Public Policy

  • September 22, 2026

    DC Judge Tosses Okla. Tribes' Gaming Compact Challenge

    A D.C. district court judge has handed the federal government a summary judgment win in a challenge by four tribes in a long-running dispute over gaming compacts, finding that the Indigenous nations failed to show they have standing.

  • September 22, 2026

    HVAC Contractor Accused Of $8M 'Mass Save' Rebate Fraud

    A group of utility companies that participate in a Massachusetts energy-efficiency incentive program have alleged in state court that an HVAC contractor defrauded the program out of around $8 million through various schemes, including claiming rebates for heat pumps that were never installed.

  • September 22, 2026

    Dispensary's Tax Deduction Properly Nixed, IRS Tells 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Tax Court correctly ruled that a San Francisco marijuana dispensary's expenses found to be tied to trafficking in controlled substances aren't deductible, the IRS told the Ninth Circuit, saying such a deduction shouldn't be allowed in determining an amount to settle the business's $3 million tax debt.

  • September 22, 2026

    Gun Industry Says Conn. Pistol Ban Violates 2nd Amendment

    A firearm industry trade association, a gunmaker and a retailer have pushed back on a Connecticut state law banning pistols that can be converted into fully automatic weapons, launching a federal lawsuit that largely mirrors a challenge Glock brought the same day.

  • September 22, 2026

    Asylum-Seekers Win Class Cert. For Third-Country Challenge

    A D.C. federal judge certified a class of noncitizens challenging the Trump administration's use of international agreements to remove asylum-seekers from the U.S. to third countries, rejecting government arguments that the class couldn't pass muster.

  • September 22, 2026

    8th Circ. Questions Iowa's Bid To Unblock Parts Of PBM Law

    The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday appeared skeptical of the state of Iowa's bid to have the appellate court unblock parts of its law limiting pharmacy benefit managers' power to set drug prices, with multiple judges questioning different aspects of the state's standing and federal preemption analysis.

  • September 22, 2026

    EU, Philippines Reach Preliminary Free Trade Deal

    The European Union and the Philippines have reached a "substantial agreement" on a free trade deal that would mutually reduce or remove tariffs on 97% of trade between them, the bloc announced Tuesday.

  • September 21, 2026

    Glock Says Conn. Ban On 'Convertible Pistols' Is Too Vague

    A new Connecticut state law banning pistols that can be "readily converted" into fully automatic weapons should not apply to guns produced by Glock Inc. and, if it does, the statute is unconstitutionally vague, the company said in a federal lawsuit Monday.

  • September 21, 2026

    Insider Critiques Of Meta Came From Ignorance, Jury Told

    A Meta vice president testified before a New Mexico state jury Monday that, "with all due respect," criticisms of the company's data handling from investigation partner Gibson Dunn and from then-Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg were born of a lack of understanding.

  • September 21, 2026

    Due Process Not Limited In Bond Hearing Suit, 9th Circ. Says

    The Ninth Circuit held in a published opinion Monday that a certified class of asylum-seekers apprehended well within the U.S. border can challenge their detentions, rejecting the government's contention that the U.S. Supreme Court limited their due process rights.

  • September 21, 2026

    Costco Says It Didn't Say 'Zero Heavy Metals' In Protein Powder

    "Good, clean nutrition" doesn't actually mean "free of lead," Costco Wholesale Corp. told a Washington federal court on Friday as it pushed for dismissal of a proposed class action claiming its Orgain protein powders contained dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals.

  • September 21, 2026

    Ala. Judge Halts ICE Construction-Site Arrest Policies

    An Alabama federal judge on Monday temporarily prohibited immigration officials from entering construction sites without warrants, preemptively detaining workers without justified suspicion that someone is an unauthorized immigrant and detaining workers who show proof of lawful presence.

  • September 21, 2026

    L3Harris Says Navy Deal Aims To Bolster Missile Supplies

    L3Harris Technologies said Monday that it's inked a multiyear agreement with the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California, to manufacture key missile components needed for national defense.

