Public Policy

  • October 22, 2026

    6th Circ. Weighs Implications Of Ohio Pivot On Hemp

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday appeared uncertain whether Ohio's recent policy shift to reclassify federally legal hemp products as marijuana discriminates against out-of-state operators.

  • October 22, 2026

    Canada Plans Billions To Shield Steel, Autos From US Tariffs

    The Canadian government announced a cumulative CA$5.22 billion ($3.72 billion) in funding for programs to diversify Canadian steel production and open new overseas markets as part of its ongoing response to U.S. tariffs, while also announcing programs for automotives.

  • October 22, 2026

    RI Residency Rule Repeal Moots 3 Cannabis License Suits

    A Rhode Island federal judge Wednesday concluded that recent changes to state law mooted three lawsuits challenging the Ocean State's social equity and adult-use cannabis licensing program and ordered the cases dismissed.

  • October 21, 2026

    6th Circ.'s Sutton Floats Class Action Limits At Judiciary Panel

    An influential federal judge is proposing new restrictions on class actions that aim to broadly block government policies, judiciary advisers heard at a Wednesday gathering, which also explored transparency ideas affecting legal finance and hard-to-access court records in the red-hot realm of immigration litigation.

  • October 21, 2026

    Snap Financial Reaches $664M Settlement With Red States

    Consumer financial services company Snap Financial on Wednesday agreed to pay $664 million to 17 Republican-led states to end claims that it used misleading disclosures about its leasing arrangements.

  • October 21, 2026

    Colo. Graduated Tax Measure To Stay On Ballot, Judge Rules

    A Colorado ballot initiative to raise taxes on the state's wealthiest residents will be on the ballot this November after a state court judge Wednesday tossed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate signatures gathered by improperly registered circulators of the initiative.

  • October 21, 2026

    Feds' Latest Wind Permit Move May 'Blow Up' Permitting Deal

    The Trump administration has again asked a federal court to let it reevaluate a permit issued for a proposed offshore wind project, a move that a co-architect of U.S. Senate permitting legislation said could derail the bipartisan bill.

  • October 21, 2026

    Utah Defends Approval Process For Northern Corridor Hwy

    A Utah county and a state agency said the law that designated a Mojave Desert national conservation area didn't prohibit a highway through it, as environmental groups alleged, but rather expressly called for a "transportation route" to be identified.

  • October 21, 2026

    States Rip OCC's 'Beltway-Centric' Bid To Move Escrow Suit

    An Oregon-led coalition of states is pushing back on a U.S. banking regulator's bid to throw out or transfer the coalition's lawsuit over the regulator's new rules that block their interest-on-escrow laws, arguing its "Beltway-centric view of the world" doesn't mean they were wrong to sue in Portland.

  • October 21, 2026

    SEC Crypto Offering Plan Draws State Outcry, Industry Ideas

    States and watchdog groups told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw what they deemed a dangerous plan to exempt certain crypto offerings from registration requirements, while the crypto industry backed the proposal in comment letters that urged the agency to let exempted issuers raise even more from investors.

  • October 21, 2026

    Ill. Judge Questions Bid To Block 340B Drug Discount Law

    An Illinois federal judge seemed hesitant Wednesday to halt a state law barring drugmakers from trying to impose restrictions on pharmacies under contract with a federal drug pricing discount program, saying the state seems to be maximizing public health in an area the statute doesn't address.

  • October 21, 2026

    DHS Seeks High Court OK To Restart Big Bend Wall Project

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to let the agency restart construction of the Big Bend border wall, saying the district court lacked jurisdiction to pause the project.

  • October 21, 2026

    FCC Member Sees Satellite Spectrum Policy Advancing Fast

    A member of the Federal Communications Commission told a global gathering of telecom leaders that the U.S. will pursue policies on multiple fronts to make sure the booming satellite industry has abundant spectrum.

  • October 21, 2026

    Wind Groups Say DOD Continues To Freeze Project Reviews

    Renewable energy backers asked an Oregon federal judge to enforce an injunction that blocked the U.S. Department of Defense from suspending reviews of proposed wind energy projects, arguing it has continued to miss deadlines and maintain an unlawful freeze on project reviews.

  • October 21, 2026

    EEOC's Federal Sector Overhaul Nears Finish Line

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is poised to overhaul how federal employees' bias complaints are handled, sending the proposed regulation to the White House for approval just weeks after the public comment period closed.

  • October 21, 2026

    FCC OKs Relinquished Carrier Status For Carolina West

    The Federal Communications Commission approved the request of Carolina West Wireless Inc. to turn in its designations as an eligible telecommunications carrier following Verizon's purchase of the North Carolina telecom.

  • October 21, 2026

    House Bill Looks To Ease Copyright Process For Visual Artists

    Visual artists like photographers would have a more streamlined and cheaper copyright registration process under a bill that has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, matching a similar bill floated last year in the U.S. Senate.

  • October 21, 2026

    Trucking Group Tells DC Circ. Fee System Doesn't Deliver

    A trucking trade group is challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's interstate motor carrier fees for 2027, claiming in a new D.C. Circuit petition that the agency never lawfully established the fee-setting system by regulation.

  • October 21, 2026

    Lumos Urges FCC To Preempt Local Project Reviews

    Lumos Fiber says there are counties in Ohio that have so much red tape they're keeping competitive broadband from being deployed there, and it wants the Federal Communications Commission to step in and preempt those rules so it can continue with its planned projects.

