impermissible use of an emergency anti-money laundering tool, but regulators are more likely to see the opinion as a road map for building a more defensible rule, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • What Cos. Must Know About EPA Water Monitoring Proposal

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's newly proposed rule that would require public water systems to monitor for 30 unregulated drinking water contaminants does not impose new obligations on companies, but the data collected could affect future policy, investigations and litigation, says Ayodeji Ayolola at Gordon Rees.

  • Series

    Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

  • House Truck Weight Bill Could Raise Stakes In Crash Suits

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    A bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives could allow participating states to run six-axle trucks at 91,000 pounds instead of 80,000, likely resulting in more catastrophic injury claims with higher damages and further taxing an already strained insurance coverage system, says attorney Angel Reyes.

  • Trump Debarment Threat Calls For Targeted Defense Plan

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    President Donald Trump's recent Truth Social directive ordering federal suspension and debarment officials to investigate the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine over climate science work could have existential consequences, highlighting the importance of winning the framing battle by building a clear timeline and record, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Fed Report Underscores Focus On Nonbank, CRE Risks

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    The Federal Reserve Board's latest supervision and regulation report highlights that broad systemic stability will not insulate individual institutions from rigorous supervisory challenges regarding concentrated commercial real estate portfolios and nonbank partnerships, says Daniel Meade at Hogan Lovells.

  • 3 Upcoming Deadlines That EB-5 Investors Should Consider

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    Potential EB-5 regional center investors should weigh three approaching deadlines, the most immediate of which is Sept. 30, that may affect their filing strategy, required capital commitment and ability to participate even if Congress fails to reauthorize the program, says Michael Ashoori at Ashoori Law.

  • CIPA Tech Tracking Suits Highlight Uncertain Legal Ground

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    Alexandra Samofalova at Spencer Fane discusses the state of California Invasion of Privacy Act website tracking litigation, why credible defendants choose to settle and how the businesses best positioned to face this uncertain legal landscape are the ones treating data practices as a legal compliance matter to address today.

  • AI, Prediction Markets Lead Securities Developments In 2026

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    Securities class actions tied to artificial intelligence and the battle over prediction market regulation both raise novel questions that courts are only beginning to address and that will continue to resonate throughout the second half of the year, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Why A Class Was Certified In Financial Aid Info-Sharing Case

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    The recent Illinois federal court decision in Corzo v. Brown University offers key guidance for defendants confronting class certification in antitrust matters, highlighting how typicality can be satisfied despite class members attending different universities, receiving different aid awards and being affected across different time periods, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Key Compliance Insights From Calif.'s Volvo Diesel Deal

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    While the future of California's vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act is uncertain, the state's recent settlement with Volvo over diesel emissions hinges on the truthfulness of manufacturer representations to state regulators, and offers important lessons for companies on compliance and recordkeeping, says Thierry Montoya at FBT Gibbons.

  • Community Bank Order Signals Fintech Partnership Scrutiny

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent consent order against Community Federal Savings Bank for deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance programs offers clear and urgent lessons for community banks pursuing revenue growth through fintech partnerships and payments services, say attorneys at Bradley.

  • House-Passed KIDS Act Spurs Child Data Practices Audit

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    Graham Dean, Brian Roper-Nelson and Will Quick at Brooks Pierce discuss the noteworthy sections of the U.S. House of Representatives' recently passed Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, the potential revisions as the law moves through the U.S. Senate and the significant business changes that the House law would require.

  • Calif. Recycle Label Order Imperils Product Responsibility Law

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    A California federal court's injunction blocking enforcement of the state's truth-in-recycling law gives companies racing to remove chasing arrows and other recyclability labels from their packaging a reprieve — and the court's action may also hobble implementation of the state's extended producer responsibility law, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

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