Public Policy

  • May 22, 2025

    Tribes Sue US Over $23B Used For Boarding School Program

    A group of Indigenous nations has asked for class certification and an order that would require the U.S. to account for how much of the tribes' money was used in an estimated $23.3 billion appropriated by the federal government in connection with its past Indian boarding school programs.

  • May 22, 2025

    Conn. AG Targets 'Bootleg' Weight Loss Drug Sellers

    Connecticut has launched a consumer protection lawsuit in state court against a Florida-based company and its owner, accusing them of peddling untested and unsafe, research-level, "bootleg" GLP-1 weight loss drugs to customers.

  • May 22, 2025

    Texas Lawmakers Clarify Exceptions To Abortion Ban

    The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday specifying that women experiencing life-threatening pregnancies don't have to suffer "any effects" before they can obtain an abortion.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ore. Lawmakers OK Renewed Historic Preservation Credit

    An expired Oregon tax credit for historic preservation would be reauthorized and limited to commercial properties under legislation passed by the state Senate and headed to the governor.

  • May 22, 2025

    Contractor Settles DOJ's Aircraft Adhesive FCA Allegations

    A federal contractor paid to make an external pod to carry communications equipment on military aircraft agreed to pay $512,000 to resolve allegations that it misrepresented or omitted important information regarding the adhesive used in a prototype as well as the testing procedures used on that prototype.

  • May 22, 2025

    Senior FCC Democrat Attends Final Monthly Meeting

    Geoffrey Starks, the senior Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, participated in his last agency meeting Thursday, where he announced he will leave the agency sometime within the next month.

  • May 22, 2025

    Mass. Judge Halts Trump's Bid To Slash Education Dept. Jobs

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to lay off hundreds of U.S. Department of Education employees, finding that the administration's claims of wanting more efficiency are a mask for their actual goal of dismantling the department.

  • May 22, 2025

    High Court Declines To Narrow Reach Of Federal Fraud Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that using deceptive means to induce a business transaction may still be a crime even if the defendant doesn't seek to cause economic loss, a departure from earlier decisions that have narrowed the scope of federal fraud statutes.

  • May 22, 2025

    Split Supreme Court Blocks 1st Religious Charter School

    A deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left in place Thursday an Oklahoma state court ruling barring the launch of the nation's first religious charter school, leaving open questions about the constitutionality of excluding religious groups from participating in publicly funded charter school programs.

  • May 21, 2025

    Tribes Push To Preserve Challenges To Okla. Prosecutions

    The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations are dialing up their opposition to two Oklahoma district attorneys' attempts to prosecute tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country, telling a federal court that prior case law makes it "readily apparent" that these state actions can't stand. 

  • May 21, 2025

    Fox Accuses Smartmatic Of Destroying 'Critical' Evidence

    Fox News on Wednesday called for Smartmatic to be sanctioned, claiming that nearly two-dozen executives and other employees at the voting tech company destroyed "critical" evidence related to the company's defamation case against the television network, an accusation that comes a week after Smartmatic said Fox deleted relevant texts.

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Prolongs Pause On Trump's HUD, DOT Grant DEI Limits

    A Washington federal judge Wednesday extended a block on federal grant conditions limiting homelessness aid and transportation funding to recipients who align with the Trump administration's policies against diversity and inclusion programming, as nearly two dozen localities joined New York, San Francisco and others challenging the terms.

  • May 21, 2025

    'DIY' Rape Kit Ban Challenge Seems To Leave 9th Circ. Split

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared divided Wednesday over a company's appeal in its case challenging Washington state's ban on self-administered DNA collection kits for sexual assault survivors, with one judge remarking the product "doesn't do a whole heck of a lot" if the evidence isn't admissible in court.  

  • May 21, 2025

    FTC Urges 8th Circ. Not To Pause In-House PBM Case

    The Eighth Circuit should once again say no to a request to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing three pharmacy benefit managers of hiking up the price of insulin to line their own pockets, the agency has told the appellate court.

  • May 21, 2025

    The Status Of Biden-Era Immigration Suits: A Roundup

    Following the presidential transition, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss suits brought by the Biden administration challenging state immigration enforcement measures in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma, leaving the status of those cases up in the air.

  • May 21, 2025

    CFTC Member Says Enforcement Needs More Transparency

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Christy Goldsmith Romero on Wednesday called on the agency to be more transparent about its enforcement decisions, while laying out the factors she weighs in crediting firms for self-reporting and cooperation.

  • May 21, 2025

    Wyden Urges Sens. To Switch Carriers Over Privacy Risks

    AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile failed to put in place systems notifying senators about government surveillance requests, despite being contractually required to, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told his colleagues Wednesday, urging them in a letter to "seriously consider" switching mobile carriers for personal and campaign phones.

  • May 21, 2025

    House Panel Advances Bills Easing Securities, Banking Regs

    The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee this week approved 25 bills largely aimed at reducing capital markets and banking regulations, moving the deregulatory proposals forward for consideration by the full House.

