Public Policy

  • May 02, 2025

    Nevada Takes Another Step Toward Business Court Stand-Up

    Nevada's Assembly has made another move to position state courts to handle corporate and commercial law disputes, with the first-step passage of a bill that would make judges, rather than juries, the triers of fact for fiduciary duty breaches or suits brought in a company name, among other matters.

  • May 02, 2025

    NY Officials Say Feds' Memo In Filing Mishap Is Fair Game

    New York officials told a federal judge on Friday that a mistakenly filed memo from the federal government detailing its weak rationale for trying to cancel Manhattan's congestion pricing program is fair game and cannot be shielded after media outlets widely reported on it.

  • May 02, 2025

    Texas-Led AGs Defend BlackRock Coal Investments Suit

    A coalition of Republican states led by Texas are arguing that BlackRock Inc.'s public commitments to reducing its carbon footprint are evidence that it and two other leading asset managers teamed up to suppress the production of coal in the United States, asking a federal judge not to dismiss their case against the firms.

  • May 02, 2025

    DC Circ. Allows Feds To Halt Funding To Int'l Media Outlets

    A D.C. Circuit panel has paused a lower court order that restored federal grant funding to international broadcasters while leaving intact other aspects of a ruling preserving the agency that oversees Voice of America.

  • May 02, 2025

    A Look At Trump's Pick For The 6th Circuit

    President Donald Trump's first judicial nominee, Whitney Hermandorfer, who's been tapped for a seat Democrats tried to fill while Joe Biden was in the White House, has been part of litigation on several politically charged issues due to her job with the Tennessee Attorney General's office.

  • May 02, 2025

    Trump Proposes Billions In Cuts To EPA State Grant Programs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would lose more than half of its funding compared with 2025 under the 2026 budget request released Friday by the Trump administration, with proposed cuts to drinking water infrastructure grants for states amounting to $2.4 billion. 

  • May 02, 2025

    With Lowell's New Firm, San Juan Bank Appeals NY Fed Loss

    Abbe Lowell — the high-profile litigator who on Friday announced he will launch a boutique firm aiming to aid with "politicized investigations" after exiting the partnership of Winston & Strawn LLP — will help handle a Puerto Rico bank's appeal of an order affirming the closure of its Federal Reserve master account by federal regulators.

  • May 02, 2025

    Civil Rights Groups Told They Can't Block Trump's DEI Orders

    A D.C. federal judge declined Friday to block executive orders from President Donald Trump canceling funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and contracts, ruling the orders haven't infringed on the missions of the three civil rights groups behind the suit beyond federally funded projects.

  • May 02, 2025

    Opening Upper C-Band Poses Air Safety Concerns, FCC Told

    The Federal Communications Commission needs to scrutinize how a plan to open the upper C-Band airwaves for commercial wireless would affect aircraft safety equipment before moving toward new rules, airline pilots said.

  • May 02, 2025

    US, China Battling Over Entrenched Economies, Experts Say

    Differing economic philosophies are contributing to the escalating trade war between the United States and China, according to professionals who follow the countries' relations, with the Chinese government's supply-side ideology rooted in exports and U.S. deficit spending driving demand for imports.

  • May 02, 2025

    Layoffs, Grant Cutoffs On Hold At Federal Library Agency

    Employees of the federal agency that provides grants and resources to public libraries can keep their jobs for now, with a federal judge in Washington, D.C., issuing a temporary restraining order blocking a mass layoff scheduled for May 4 from going into effect.

  • May 02, 2025

    More Crypto Easing For Banks Is 'Critical,' Trade Groups Say

    A coalition of Wall Street trade groups urged the executive branch to continue removing "barriers" limiting financial institutions from engaging with digital assets in a joint letter calling for uniform risk-management expectations over processes that require firms to clear their crypto activities with banking regulators ahead of time.

  • May 02, 2025

    Feds Urge Judge To Deny ACLU's Broader Injunction Request

    The Trump administration said a Washington, D.C., federal judge can't order the government to facilitate the return of Venezuelan nationals deported from the U.S. to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center "in a district in which none of the affected individuals are located."

  • May 02, 2025

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In April

    Some notable Massachusetts state court decisions in April wrestled with a Staples affiliate's jurisdictional challenge in an employment case, a discovery dispute in the state's greenwashing litigation against Exxon involving McKinsey & Co., and an insurer's effort to be let off the hook for representing a lawyer in a malpractice claim.

  • May 02, 2025

    Pot Co. Drops Challenge To Mich. City's Licensing Scheme

    A would-be Michigan dispensary has dropped its suit alleging that the city of Auburn Hills violated a voter-approved ordinance by awarding a cannabis license to a company it had previously said didn't fit the criteria for one.

  • May 02, 2025

    Ad Tech Judge Mulls Possible Google Exchange Divestiture

    A Virginia federal judge expressed interest Friday in potentially forcing Google to divest a key piece of its advertising placement technology business, while voicing reservations with a U.S. Department of Justice proposal to also force another sale to address the search giant's ad tech monopoly.

  • May 02, 2025

    Trooper Guilty On Most Counts In Driver's License Scheme

    A former Massachusetts State Police trooper was convicted Friday on most counts in a case alleging he accepted bribes in exchange for giving passing scores on commercial driver's license exams.

  • May 02, 2025

    Conn. Exoneree Says Town Can't Escape $5.7M Jury Verdict

    A murder exoneree who spent three decades in prison has asked a federal judge to reject a Connecticut town's attempt to escape a $5.7 million evidence fabrication award, saying a limited post-verdict review weighs in his favor and that the town's prior Second Circuit loss supports his win.