  • October 21, 2026

    PBM Fee Disclosure Rule Clears White House Review

    A White House budget office has completed review of a rule from the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm that would require new fee disclosures from pharmacy benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drugmakers, pharmacies and insurers.

  • October 21, 2026

    AT&T Asks To Be Freed From California Landline Obligations

    AT&T says it only needs a "modest extension" of the permission the Federal Communications Commission has already given the telecom titan in order to drop its remaining copper line services in California, something state regulators have refused to give the company permission to do.

  • October 21, 2026

    Chicago Mayor Pitches Return Of $25-Per-Worker Corp. Tax

    The mayor of Chicago released a $17.6 billion budget plan Wednesday that includes the return of a tax on corporations for every employee at large firms, as well as increasing tax rates on sports betting and leased property.

  • October 21, 2026

    Feds Say High Court Ruling Forecloses Haiti TPS Challenge

    The Trump administration asked a D.C. federal judge on Tuesday to end a suit challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, suggesting there is nothing left to litigate following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case.

  • October 21, 2026

    Ex-Arizona Recorder Urges High Court To Drop Voter ID Case

    A former recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona, says the Supreme Court should dismiss the Republican National Committee's challenge to two state voting laws as improvidently granted, telling the justices that the case is an improper vehicle for deciding provisions of the National Voter Registration Act.

  • October 21, 2026

    Allegheny County Passes 12-Week Paid Parental Leave

    Pennsylvania's second-most populous county approved what worker advocates said was the first county-mandated paid parental leave policies in the U.S.

Expert Analysis

  • Conn. Insurers Should Prepare To Explain Premium Hikes

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    As of Jan. 1, Connecticut insurers must provide a reasonable explanation for personal risk insurance premium increases upon policyholder request, and thus should familiarize themselves with a recent bulletin that prescribes the details, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Where The 3 Prediction Market Appellate Rulings Diverge

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    Although the recent Third, Sixth and Ninth Circuit opinions concerning prediction markets overlap on some issues, they differ on key statutory questions, deepening a circuit split over both the classification of sports event contracts and the scope of federal preemption, says Levi Giovanetto at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    California's financial regulators spent the third quarter of 2026 focusing on consumer protection enforcement at home while resisting federal efforts to displace state oversight — reinforcing the state's intention to shape the compliance landscape for institutions operating within its borders despite federal deregulatory trends, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • DOJ's Unusual Warning Puts Protests In FARA Crosshairs

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent atypical press release about Foreign Agents Registration Act liability may signal greater scrutiny of public demonstrations and foreign-directed advocacy — but it does not change the statutory requirements for companies and individuals, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Changing Strategies To Protect Your Autonomous AI's IP

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    After Insilico recently named only human inventors on a patent application for an autonomous artificial intelligence's drug discovery, companies should take concrete steps to preserve the strongest possible intellectual property protection for AI-assisted work, including documenting human contributions and strengthening trade secret controls, says Stephen Ball at Husch Blackwell.

  • How States May Enter The Shareholder Proposal Landscape

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    Rescission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shareholder proposal rule doesn't herald the end of shareholder activism, but it allows state legislatures to play a central role in determining the future of shareholder proposals, with that uncertainty creating new opportunities for both issuers and activists, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • Series

    Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

  • Why And How To Build A Neurodiversity-Informed Practice

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    By better understanding neurodiversity and implementing simple accommodations for clients with autism, ADHD or learning differences, attorneys can build stronger relationships with those who may otherwise struggle to obtain and benefit from legal services, while developing good habits that will benefit everyone they represent, says Ting Cheung at Sanford Heisler.

  • Series

    Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    Recent banking developments in Illinois include significant new consumer protection legislation, three meaningful Seventh Circuit decisions, and a high-profile constitutional challenge to the state's new digital asset tax, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • How FTC Win Charts A Court-1st Merger Litigation Playbook

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    A New York federal court's recent decision blocking Henkel's acquisition of Liquid Nails marked a decisive trial win for the Federal Trade Commission, and tips for merging parties in similar transactions now include preparing for full-blown federal litigation, including a complete evidentiary trial, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • How SEC Is Changing The Shareholder Proposal Landscape

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to place its shareholder proposal rule at the center of its agenda, now with a newly proposed rule that would rescind it entirely, showcasing an agency seeking to narrow its overall focus, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • NLRB Memo Signals Narrower View Of Protected Activism

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    A recent National Labor Relations Board memo concluding that Microsoft lawfully discharged two employees who conducted a pro-Palestinian protest on company property indicates that the current NLRB general counsel may take a more restrictive view of when political or social advocacy qualifies as protected activity, say attorneys at Franczek.

  • What Insurers Need To Know About 2 New California Laws

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two measures last week that while addressing distinct issues — catastrophe claims handling and insurers' corrective actions, respectively — reflect similar themes, including insurers' preparation before problems arise, transparency while they are being addressed, and meaningful remediation afterward, says Lucy Wang at Hinshaw.

  • Opinion

    PTAB Panels Should Revamp Their IPR Merits Decisions

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    In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires' recent announcement about returning merits institution determinations to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the implementing framework should strengthen PTAB panels' responsibility for the benefit of both petitioners and patent owners, says Brandon Theiss at AddyHart.

  • FCC Covered List Is Pushing Limits Of Supply Chain Scrutiny

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    Companies outside the traditional telecommunications sector may now need to factor the Federal Communications Commission's equipment authorization requirements into supply chain compliance as the FCC covered list continues to expand as a national security tool, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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