  • September 21, 2026

    AT&T Asks FCC To Raise Mobile Power Limits In 3.45 GHz Band

    AT&T is asking the Federal Communications Commission to raise the power limits for mobile and portable devices operating in the 3.45 gigahertz band, a slice of midband spectrum used largely for commercial 5G and home internet coverage.

  • September 21, 2026

    HHS Can Claw Back $195M In Medicaid Payments From Mich.

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday said Michigan must return almost $200 million in Medicaid payments made to two state-operated psychiatric facilities, agreeing with a finding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' appeals board that the institutions did not meet federal requirements.

  • September 21, 2026

    Mich. City Says Data Center Moratorium Suit Is Premature

    A Michigan city has urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from developers that challenges a one-year moratorium on data center development, saying the pause doesn't represent a final land use decision that can be reviewed by a court.

  • September 21, 2026

    FERC Wrongly Segmented Pipeline's Water Eval, DC Circ. Told

    Environmental groups have told the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission botched its analysis of the effects of a Williams Cos. unit's pipeline expansion project on streams and other aquatic resources in Virginia and North Carolina.

  • September 21, 2026

    Cable Biz Insists FCC Can Preempt Broadband Rate Regs

    A cable industry group argued Monday that the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to stop states from regulating broadband rates when the federal agency issues new rules aimed at speeding up deployment.

  • September 21, 2026

    Groups Want Colo. Detention Facility Halted Over Enviro Risks

    Advocacy groups urged a Colorado federal judge to order the halt of construction and planned operation of a federal immigrant detention facility in a Colorado town, contending Monday that the facility poses significant environmental risks and the agencies violated federal law in developing the facility's plans.

  • September 21, 2026

    Ill. Panel Says News Report Bars Law Firm's FCA Suit

    An Illinois appellate court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by Forde & O'Meara LLP accusing a company of secretly assigning its interests in unpaid state bills to unapproved entities to duck taxes, agreeing that a prior public disclosure of the alleged scheme in a news report bars the firm's claims.

  • September 21, 2026

    IRS Properly Nixed Tax Deals, Couple Owe $1.8M, Judge Says

    A disbarred lawyer and his wife owe more than $1.8 million in outstanding tax liabilities the IRS has tried to collect for more than a decade, a Wisconsin federal judge said, finding the agency substantiated the liabilities and confirmed that it properly rescinded compromise offers to resolve the debts.

  • September 21, 2026

    Ligado Says Damages Rise To $50B In Gov't Takings Case

    Network company Ligado told the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that damages caused by the U.S. government for allegedly blocking its use of licensed airwaves have grown to $50 billion because of interest climbing on the amount originally sought.

  • September 21, 2026

    ICE Contractor To Pay $48.75M To End Family Separation Suit

    U.S. government contractor MVM Inc. has agreed to pay $48.75 million to resolve a proposed class action over its alleged participation in a policy that separated thousands of immigrant families during the first Trump administration, according to a motion for preliminary approval.

  • September 21, 2026

    'So What?': Judge Pans DOJ Bid To End TikTok Consent Decree

    A California federal judge said Monday he will not end a 2019 consent decree the government reached with TikTok Inc. predecessor Musical.ly over its collection of data on kids under 13 just because the U.S. Department of Justice is asking him to, saying the DOJ gave him no information about why he should.

  • September 21, 2026

    NJ Court Backs Arbitration Award Against Concrete Co.

    A New Jersey federal court on Monday upheld an arbitration award ordering a concrete supplier to rehire an employee who was fired after he tested positive for marijuana, rejecting the company's claim that an arbitrator exceeded her authority when issuing the award.

Expert Analysis

  • CFPB Fair Lending Litigation Reveals Compliance Complexity

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    A recent legal challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's fair lending amendments underscores continuing uncertainty over disparate impact liability, discouragement standards and special purpose credit programs, signaling that financial services providers should avoid hasty compliance changes, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.

