Public Policy

  • October 08, 2026

    Ex-Patent Commissioner Joins IP Advocacy Group Board

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's former acting patent division leader has been named as a new advisory board member of the Council for Innovation Promotion after leaving the agency in April, the advocacy group has announced.

  • October 08, 2026

    US Atty Video Lets Harvard Researcher Probe Motive

    A rare video statement released by Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley after her office charged a Russian national and Harvard researcher with smuggling frog embryos last year could be seen as "objective evidence" that the prosecution was driven by vindictiveness, a federal judge said on Thursday.

  • October 08, 2026

    GAO To Investigate CFTC Staffing Cuts After Warren Request

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office will investigate the impact of staffing cuts at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the watchdog agency to probe whether the cuts impacted the CFTC's ability to fulfill its responsibilities and whether they are legally sound.

  • October 08, 2026

    Colo. Landowners Sue To Block Data Center

    Colorado landowners sued Weld County and a data center developer, alleging that the county unlawfully approved the first phase of what they say will be the state's largest data center despite concerns about its water and electricity needs, noise pollution and violations of public meeting requirements.

  • October 08, 2026

    NCUA's 2-Week Leadership Gap Draws Senate Dem Scrutiny

    The Senate Banking Committee's top Democrat is seeking more details on an unusual gap in leadership that took place this summer at the National Credit Union Administration, questioning how the agency continued to function with an empty governing board.

  • October 08, 2026

    FTC's Meador Urges EU To Adopt Case-By-Case Enforcement

    Federal Trade Commission member Mark Meador on Thursday argued digital market rules in the U.K. and the European Union undermine international cooperation with U.S. antitrust and consumer protection enforcers, in the latest Trump administration admonishment of the policies.

  • October 08, 2026

    DOJ Says Denver's Mask Ban Threatens Officers' Safety

    The Trump administration sued the city of Denver and its officials in Colorado federal court Thursday, alleging the city's new ordinance that bans facial coverings for federal law enforcement officers is unconstitutional and threatens officers' safety.

  • October 08, 2026

    USPTO Plan To Limit AIA Reviews Is In White House's Hands

    Rules proposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to place new limits on patent challenges are being scrutinized by a White House agency, which has held dozens of meetings with groups advocating for and against the plan in recent weeks.

  • October 08, 2026

    Coastal County Tells Texas Justices It's Free To Tax Stored Oil

    A Texas county's property tax on stored oil that companies said was bound for export doesn't violate the import-export clause of the U.S. Constitution, the county told the state's high court Thursday, saying a significant amount of oil remained in the state.

  • October 08, 2026

    DOT Tells 2nd Circ. Congestion Pricing Fight In Wrong Court

    The Trump administration doubled down on its efforts to eliminate New York's congestion pricing, telling the Second Circuit that the underlying contract dispute was heard in the wrong court and that it shouldn't be handcuffed to now-disfavored policies of earlier administrations anyway.

  • October 08, 2026

    Kratom Cos. Say Baltimore Overreached With Marketing Suit

    Three kratom sellers and distributors are asking a Maryland federal court to throw out a suit from the city of Baltimore alleging they misled consumers about the addictive nature of kratom, and saying the city is trying to step into enforcement shoes that are meant to be filled by state actors.

  • October 08, 2026

    Gildan Changes T-Shirt Contract Terms After FTC Pressure

    The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that T-shirt manufacturer Gildan Activewear SRL has removed terms from its supply agreement with distributor S&S Holdings LLC that prevented Gildan from offering better prices to competing distributors.

  • October 08, 2026

    No Sign Of A Final Whistle For NCAA Eligibility Suits

    New NCAA rules and a looming U.S. Senate bill could lead to a decrease in court fights over athletes' eligibility, but the huge dollars at stake and athletes' desire to extend their careers mean that litigation is not going to disappear anytime soon.

  • October 08, 2026

    Trade Court Remands Commerce's Freight Coupler Duties

    The U.S. Department of Commerce failed to sufficiently explain how attached freight couplers are within the scope of countervailing and antidumping duties placed on freight rail couplers imported from China, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Thursday, remanding the matter back to Commerce for further explanation.

  • October 08, 2026

    ICE Policy Halting Biometrics Collection On Hold

    A D.C. federal judge has put a hold on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's policy of refusing to collect biometric information needed to process immigration applications for detained immigrants.

  • October 08, 2026

    DA Looks To Stifle Subpoena In NC Digital Court Class Claims

    A local district attorney is seeking to quash a subpoena in a proposed class action alleging glitches in North Carolina's electronic court system led to scores of individuals being wrongfully arrested or detained, calling the request "overly broad" and "unduly burdensome."

  • October 08, 2026

    FDA Expects Mifepristone Safety Review Results By March

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration anticipates finishing its safety evaluation of mifepristone by March 2027, suggesting a longer horizon for its review of regulations allowing the abortion drug to be dispensed remotely, according to a report filed by the agency in Louisiana federal court.

  • October 08, 2026

    IP Rights Group Urges Against Litigation Funding Disclosure

    An inventor rights advocacy group has told a federal courts rules committee that requiring the disclosure of who is funding civil litigation would put independent inventors at a disadvantage when trying to enforce patents against a larger company.

  • October 08, 2026

    11th Circ. Voids Fla. Septic Permit Ban Over New FWS Rule

    The Eleventh Circuit issued a win Thursday for Florida environmental regulators who had been ordered to temporarily stop issuing new septic tank permits over concerns for the well-being of manatees, saying the lower court relied on a federal rule that was no longer valid.

