Public Policy

  • October 06, 2026

    UVA Law Prof Takes On Role Of USPTO General Counsel

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said University of Virginia School of Law professor John F. Duffy has joined the agency as its general counsel and acting solicitor.

  • October 06, 2026

    DOD Seeks 1st Circ. Relief Over Fee Award In Grant Cap Case

    The U.S. Department of Defense is appealing a Massachusetts federal court's decision awarding attorney fees to an academic organization that helped successfully argue that the department's cap on reimbursing indirect costs from universities' grant-funded research was unlawful.

  • October 06, 2026

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Monopoly Suit Setback, Historic Deal

    The North Carolina Business Court rounded the corner into fall with a setback for residents in an antitrust class action, a historic settlement in "forever chemical" contamination litigation and a raft of new restrictive covenant complaints.

  • October 06, 2026

    Wrestler Asks Justices To Shield Her From Trans Opponents

    A high school wrestler asked the U.S. Supreme Court for emergency relief protecting her from competing against female-identifying students who are biologically male, after she said one such opponent sexually assaulted her during a match.

  • October 06, 2026

    Fed To Realign Bank Supervision Into 5 State-Based Regions

    The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official said Tuesday that the central bank is overhauling how it manages its nationwide supervision operations, laying out plans for a reorganization aimed at streamlining the chain of command for its bank examination work.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Wary Of Hikvision Appeal Over FCC Device Denials

    Chinese device-maker Hikvision hoped to convince the D.C. Circuit Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission doesn't have the authority to strip a company's existing authorizations for national security reasons, but the judges did not seem persuaded.

  • October 06, 2026

    1st Circ. Sees Gaps In Order Halting RFK's Vaccine Advisers

    A First Circuit panel on Tuesday puzzled over aspects of a lower court's order staying Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointments to a vaccine policy committee, with one judge saying he can't tell what authority the order was based on.

  • October 06, 2026

    Cato, NRA Back Review Of Gun Ban For Nonviolent Felons

    Some four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a gun ownership ban for drug users is unconstitutional as applied to a marijuana user, gun rights advocates are urging the high court to expand the finding to those convicted of nonviolent marijuana crimes.

  • October 06, 2026

    Colo. Developer Says Town Reversed Course On Sewer Taps

    The developer of a tiny home community just outside a Colorado mountain town has told a federal judge that the town refuses to process the community's wastewater and won't issue new tap permits to new properties despite approving more than a dozen prior to the dispute.

  • October 06, 2026

    Calif. Tribe Says Kalshi Evades Tribal Sports Betting Bans

    A Southern California tribe warned the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that a recent Third Circuit decision blocking New Jersey from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi could threaten tribes' exclusive rights to regulate gambling on their reservations.

  • October 06, 2026

    FCC Threats Loom Like 'Guillotine,' ABC Tells Court

    ABC argued during intense questioning from a D.C. federal judge Tuesday that a Federal Communications Commission probe of eight network-owned TV stations needs to end, because the agency's threats hang like a "guillotine" that could be cut loose at any time.

  • October 06, 2026

    Texas Justices Leery Of Banning AI Deposition Transcripts

    Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant to bar attorneys outright from using artificial intelligence voice transcription software during depositions, pointing out Tuesday that multiple safeguards exist to ensure accuracy.

  • October 06, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs Hybrid Test For Categorizing Sex Offenders

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday joined its sister circuits and adopted a "hybrid" framework to determine a sex offender's appropriate category under a federal registry law by looking at the text of state laws used to charge an offender, and weighing facts from the case.

  • October 06, 2026

    Chicago Woman Sues Over Shooting By Border Patrol Agent

    A Chicago woman who was shot five times by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during an immigration enforcement operation last year sued the federal government Monday, alleging that the agent deliberately struck her car and shot her without justification while she was alerting her neighbors to the officers' presence.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ábrego García Deportation Hearing Abruptly Scrapped

    A hearing on the Trump administration's monthslong bid to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to Liberia was abruptly scrapped Tuesday afternoon, and attorneys on both sides declined to say why.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ariz. Tribe Seeks Emergency Stop To Border Wall In DC Circ.

    The Tohono O'odham Nation is asking the D.C. Circuit for an emergency injunction pending appeal to block construction of a border wall on its Arizona reservation, telling the appellate court that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security intends to start construction as early as Monday.

  • October 06, 2026

    Farmers Strike Deal With Insurer To End Crop Loss Dispute

    Two tobacco farmers in North Carolina have settled their suit seeking to recoup the cost of arbitration proceedings and other damages from a crop insurance provider accused of trying to halve their recovery for crop-related losses, federal court records show.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Tells FCC To Respond In Fox Philly License Case

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday ordered the Federal Communications Commission to respond to an advocacy group's petition for court action to compel full commission review of a staff order that tossed a challenge to Fox TV's Philadelphia broadcast license.

  • October 06, 2026

    10th Circ. Revives Prosecution Of Utah Psilocybin Church

    The Tenth Circuit has revived a state court prosecution against a Utah church that uses the psychedelic psilocybin as a sacrament, saying the enforcement action did not violate religious freedoms and a lower district judge erred by halting it.

  • October 06, 2026

    3rd Circ. Judge Faces Ethics Complaint For Managing PR Firm

    A pair of U.S. senators from Delaware have filed an ethics complaint with the Third Circuit raising concerns over U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott's purported operation of a public affairs agency, months after she was officially confirmed to the appellate court.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ex-FBI Analyst Says Bove Ordered Illegal Protester Probe

    A former FBI agent has come forward with a claim that when U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove was at the U.S. Department of Justice, he directed the Los Angeles field office to illegally investigate protesters.

