Public Policy

  • October 08, 2025

    WilmerHale Appoints Ex-DOJ Division Head As Dept. Leader

    WilmerHale announced on Wednesday that the former leader of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division will lead its regulatory and government affairs department at the start of 2026 after rejoining the firm earlier this year.

  • October 08, 2025

    Conn. High Court OKs DNA Taken From Trash Sans Warrant

    In a decision setting standards for privacy, Connecticut's highest court upheld the conviction of a man sentenced to 72 years in prison for a series of 1984 home invasion sexual assaults, finding that police were allowed to take his trash to obtain DNA without a warrant.

  • October 08, 2025

    Black NC Voters Take Redistricting Case To 4th Circ. Again

    Two Black voters have urged the Fourth Circuit to hear as soon as possible their case alleging the North Carolina General Assembly unlawfully redrew state senate districts in a way that diluted the voting power of Black residents.

  • October 08, 2025

    Biz Groups Back Ariz. Land Swap Amid 9th Circ. Appeal

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a slew of mining associations are backing the federal government's efforts to nix a Ninth Circuit appeal that looks to block the transfer of more than 2,500 acres within Arizona's Tonto National Forest to a copper mining company.

  • October 08, 2025

    DOJ Asks For Stay In PVC Antitrust Case Amid Criminal Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice is asking an Illinois federal court to pause discovery in a case accusing polyvinyl chloride pipe manufacturers of using a commodity pricing service to exchange information and fix prices while a grand jury investigates the alleged activity.

  • October 08, 2025

    Denver Attorney Returns To Reed Smith State Tax Team

    Reed Smith is expanding its tax practice with the return of an experienced attorney, now based in Denver, with multistate experience in the full spectrum of tax issues.

  • October 08, 2025

    Comey Pleads Not Guilty, Will Contest US Atty's Appointment

    Former FBI Director James Comey pled not guilty Wednesday to one count of false statements and another count of obstructing a congressional hearing, appearing in a Virginia federal courthouse for the first time after a shake-up at the U.S. attorney's office netted a grand jury indictment last month.

  • October 07, 2025

    Panel Said Congress Was 'Feckless,' 6th Circ. Told In FCC Row

    The Sixth Circuit should agree to a full court reconsideration of a panel's decision to back the Federal Communications Commission's expanded data breach notifications for telecom carriers, says a conservative legal organization that believes the panel assumed Congress was legislating "fecklessly."

  • October 07, 2025

    Wash. Spam Email Law Is Unconstitutional, Retailers Say

    Beauty retail giant Ulta and home improvement retailer Home Depot argued last week in separate cases that Washington state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act is unconstitutional and preempted by federal law as they seek to shed proposed consumer class actions claiming their promotional emails were misleading.

  • October 07, 2025

    Attys Urge Mass. Courts To Protect Immigrants' Court Access

    Civil rights lawyers urged the Massachusetts trial court system to better protect migrants' due process rights amid increasing arrests by federal immigration officers inside and outside courthouses, saying Tuesday the court is "well within its right" to do so.

  • October 07, 2025

    Ex-Housing Chief's Lawyers Want Out Of Conn. Fraud Suit

    Connecticut-based Spears Manning & Martini LLC has asked a state court to allow the firm to stop representing a former municipal housing authority chief in litigation accusing him of fraud and financial misconduct, pointing to a "breakdown in the attorney-client relationship."

  • October 07, 2025

    Ex-Prisoners Push Back On Bid To Decertify Debit Card Class

    Former prisoners accusing Central Bank of Kansas City of charging excessive fees on prepaid debit cards have pushed back on the bank's effort to undo their certified class, arguing they were subject to a "uniform pattern of conduct" that forced them to accept the cards.

  • October 07, 2025

    Cabinetry Co. Refiles $3.6B Merger To Give FTC More Time

    Kitchen cabinet and vanity manufacturer American Woodmark Corp. has withdrawn and refiled its intent to merge with MasterBrand in a $3.6 billion deal in order to give the Federal Trade Commission more time to scrutinize the deal for competition concerns.

