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Public Policy
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July 18, 2025
Top 4 Texas Court Rulings Of 2025: Midyear Report
Texas courts made several high-profile decisions in the first half of 2025, including backing a multibillion-dollar mattress merger, awarding more than $6 million to employees fired by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and granting the state a $1.4 billion data privacy settlement with Google. Here are four of the biggest court rulings in Texas so far this year.
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July 18, 2025
Judge Demands Layoff Plans From Trump Administration
A California federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to hand over reorganization and reduction-in-force plans linked to an executive order directing layoffs at federal agencies, finding that the government's privilege claim was outweighed by the plaintiffs' need for the information to pursue their claims under the Administrative Procedure Act.
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July 18, 2025
3rd Circ. Pick 'Respected' By Trump, Mysterious To Senators
The senior White House lawyer nominated to represent Delaware on the Third Circuit is a constitutional scholar and presidential immunity defender touted as "highly respected" by President Donald Trump, although some Delaware lawmakers have questioned her ties to the First State.
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July 18, 2025
USPTO Calls On Fed. Circ. To Reject Fight Over Fintiv Policy
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office urged the Federal Circuit on Friday to reject allegations that its handling of policies governing Fintiv-based discretionary denials violates due process, claiming SAP America Inc. is just upset that its Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges were rejected.
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July 18, 2025
Calif. Sues Trump Admin Over $4B High-Speed Rail Fund Cuts
California's High-Speed Rail Authority hit the Trump administration with an Administrative Procedure Act lawsuit in California federal court Friday, claiming the Federal Railroad Administration's abrupt termination of $4 billion in grants to the electric rail project was arbitrary, politically motivated and based on Trump's "extreme antipathy toward California."
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July 18, 2025
FCC Seeks To Change How It Handles Broadband Report
The Federal Communications Commission got the ball rolling Friday on its annual inquiry into how available advanced telecommunications are to everyone in the country, only a few weeks before it will vote to change the way it evaluates how well broadband is being deployed.
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July 18, 2025
As Trump Signs Stablecoin Bill, Attorneys Talk Compliance
President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a bill to regulate stablecoins, known as the Genius Act, and practitioners are now turning their attention to helping firms comply with both the provisions of the statute and the coming rulemakings from regulators.
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July 18, 2025
Trade Legal Matters To Watch: Midyear Report
Aggressive, sweeping tariff actions have defined the first six months of President Donald Trump's second term, altering the global trade environment in attempts to return manufacturing to the U.S. and reset trading deficits, but legal challenges to certain duties may obstruct Trump's long-term trade strategy in ongoing negotiations later this year.
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July 18, 2025
EPA To Lay Off Science Office Workers Amid Reorganization
Scientists performing independent research that often supports regulations intended to protect human health and the environment are set to lose their jobs as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency eliminates its Office of Research and Development.
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July 18, 2025
Feds Fight Bid To Block Pacific Monument Fishing Permits
The federal government is fighting a bid by conservation groups to vacate a letter by the Trump administration that they say gave the go-ahead for permit holders to commercially fish in a Pacific Coast national monument, arguing it wasn't an agency decision that has any legal rights or obligations.
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July 18, 2025
Interior Process Tweaks Will Further Stymie Wind And Solar
The wind and solar energy industries, already stressed by Trump administration and congressional regulatory and financial restraints, face a new roadblock as the Department of the Interior will increasingly involve its political leadership in project approval process details.
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July 18, 2025
Judge Says She'd Block Birthright Order For Nationwide Class
A Maryland federal judge has said she can't rule on a bid to block President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order for a proposed nationwide class since another preliminary injunction is on appeal, but that she would grant the request if the Fourth Circuit remanded to let her do so.
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July 18, 2025
California Courts Set AI Rules Allowing Flexibility For Judges
The Judicial Council of California approved a policy Friday for rules and standards on the use of generative artificial intelligence for judges and court staff, with the chair of the council's AI task force saying the policy provides flexibility by allowing courts to either adopt the technology or ban it.
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July 18, 2025
Wash. Judge Halts Clergy Abuse Mandatory Reporter Law
A Washington federal judge on Friday blocked the state from enforcing a new state law that would make Roman Catholic priests mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse, saying the law likely infringes on their religious freedom rights by forcing them to disclose information shared in sacred confession.
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July 18, 2025
Stewart Issues Discretion Decisions For 56 More Petitions
Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart issued 25 more orders on requests for discretionary denial, deciding a total of 56 cases, while the results of earlier proceedings she let move forward have started to roll out.
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July 18, 2025
Oxford Shooting Victim's Estate Can Sue Cops, Court Finds
A Michigan appellate panel reopened a lawsuit from the father of a student killed in the Oxford High School shooting alleging state police failed to act on tips about the threat of an attack, finding a provision designed to extend filing deadlines for estates applies to claims against the state.