  • October 06, 2026

    DOL Cancels Proposal To Nix Wage-Hour Guidance

    The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday said it is withdrawing a proposal to remove interpretive rules and policy statements regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act that had not gone through notice-and-comment rulemaking.

  • October 06, 2026

    USTR Keeps China Tariffs After Industry Push For Extension

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday announced the continuation of tariffs on some $50 billion worth of Chinese goods installed during President Donald Trump's first term after domestic businesses requested they be extended.

  • October 06, 2026

    Judge Newman Gets Suspension Fight Moved To 11th Circ.

    Chief Justice John Roberts has transferred the Federal Circuit's investigation of suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to the Eleventh Circuit, the latter court said Tuesday.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Probes NewsGuard Over Harm From FTC Orders

    A D.C. Circuit panel probed an attorney for NewsGuard on Tuesday about the kind of harm a Federal Trade Commission investigation and merger settlement in the advertising industry caused the news ratings group.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Meeting Recaps Pose New Discovery And Privilege Risks

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    The New York City Bar Association’s recent ethics opinion, cautioning attorneys not to record nonclient conversations with artificial intelligence tools, reflects an emerging view that AI meeting recaps are now a distinct business record category, meaning counsel should set meeting-level controls and apply framework-level updates, says William Wright at Faegre Drinker.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six recent rulings involving pecuniary loss in false price comparison advertising, privity in an insurance fee class, antitrust standing, immigration class representatives, retirement beneficiary class commonality, and Rule 23(f) appeals in Fair Labor Standards Act claims.

  • How Employers Can Navigate NLRB Rulings Ripe For Reversal

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    Given a recent National Labor Relations Board memo seeking to reverse several precedents — including on severance agreements and workplace policies — employers should prepare now to restore broader protections when the board acts, while following the law as it exists today, says Howard Lavin at Thompson Coburn.

  • What Comes Next For Digital Asset Regs After Clarity Act Flop

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    After the U.S. Senate recently blocked the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, agency rulemaking could still offer a near-term remedy, and companies meanwhile should monitor the existing framework assembled from enforcement precedent and case law in the absence of a purpose-built statute, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • FDA Bill Shows Risk Of Inexact Statute Text, Post-Loper Bright

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    A recent House bill to amend the Food and Drug Administration's drug preclusion framework reveals the increased importance of precision when drafting statutory rules in a post-Loper Bright landscape, as several minor errors in the text could lock in unintended results that will be difficult to repeal, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Species 'Harm' Definition Rollback Brings Risk For Developers

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    A rule recently adopted by federal agencies rescinds the definition of "harm" in Endangered Species Act regulations to exclude habitat destruction — but while the move is aimed at reducing regulatory burdens, it creates new uncertainty for developers, and may trigger increased environmental protections in California, say attorneys at Cox Castle.

  • $95M Nev. Case Provides Clues On Wound Care Enforcement

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    Federal prosecutors’ recent U.S. v. Dubin indictment, charging a Nevada physician with healthcare fraud over an alleged $95 million Medicare billing scheme involving amniotic wound allografts, provides a clearer picture of an increasingly data-driven enforcement strategy that follows the entire wound care transaction, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • DOJ Fraud Memo Highlights Trade Enforcement Playbook

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    A recent U.S. Department of Justice memo that outlines the Fraud Enforcement Division's priorities demonstrates that customs and trade fraud enforcement has entered a new and far more aggressive phase, with recent cases highlighting how the False Claims act is driving the new push, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • HPE-Juniper Settlement Teaches Key Tunney Act Lessons

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    A California federal court's recent approval of the U.S. Department of Justice's settlement with Hewlett Packard over its Juniper Networks acquisition offers legal practitioners some crucial lessons, including on unique tech-sector remedies for mergers and acquisitions and the continued viability of the Tunney Act, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • What Opt-In Framework Means For Novel Space Activities

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Space Commerce is advancing a voluntary certification framework for commercial space activities not covered by existing licenses — but it's unclear whether this approach becomes a durable mission authorization regime, and separate legal permissions from agencies may still be necessary, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Negotiating The Scope Of The Stablecoin Customer ID Rule

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    Though comments on bank regulators’ proposed rule for stablecoin issuers under the Genius Act generally agree that oversight would help prevent illicit activity, agencies must reconcile disagreement over whether to extend customer identification requirements from issuers' primary-market relationships to secondary-markets activity, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How To Improve Hiring Transparency Amid Ghost Job Scrutiny

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    Recent regulatory and state law scrutiny of ghost job postings for roles that don't exist or aren't being filled signals a shift toward hiring transparency, and employers that fail to adapt risk enforcement actions, consumer protection claims and financial penalties, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • FTC Push May Create Dual Origin-Claim Risks For Contractors

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    Recent Federal Trade Commission actions involving Made in USA advertising requirements offer a preview of enforcement themes that may impose dual compliance burdens on government contractors that are also subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation Buy American restrictions, says Amy Hoang at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

  • FCC Robotics Restrictions Raise AI Compliance Risks

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    A recent "covered list" update from the Federal Communications Commission places restrictions on foreign-produced advanced robotic devices’ ability to obtain new authorizations, creating a framework that is poorly suited to continuous artificial intelligence updates, and raising several transactional and contractual challenges, says Kim Larsen at Stinson.

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