Public Policy

  • August 19, 2026

    Convicted Ex-Atty Deserves Redemption, Pardoned Client Says

    A former Connecticut attorney under suspension for the past decade over his role in a $3 million stock pump-and-dump scheme deserves reinstatement and redemption, a client of his pardon consulting firm told a state bar admissions committee on Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    Nonprofits Urge Court To Block HHS From Sharing Aid Data

    Counsel for a group of nonprofits on Wednesday asked a Brooklyn federal judge to block the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from sharing personal information, including immigration status, of recipients of financial assistance with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, saying the proposed disclosure has "no statutory authority whatsoever."

  • August 19, 2026

    German Entrepreneur's Dad Can't Nix SEC Tab, 1st Circ. Rules

    The First Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a judgment against the father of German billionaire Michael Gastauer, saying the parent "waited too long" to object to a lower court's personal jurisdiction over him as a relief defendant in a case concerning his son's alleged participation in an international pump-and-dump scheme.

  • August 19, 2026

    Colo. Sues GEO Group To Allow Tuberculosis Probe At ICE Camp

    Colorado sued private prison operator GEO Group in state court Wednesday, accusing it of failing to comply with a public health order seeking compliance with a tuberculosis investigation in the only immigration detention camp in the state.

  • August 19, 2026

    CFPB Pursues Early Win In Hagens Berman Lender Docs Suit

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to beat Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP's suit accusing the agency of illegally withholding information about any investigations into mortgage lender Veterans United, arguing that acknowledging any such probe could thwart the bureau's law enforcement efforts.

  • August 19, 2026

    FTC Warns Secret Personalized Prices Likely To Draw Scrutiny

    Retailers and other businesses that use consumers' personal data to set individualized prices are likely to face regulatory backlash if these practices aren't clearly disclosed, the Federal Trade Commission cautioned in a proposed policy statement issued Wednesday that vowed the agency would "aggressively" enforce such misconduct.

  • August 19, 2026

    Albertsons Says Wash. Failed To Prove Opioid Claims At Trial

    Albertsons Cos. Inc. urged a Seattle judge on Tuesday to throw out Washington state's lawsuit accusing the chain and its subsidiary Safeway Inc. of fueling Washington's opioid crisis, arguing that the state failed to prove wrongdoing by the companies after nearly five weeks of an ongoing bench trial.

  • August 19, 2026

    Baltimore Can't Send Payday Lender Suit Back To State Court

    A Maryland federal judge refused to remand a suit brought by the city of Baltimore against Los Angeles-based lender Dave Inc. to state court, ruling that the city failed to explain how federal courts' interpretation and application of the city's consumer protection ordinance would disrupt the state's efforts to establish a policy regulating consumer loans.

  • August 19, 2026

    Double Patenting Ripe For Fresh Fed. Circ. Look Amid Debate

    The already complex doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting may now be more tangled following a decision and a brief from the patent office seemingly taking different views on a key issue, but that could set the stage for the Federal Circuit to provide clarity, attorneys say.

  • August 19, 2026

    Air Force Urges Justices Not To 'Engraft' NEPA Onto RCRA

    The Air Force on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a Guam nonprofit's assertion that the military branch should have completed an environmental review before it applied to renew a hazardous waste permit allowing it to detonate expired munitions on the island.

  • August 19, 2026

    Digital Equity Suit On Ice As Gov't Preps Program Relaunch

    The D.C. federal judge overseeing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's shutdown of the Digital Equity Act's Competitive Grant Program has put the case on hold until the government relaunches the program without provisions that consider the applicants' race, as it has agreed to do.

  • August 19, 2026

    FTC Asks Court To Keep Trans Health Suit In Texas

    The Federal Trade Commission has asked a Texas federal court to keep its suit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health in the Lone Star State, saying that the organization incorporated there in 1980.

  • August 19, 2026

    HHS, USDA Must Withdraw Dietary Guidelines, DC Court Told

    A public health nonprofit on Wednesday urged a D.C. federal court to order the federal government to withdraw dietary guidelines it issued earlier this year, arguing that reviewers who advised on the guidelines had significant conflicts of interest and were selected without public oversight.

  • August 19, 2026

    DOJ Enviro Deputy AG Leaves Post

    A top deputy in the U.S. Department of Justice's Energy and Natural Resources Division is leaving the agency, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    USPTO Says Patent Atty's Suit Shouldn't Stop Discipline Case

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has said an Ohio federal court shouldn't pause professional discipline proceedings against an attorney while he sues the agency, saying he's likely to fail with his suit challenging the fact that a judge from another agency is overseeing his discipline case.

  • August 19, 2026

    Immigration Board Says Migrants Get 1 Shot To Reopen Case

    The Immigration and Nationality Act generally limits noncitizens in immigration proceedings to only one motion to reopen a case, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled, adding that statutory restriction cannot be equitably tolled, either.

  • August 19, 2026

    PFAS Turnout Gear Buyer Lawsuits Get Consolidated In Minn.

    Minnesota will be home to firefighter turnout gear PFAS "forever chemical" federal lawsuits filed by municipal purchasers from 14 separate states, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has decided, consolidating current actions in Montana and California with lawsuits filed in the corporate home state of 3M Co.