  • October 07, 2025

    Goldstein's $968K Border Cash Claim To Be Admitted At Trial

    A Maryland federal jury will hear claims from prosecutors that SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein told Dulles International Airport border guards that the $968,000 in cash he brought into the country in 2018 had been gambling winnings, after a judge shot down his efforts to suppress his alleged statements Tuesday.

  • October 07, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says State Lawmakers Mostly Immune From TCPA

    State legislators in certain instances can make robocalls if they want, the Third Circuit has declared after finding that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's ban on automated and prerecorded texts and calls without consent doesn't apply to them.

  • October 07, 2025

    Ex-Conn. Official Says Contractor Was The One Seeking Cash

    The first witness in a federal corruption case against former Connecticut budget official Kosta Diamantis is a repeat liar who misled his own masonry company's president into advancing his personal year-end bonus, which he used to leverage family connections and seek the government's favor, Diamantis' attorney suggested Tuesday during cross-examination.

  • October 07, 2025

    Hemp Retailer Sues Ohio Police Department Over Seizure

    An Ohio police department seized more than half a million dollars' worth of hemp using a bad search warrant claiming that the hemp, which is legal, was marijuana, the hemp retailer told a federal court Monday.

  • October 07, 2025

    Puerto Rico Utility Bondholders Pull Out Of Reorg Deal

    A group of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders Tuesday informed a bankruptcy judge that they were following through on a promise to exit a restructuring agreement and join other bondholders in supporting an alternative bankruptcy plan for PREPA.

  • October 07, 2025

    1st Circ. Left In Limbo Over FCC's Prison Phone Rate Caps

    First Circuit judges Tuesday questioned the Federal Communications Commission's turnabout in defense of its Biden-era prison phone rate caps and were unsure how to construct a legal ruling with the FCC poised to vote on a policy makeover within weeks.

  • October 07, 2025

    DC, 18 States Back Campaign Spending Caps At High Court

    The District of Columbia and 18 states urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday not to lift caps on the amount political parties may spend in coordination with candidates for federal office, saying state-level campaign finance regulations could be destabilized.

  • October 07, 2025

    Quiet Down! Calif. Law Targets Loud Streaming Platform Ads

    California enacted a new law Monday requiring video streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu to curb the volume on television commercials, making it the first state to issue regulations on commercial noise for streaming services. 

  • October 07, 2025

    FAA Drone Rule Draws Over 1M Comments As Public Weighs In

    Complex safety certification, technological and other security requirements are among the issues that U.S. regulators must still iron out before a long-awaited new rule allowing drones to fly beyond the sight line of their operators can truly take off, according to drone companies, aviation and other industry groups.

  • October 07, 2025

    Drug Tax Outdoes Biblical Punishment, 5th Circ. Judge Says

    A Fifth Circuit panel pressed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to justify the basis for the Medicare drug pricing program's steep excise tax, asking Tuesday whether the government had ever levied a higher tax in the nation's history.

  • October 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects 'Kitchen Sink' Challenge To Vaccine Mandate

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld a lower court's rejection of a lawsuit brought by dozens of former employees of a nonprofit healthcare system who claimed Washington state's requirement that healthcare workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 violated their statutory and constitutional rights.

  • October 07, 2025

    Colo. Panel Weighs School's Liability In 2019 Shooting

    Colorado appellate judges on Tuesday asked attorneys representing the parents of a student who was killed during a school shooting and the school itself how to interpret a state law that allows schools to be held liable for school shootings.