  • May 21, 2025

    Squires Talks Fortress, PTAB Invalidations In Senate Hearing

    The Trump administration's nominee for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director had his moment before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, where he downplayed his controversial connections to litigation finance giant Fortress Investment Group and raised concerns that too many bad patents were being issued.

  • May 21, 2025

    Verizon Looks To Break Free Of TracFone Unlocking Condition

    Verizon is once again asking the Federal Communications Commission to let it out of a condition from its takeover of TracFone requiring the carrier to unlock its mobile phones after 60 days.

  • May 21, 2025

    SC Judge Restores Frozen Federal Grant Funding

    A South Carolina federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore 32 grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act after the government said it wasn't contesting the merits of the grant recipients' claims.

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Mulls National Scope Of Bid To Restore COVID Grants

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday mulled whether it would be appropriate to issue a nationwide injunction blocking the termination of $11 billion public health grants set aside under COVID-era laws in a lawsuit brought by four local governments and a public sector union.

  • May 21, 2025

    News Orgs Not Entitled To Abrego Garcia Files, Feds Say

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Maryland federal judge that more than a dozen news organizations looking to unseal records in litigation challenging the removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador have no right to access sensitive discovery materials.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ex-Con's Gun Case Can't Overcome Immunity, Feds Say

    The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives cannot be the targets of a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was wrongly denied a firearm purchase despite his four-decades-old marijuana felony being expunged, the government argued, telling a Kansas federal court that both agencies have sovereign immunity on the matter.

  • May 21, 2025

    Gold Mine Risks Alaska Preserve And Whales, Tribe Claims

    An Alaskan tribe and environmental groups have filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeking to stop a mining company from expanding gold operations, activity that would contaminate the waterways near a national park and harm the endangered beluga whale population.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

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    Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 3 Action Items For Innovators Amid Fintech Regulatory Pivot

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    As the federal banking agencies seek to smooth the way for banks to engage in crypto-related activities, banks and technology companies should take note of this new chapter in payments services, especially as leadership in digital financial technology becomes a national priority, says Jess Cheng at Wilson Sonsini.

  • What PFAS-Treated Clothing Tariff Bill Would Mean For Cos.

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    In keeping with a nationwide trend of greater restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove tariff advantages for PFAS-treated clothing — so businesses would be wise to proactively adapt their supply chains and review contracts to mitigate liability, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How Tariffs May Affect Proxy Contests This Season

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    While global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will certainly chill at least some activity this proxy season, and make defending contests significantly easier, there will likely be many new activist investments once there is more economic certainty, meaning more proxy fights this fall, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Running A Compliant DEI Program After EEOC, DOJ Guidance

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    Following recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that operationalized the Trump administration's focus on ending so-called illegal DEI, employers don't need to eliminate DEI programs, but they must ensure that protected characteristics are not considered in employment decisions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • A Closer Look At New NYSE, Nasdaq Listing Rule Changes

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently approved changes to the New York Stock Exchange's and the Nasdaq's listing rules on reverse stock splits, minimum share price requirements and required liquidity for initial listings, meaning listed companies facing delisting will have fewer means to regain compliance, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Opinion

    GENIUS Act Can Bring Harmony To Crypto-Banking Discord

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    ​​​​​​​By embracing crypto innovation while establishing appropriate guardrails, the so-called GENIUS Act charts a path forward that promotes financial inclusion and technological advancement without compromising stability or constitutional rights, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School.

  • Opinion

    US Reassessment Of OECD Tax Deal Is Right Move

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    The wholesale U.S. reevaluation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's global tax deal ordered by President Donald Trump is a positive step that could ultimately create a more durable international tax system, says Anne Gordon at the National Foreign Trade Council.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • The Path Forward For Construction Cos. After Calif. Wildfires

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    The increasing frequency of disastrous wildfires, like those that recently occurred in California, presents a set of complex challenges for the construction industry, including regulatory hurdles and supply chain disruptions that can complicate rebuilding efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • What 2nd Trump Admin Means For Ship Pollution Compliance

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    As the second Trump administration's civil and criminal enforcement policies take shape, the maritime industry must ensure it complies with both national and international obligations to prevent oil pollution from seagoing vessels — with preventive efforts and voluntary disclosures being some of the best options for mitigating risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Know The Rules And Costs Of New Fla. Condo Inspection Law

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    Following the first report deadline for a structural integrity law meant to prevent disasters like the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida condominium associations and unit owners should understand the process of conducting compliant inspections and anticipate new assessments to fund required maintenance, say attorneys at Ball Janik.

  • Mass. AG Emerges As Key Player In Consumer Protection

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    Through enforcement actions and collaborations with other states — including joining a recent amicus brief decrying the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has established herself as a thought leader for consumer protection and corporate accountability, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • SEC Confidential Review Process Provides Issuers Flexibility

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enhancements to the process for confidentially submitting draft registration statements will be immediately impactful for issuers seeking to access the public capital markets, and should provide more grounds to explore and plan public offerings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

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