  • October 08, 2026

    Pa. Justices To Hear Philly's Suit Over Opioid-Spurred Crime

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on whether the city of Philadelphia can sue CVS Pharmacy Inc. and other stores under state public nuisance laws for allegedly exacerbating the opioid epidemic with their prescription drug sales.

  • October 08, 2026

    New Fraud Division Flexes Might In Latest Enforcement Policy

    The National Fraud Enforcement Division's new corporate enforcement policy emphasizes the quick pursuit of certain types of fraud through data analysis and staff resources, expands the target list beyond traditional healthcare providers and highlights the division's growing dominance within the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

  • October 08, 2026

    Amex Fined $350M Over Anti-Money Laundering Lapses

    American Express has been fined $350 million over findings of systemic deficiencies in its banking unit's anti-money laundering program, including for alleged failures to properly detect and report $13 billion in potentially illicit activity over roughly a decade, federal regulators said Thursday.

  • October 08, 2026

    High Court Puts 4th Circ. Political Ad Rate Ruling On Ice

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Fourth Circuit ruling that directed the Federal Communications Commission to review an agency staff decision requiring broadcasters charge the lowest political ad rates for committees tied to candidates.

  • October 08, 2026

    Pa. Legislators Want More Time To Regulate 'Skill Games'

    Three Pennsylvania lawmakers and a coalition of "skill games" operators want the state Supreme Court to extend a deadline before police start seizing the game terminals, hoping to give the state Legislature more time to pass a law governing the games after the court found them to be illegal slot machines.

  • October 08, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Presses Inventor On SAWS Bias Challenge

    Federal Circuit judges appeared skeptical of an inventor's argument that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's controversial and now discontinued "sensitive" patent applications program derailed his application for a patent on a type of internal combustion engine in violation of his constitutional rights.

Expert Analysis

  • How Home Infusion Providers Can Adapt To Enrollment Pause

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    Recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moratoria on new enrollments of home health agencies, medical equipment companies and hospices make home infusion providers' compliance obligations more complex and ambiguous, requiring new careful consideration of specific enrollment requirements and limitations, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

  • Opinion

    Birthright Citizenship Dissents Belie Originalist Interpretation

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    The three dissents in the U.S. Supreme Court's recent birthright citizenship decision clashed with originalist readings of the Constitution, applying the 14th Amendment more narrowly than its drafters, and by applying contemporary and living document approaches to constitutional interpretation, says Ediberto Roman at Florida International University.

  • NYDFS Swedbank Order Offers Lessons On Candor

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    The New York State Department of Financial Services' consent order with Swedbank reflects the department's broad view of its investigative authority, emphasizes transparency, and underscores the risks of intrusive investigations that can occur if a regulator believes that it was misled, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • 3 Rulings Show High Court's Transnational Litigation Stance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term closed with three consequential decisions for transnational litigation that illustrate the court's readiness to enforce a Congress-created cause of action for overseas conduct and unwillingness to create this liability itself, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Managing Data Center Power Issues, Public Pushback

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    The many risks associated with data center construction include power availability, government regulations and public opinion, and contractual disputes — but these can be mitigated with careful project controls, planning and targeted contract drafting, say Randa Adra and Lily Geyer at Crowell & Moring, and Natasha Dahl at Ankura.

  • California FAIR Plan Is Outgrowing Last-Resort Role

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    With a recent rate increase, a litigation win and pending legislation to reshape operations, the California FAIR Plan is being regulated and reinforced as an apparent fixture of California's insurance market, rather than the temporary safety net originally intended, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Data Center Risks Include Schedules, Supply Chain, Labor

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    Managing the dynamic technical and legal risks related to data center development requires sophisticated strategies for dealing with compressed schedules and liquidated damages, supply chain and long-lead equipment challenges, and labor shortages and productivity issues, say Randa Adra and Lily Geyer at Crowell & Moring, and Natasha Dahl at Ankura.

  • How 'Markedly Different' Test Shapes Patent Eligibility Debate

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    Following last month's U.S. Senate hearing on the proposed Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, it is important to examine how courts and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have applied the 46-year-old "markedly different characteristics" framework to determine eligibility of composition-of-matter claims, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 5 Antitrust Lessons On Bundled Discounts After Medtronic

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    The recent California federal court decision upholding a $381.7 million verdict against Medtronic offers practitioners a clearer road map for navigating bundled discount claims under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and the practical implications are substantial, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Calif. OppFi Suit Outlines Key Criteria For Bank Partnerships

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    A California state court's recent ruling in OppFi v. Hewlett offers fintech-bank partnerships a blueprint for structuring lending programs to withstand future true lender challenges, while signaling that enforcement theories may face added scrutiny under the state's ban on underground regulations, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • AG Watch: Va. Auto Renewal Law Clears Enforcement Path

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    The most consequential aspect of recent amendments to Virginia's automatic renewal law is the enforcement authority it creates, giving the attorney general a clear statutory pathway to pursue cases involving subscription-related compliance failures under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, says Chuck Slemp at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A New Era Of Scrutiny For China-Linked Pharma Deals

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    As Congress considers bipartisan legislation that would heighten regulatory scrutiny for life sciences deals involving Chinese biotech entities, companies should reassess the risks and due diligence requirements that will come with using heavily China-dependent pipelines, says Jen Maki at Ankura.

  • 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.

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