Expert Analysis

  • How States Are Regulating Health Insurers' AI Usage

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    The absence of a federal artificial intelligence framework positions states as key regulators of health insurers’ AI use, making it important for payors and service providers to understand the range of state AI legislation being passed in California and elsewhere, and consider implementing an AI-focused compliance infrastructure, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • How To Navigate NYC's Stricter New Prenatal Leave Rules

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    On top of the state's prenatal leave law, New York City employers now face additional rules, including notice and recordkeeping requirements, and necessary separation from sick leave, so employers should review their policies and train staff to ensure compliance with both laws, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • HHS Plan To Cut Immigrant Benefits Spurs Provider Questions

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    A recent notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identifying new federal public benefit programs for which nonqualified aliens are not eligible may have a major impact on entities that participate in these programs — but many questions remain unanswered, say attorneys at Foley.

  • A Simple Way Courts Can Help Attys Avoid AI Hallucinations

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    As attorneys increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence for legal research, courts should consider expanding online quality control programs to flag potential hallucinations — permitting counsel to correct mistakes and sparing judges the burden of imposing sanctions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl and Connors.

  • Strategies For ICE Agent Misconduct Suits In The 11th Circ.

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    Attorneys have numerous pathways to pursue misconduct claims against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Eleventh Circuit, and they need not wait for the court to correct its misinterpretation of a Federal Tort Claims Act exception, says Lauren Bonds at the National Police Accountability Project.

  • Opinion

    SEC Should Restore Its 2020 Proxy Adviser Rule

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    Due to concerns over proxy advisers' accuracy, reliability and transparency, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should reinstate its 2020 rule designed to suppress the influence that they wield in shareholder voting, says Kyle Isakower at the American Council for Capital Formation.

  • DOJ Consumer Branch's End Leaves FDA Litigation Questions

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    With the dissolution of the U.S. Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Branch set to occur by Sept. 30, companies must carefully monitor how responsibility is reallocated for civil and criminal enforcement cases related to products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Surveying The Changing Overdraft Fee Landscape

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    Despite recent federal moves that undermine consumer overdraft fee protections, last year’s increase in fee charges suggests banks will face continued scrutiny via litigation and state regulation, says Amanda Kurzendoerfer at Bates White.

  • Handling Sanctions Risk Cartel Control Brings To Mexico Port

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    Companies operating in or trading with Mexico should take steps to mitigate heightened exposure triggered by routine port transactions following the U.S. Treasury’s recent unequivocal statement that a foreign terrorist organization controls the port of Manzanillo, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

  • The Road Ahead For Digital Assets Looks Promising

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    With new legislation expected to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology, and with regulators taking a markedly more permissive approach to digital assets, the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized finance is closer than ever, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Asbestos Trusts And Tort Litigation Are Still Not Aligned

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    A recent ruling by a New York state court in James Petro v. Aerco International highlights the inefficiencies that still exist in asbestos litigation — especially regarding the continued lack of coordination between the asbestos tort system and the well-funded asbestos trust compensation system, says Peter Kelso at Roux.

  • Opinion

    Closing The Chemical Safety Board Is A Mistake

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    The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which investigates the root causes of major chemical incidents, provides an essential component of worker and community safety and should not be defunded, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Evolving Legal Landscape For THC-Infused Beverages

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    A recent Eighth Circuit ruling, holding that states may restrict the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products without violating federal law, combined with ongoing regulatory uncertainty at both the federal and state levels, could alter the trajectory of the THC-infused beverage market, say attorneys at Pashman Stein.

  • New NY Residential Real Estate Rules May Be Overbroad

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    New legislation imposing a 90-day-waiting period and tax deduction restrictions on certain New York real estate investors may have broad effects and unintended consequences, creating impediments for a wide range of corporate and other transactions, says Libin Zhang at Fried Frank.

  • Cos. Must Tailor Due Diligence As Trafficking Risks Increase

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    As legislators, prosecutors and plaintiffs attorneys increasingly focus on labor and sex trafficking throughout the U.S., companies must tailor their due diligence strategies to protect against forced labor trafficking risks in their supply chains, say attorneys at Steptoe.

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