  • May 02, 2025

    Trade War Spurs Companies To Freshen Disclosure Playbooks

    Against the backdrop of a protracted trade war that has rattled investors, companies are honing their securities filings and public communications strategies, posing fresh challenges for corporations and their lawyers, who are otherwise accustomed to navigating global disruptions.

  • May 02, 2025

    Mass. Board Knocks $36K Off Senior Condo's Tax Valuation

    A Massachusetts senior condominium unit was overvalued by $36,000, the state Appellate Tax Board ruled in an opinion released Friday, saying the owner's comparable sales analysis showed the property's valuation was inconsistent with the other properties.

  • May 02, 2025

    FCC Poised To Pull Plug On Thousands Of 'Inactive' Dockets

    The Federal Communications Commission's GOP leader said Friday the agency plans to shut down more than 2,000 regulatory dockets that have become outdated and "inactive."

  • May 02, 2025

    Groups Seek Order Halting Trump's Restructuring Of Gov't

    A California district court must stop federal agencies from moving ahead with President Donald Trump's directive to reorganize and terminate government workers, unions and other groups argued, calling for a temporary restraining order based on alleged harms from the administration's "radical restructuring."

  • May 02, 2025

    Emory Fired Palestinian Prof Over Gaza Posts, Bias Suit Says

    Emory University folded to pressure from an advocacy group and illegally fired a medical school professor for criticizing on social media Israel's treatment of Palestinian people, the ousted educator alleged Friday in Georgia federal court.

  • May 02, 2025

    Conn. AG Scuttles Nursing School Suit After $5M Student Deal

    The state of Connecticut has formally withdrawn an unfair trade practices lawsuit against defunct nursing school Stone Academy after the facility penned a $5 million deal for students and the state attorney general vowed not to seek additional penalties from the shuttered entity.

  • May 02, 2025

    DC Circ. Seems Unconvinced That Proxy Firms 'Solicit'

    An industry group's bid to revive a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule regulating proxy advisory firms seemed to meet a skeptical D.C. Circuit panel on Friday, as the judges questioned whether those firms "solicit" proxy votes.

Expert Analysis

  • Unpacking Trump Admin Plans For Value-Based Care

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    Recent developments from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation suggest the Trump administration intends to put its own stamp on value-based care, emphasizing cost savings assessment in particular, with its recent cancellation of several payment models that had supported primary care, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.

  • Trending At The PTAB: A Pivot On Discretionary Denials

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    Following the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rescission of the 2022 Vidal memorandum and a reversion to the standards under Apple v. Fintiv, petitioners hoping to avoid discretionary denials should undertake holistic review of all Fintiv factors, rather than relying on certain fail-safe provisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Key Insurance Issues Likely To Arise From NY Superfund Law

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    The recently enacted New York Climate Change Superfund Act imposes a massive $75 billion in liabilities on energy companies in the fossil fuel industry, which can be expected to look to their insurers for coverage, raising a slew of coverage issues both old and new, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • SDNY Sentencing Ruling Is Boon For White Collar Defendants

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    Defense attorneys should consider how to maximize the impact of a New York federal court’s recent groundbreaking ruling in U.S. v. Tavberidze, which held that a sentencing guidelines provision unconstitutionally penalizes the right to a jury trial, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • How Trump Policies Are Affecting The Right To Repair

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    Recent policy changes by the second Trump administration — ranging from deregulatory initiatives to tariff increases — are likely to have both positive and negative effects on the ability of independent repair shops and individual consumers to exercise their right to repair electronic devices, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Justices' TikTok Ruling Sets Stage For 1st Amendment Battle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling upholding a law requiring TikTok's sale sets the stage for an inevitable clash between free speech and government interests and signals that future cases will turn on whether a regulation poses a substantial burden on speech, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • What Del. Corporate Law Rework Means For Founder-Led Cos.

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    Although the amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law have proven somewhat divisive, they will provide greater clarity and predictability in the rules that apply to founder-led companies navigating transactions concerning controlling stockholders and responding to books-and-records requests, say attorneys at Munger Tolles.

  • Border Cash Transaction Rule Heralds Wider AML Crackdown

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    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s new order for money services providers near the Mexican border to report cash transactions over $200 should warn financial institutions to prepare for the new administration's heightened scrutiny of cross-border transactions and anti-money laundering compliance, says Daniel Silva at Buchalter.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Reform The PTAB To Protect Small Innovators

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    Lawmakers must reintroduce the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act or similar legislation to prevent larger companies from leveraging the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to target smaller patent holders, says Schwegman Lundberg's Russell Slifer, former deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

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    A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Paul Atkins' Past Speeches Offer A Glimpse Into SEC's Future

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    Following Paul Atkins' Thursday Senate confirmation hearing, a look at his public remarks while serving as a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission between 2002 and 2008 reveals eight possible structural and procedural changes the SEC may see once he likely takes over as chair, say attorneys at Covington.

  • McKernan-Led CFPB May Lead To Decentralized Enforcement

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    Though Jonathan McKernan’s confirmation as director would likely mean a less active Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the decreased federal oversight could lead to more state-led investigations, multistate regulatory actions and private lawsuits under consumer protection laws, says Jonathan Pompan at Venable.

  • How Fla. Is Floating A Raft Of Bills To Stem Insurance Woes

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    Proposed reforms that follow a report skewering Florida's insurance industry offer a step in the right direction in providing relief for property owners, despite some limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

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