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July 18, 2025
Ohio State, NCAA, Big Ten Beat Ex-QB's NIL Suit
Ohio State University, the NCAA, the Big Ten Conference Inc. and a media rights licensing company have dodged an antitrust suit from former Buckeye star quarterback Terrelle Pryor alleging they monopolized profits on athletes' names, images and likenesses while denying them compensation.
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July 18, 2025
Hearing Set In Phoenix For Oak Flat Copper Mine Lawsuits
An Arizona federal judge has set an August hearing date to consider injunction bids by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmental groups in their lawsuits seeking to block Resolution Copper Co.'s mining project on Oak Flat, an ancient tribal worship site.
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July 18, 2025
Judge Questions Basis For Planned Parenthood Funding Cuts
A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday pressed the government for any plausible rationale, besides retaliation, for a provision in Congress' budget reconciliation that will prevent Planned Parenthood and its affiliates from receiving Medicaid reimbursements if any one of them offers abortion services.
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July 18, 2025
EU Says Vivendi Controlled Lagardère During Deal Review
European enforcers have accused French media conglomerate Vivendi of exercising control over Lagardère's editorial operations and personnel decisions before and during a review of its acquisition.
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July 18, 2025
T-Mobile Wants Wash. AG's Data Breach Claims Tossed
T-Mobile is calling its promises to protect its subscribers' privacy "puffery" in a bid to get out of a Washington state lawsuit over a 2021 cyberattack, saying its commitments to "safeguards" and to "do the right thing" with users' data couldn't have misled consumers because they were completely unspecific.
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July 18, 2025
Mass. Advocates Pitch Doubling Real Estate Transfer Fee
Massachusetts would double its real estate transfer fee to raise an estimated $300 million annually for affordable housing and climate mitigation efforts under legislation pitched to a state legislative panel by housing and environmental advocates.
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July 18, 2025
FTC Nixes Exxon-Pioneer, Chevron-Hess Board Ban Deals
The Biden-era Federal Trade Commission settlements clearing Exxon's purchase of Pioneer and Chevron's acquisition of Hess are no more, after the now Republican-controlled agency said there was no need to condition acquisition approvals on banning the CEOs of Pioneer and Hess from the boards of the combined companies.
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July 18, 2025
Miami Official Loses Appeal To Toss $63.5M Judgment
The Eleventh Circuit has dismissed Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo's appeal of the $63.5 million judgment against him for targeting a pair of business owners after they supported a political opponent, finding that he prematurely filed the appeal and then failed to amend it.
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July 18, 2025
Crypto Firms' OCC Charter Bids Draw Bank Industry Scrutiny
Major banking industry groups are warning the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that approving pending bank charter bids from crypto-linked firms like Ripple could "represent a fundamental departure" from long-standing policy, urging the agency to delay action until more information about their plans is made public.
Expert Analysis
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Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits
Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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Despite Dark Clouds, Outlook For US Solar Has Bright Spots
While tariff, tax policy and bankruptcy news seemingly portends unending challenges for the U.S. solar energy industry, signs of continued growth in solar generating capacity and domestic solar manufacturing suggest that there is a path forward, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Assessing New Changes To Texas Officer Exculpation Law
Consistent with Texas' recent modernization of its corporate law, the recently passed S.B. 2411 allows officer exculpation, streamlines certificate of formation amendments, authorizes representatives to act on shareholders' behalf in mergers and makes other changes aimed toward companies seeking a more codified, statutory model of corporate governance, say attorneys at Bracewell.
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How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations
As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.
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Rising Enforcement Stakes For Pharma Telehealth Platforms
Two pieces of legislation recently introduced in Congress could transform the structure and promotion of telehealth arrangements as legislators increasingly scrutinize direct-to-consumer advertising platforms, potentially paving the way for a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy with bipartisan support, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients
Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.
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One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims
A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions
In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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Navigating Antitrust Risks When Responding To Tariffs
Companies should assess competitive perils, implement compliance safeguards and document independent decision-making as they consider their responses to recent tariff pressures, say attorneys at White & Case.
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Breaking Down Part 3 Of The Copyright Office's AI Report
On May 9, the U.S. Copyright Office published a prepublication version of the third and final part of its three-part report on artificial intelligence, offering key insights on the unauthorized use of copyrighted material by AI systems, says Courtney Sarnow at CM Law.
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8 Insurer Takeaways From Sweeping Georgia Tort Reform
Insurers should take note of several critical components of Georgia's tort litigation overhaul — including limitations on damages anchoring, procedural rules governing dismissals, and liability standards in negligent security cases — and adapt claims-handling strategies to reduce litigation risk, says Lucy Aquino at Cozen O'Connor.
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Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting
A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm
My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.
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Opinion
FCPA Shift Is A Good Start, But There's More DOJ Should Do
The U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines bring a needed course correction amid overexpansive enforcement, but there’s more the DOJ can do to provide additional clarity and predictability for global companies, say attorneys at Norton Rose.