  • Ensuring Eligibility For Data Center Sales Tax Breaks

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    As states compete to lure data centers, sales tax exemptions are an important component of many incentive packages — but companies must ensure that projects not only qualify for exemptions on paper, but also can preserve and prove their eligibility through the planning, construction and operation phases, says Peter Lowy at Nelson Mullins.

  • Cos. Should Act Now After US Ruling Reopens EU Data Fight

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. Slaughter may have inadvertently undermined the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and given the importance of data transfers for U.S. businesses, companies should start preparing for a scenario in which the framework is no longer enforceable, says Fernanda Pires Merouço at Davis Wright.

  • Inside Differing State Approaches To Prediction Market Taxes

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    As states adopt divergent approaches to prediction market platforms through both legislation and litigation, and the landscape is anything but settled, the emerging patchwork of state taxes on prediction markets presents novel questions about characterization, preemption and compliance, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • FDIC Proposals Mark Pullback In Bank Resolution Rules

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    A recent pair of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposals would fundamentally reshape testing of banks' resolution-related capabilities from a mandatory exercise to a voluntary one supported by significant financial incentives, amounting to an overall reduction in reporting requirements, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

  • EEOC Enforcement Plan Signals DEI, Religious Bias Scrutiny

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    In light of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently publishing its national enforcement plan covering through fiscal year 2029, employers should expect increased scrutiny of practices that conflict with the administration's positions on diversity, equity and inclusion, national origin discrimination, and religious accommodations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Immigration Order Raises Customer ID Stakes For Banks

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    Following a recently issued immigration-related executive order, financial institutions should expect and prepare for increased scrutiny of customer due diligence and identification, suspicious activity monitoring, and consumer lending, as well as accompanying supervisory shifts and rising fair lending risks, says Douglas Weissinger at Butler Snow.

  • Trade Secret Practice Tips From The 1st Half Of 2026

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    Intellectual property attorneys should consider what several significant developments in 2026 thus far mean for how they protect, litigate and value trade secrets, focusing on new state noncompete bans, cases scrutinizing how plaintiffs identify trade secrets and federal rulings on damages doctrines, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • High Court Rulings Could Alter Agency Strategy For Cos.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook mark major turning points in the law of independent agencies and in how regulated companies should think about federal enforcement, rulemaking and agency-facing strategy, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

  • How CME Suit May Reshape CFTC's Crypto Derivatives Rules

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    CME Group's recent lawsuit over the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's approval of a Kalshi application to offer a bitcoin perpetual contract as a futures product could have cascading consequences for crypto derivatives regulation, highlighting why policy ambitions do not override statutory text or substitute for reasoned decision-making, says attorney Tamara de Silva.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Parole Ruling Degrades Green Card Holders' Rights

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blanche v. Lau, holding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can parole a returning lawful permanent resident without clear and convincing evidence of a crime, weakens the statutory and practical protections Congress intended, say attorneys at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners.

  • NEPA Reforms Can Fix Permitting Without Weakening Review

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    Recent National Environmental Policy Act reforms, in tandem with a Senate bill proposing faster permitting reviews and greater agency coordination, mark a long overdue move toward more efficient energy and infrastructure permitting that does not sacrifice environmental assessment, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • 2 Microsoft Matters Could Help Shape AI Antitrust Outlook

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    A pending federal court case and investigation focusing on Microsoft's allegedly anticompetitive conduct in the deployment of artificial intelligence tools are testing whether antitrust law can distinguish ordinary competition to supply the AI ecosystem from conduct that distorts how that competition unfolds, says Kylie Kim at Massey & Gail.

  • Preparing For Next Congress With Eye On Investigation Risk

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    Rod Rosenstein, Brian Whisler and Bruce Linskens at Baker McKenzie offer advice for organizations seeking to build a proactive response plan to potential congressional oversight as the election looms.

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