  • August 19, 2026

    Broadband Co. Asks FCC To Fix 'Ineffective' State Pole Regs

    Broadband provider GoNetSpeed has asked the Federal Communications Commission to open a rulemaking proceeding to tackle "ineffective" state regulation of utility pole attachments for broadband equipment.

  • August 19, 2026

    DOJ Touts 'Targeted' Probes In Sales Software Merger OK

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday it had closed an in-depth review into a sales tracking software merger, mollified by the likelihood of artificial intelligence-enabled competition, in an announcement touting the use of "targeted" scrutiny to end the probe quickly.

  • August 19, 2026

    EPA Waiver Review Could Upend Rulemaking, Judge Signals

    A D.C. federal judge predicted Wednesday that there could be wide-ranging implications for oversight of agency rulemaking if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is allowed to put California emissions waivers up for congressional review more than a decade after they were first granted.

  • August 19, 2026

    Caesars Looks To Dodge Tribe's Suit Over NY Mobile Betting

    Caesars Sportsbook is asking a district court to dismiss the Cayuga Nation's claims that its entity is illegally offering mobile sports betting on tribal lands, saying the New York Indigenous nation is looking to create a remedy that Congress chose not to provide.

  • August 19, 2026

    Ex-US Attys Protest Trump's Swift Firing Of Rogoff In Seattle

    Thirty former U.S. attorneys backed Roger Rogoff's bid for reinstatement as Seattle's top federal prosecutor after President Donald Trump fired him on the heels of his court-ordered appointment, arguing Tuesday that Trump is trying to "sidestep the Senate's advice-and-consent role and sideline the judiciary" by letting unappointed individuals play such roles.

  • August 19, 2026

    Trade Court Rejects Bahrain Importer's FTA Theory

    Film imported from Bahrain cannot qualify for preferential tariff treatment under a free trade agreement because the importer failed to meet its requirements, and those of the law underlying the deal, according to a U.S. Court of International Trade opinion published Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    OCC Advancing Stablecoin Rule At 'Great Speed,' Gould Says

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plans to issue the main rule establishing its stablecoin oversight framework by November and expects to be ready to process issuer licensing applications as soon as January, the agency's top official said Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Initial Arbitration No Obstacle To EFAA

    A split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday that a fired biopharmaceutical executive could quit arbitration and file a suit claiming her boss subjected her to gender-based harassment, finding the pivot was fair game under a law that shields sex misconduct disputes from out-of-court resolutions.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices Stand On Statutory Specifics In Cisco And Landor

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    With its June 23 decisions in Cisco Systems Inc. v. Doe and Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, the U.S. Supreme Court doubled down on the critical point that the statute invoked in a federal claim must authorize a private lawsuit and the remedy sought, says Patrick Judd at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Immigration Ruling Maps Alternative To Universal Injunctions

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    A Rhode Island federal court's decision in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS vacating policies that froze key immigration adjudications for nationals of 39 countries, and paused asylum applications altogether, suggests how practitioners might press for the Administrative Procedure Act's bad faith exception to record review and seek vacatur as a viable alternative to universal injunctions, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • New Va. Finance Laws Signal Consumer Protection Push

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    Virginia's 2026 legislative session produced several noteworthy developments for financial institutions, including garnishment reforms, mortgage assumption requirements and debt collection reforms, signaling broader trends toward increased consumer protection, enhanced fraud prevention obligations and greater accountability in financial services operations, says Jay Spruill at Woods Rogers.

  • How Montgomery Ruling Will Affect Cos. Across Supply Chain

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court's May 14 decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, the immediate focus has been on freight brokers and negligent carrier-selection claims, but the ripple effects may extend to shippers, logistics providers, insurers, transportation managers and other participants in the supply chain, say attorneys at Quintairos Prieto.

  • High Court's FCC Fine Ruling Reframes Agency Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T sweeps aside uncertainty about what kinds of regulatory enforcement trigger a Seventh Amendment right, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • How Maine's Expanded Health Deal Reviews Complicate M&A

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    A pair of recently approved Maine competition laws establish notice and approval requirements for certain healthcare transactions and expand state antitrust oversight, creating new hurdles for dealmakers as states take a more aggressive role in policing healthcare consolidation, especially involving private equity, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Resolve Growing Subchapter V Uncertainty

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    Congress must pass a bill to permanently restore the Subchapter V debt limit and clarify several other key points of the law to prevent a practical restructuring tool from becoming a costly procedural morass, says Ted Gavin at Gavin Solmonese.

  • CFTC Policy Substantially Expands Self-Reporting Incentives

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    A recent U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission policy moves from a mitigation-centered model to prioritizing declination for early self-reporting and full cooperation, reflecting a deliberate effort to harmonize voluntary self-disclosure incentives across the federal enforcement authorities, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Opinion

    Exxon Shareholders Were Right To Save New Voting Program

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    Following Exxon shareholders’ recent vote that rejected a bid to dismantle the company’s new retail voting program, other companies should replicate it as a way to lower the friction for shareholders who already vote with the board to keep doing so without wrestling a ballot every spring, says J.W. Verret at the Antonin Scalia Law School.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • What Ratings Overhaul May Mean For Banking Industry

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    Proposed revisions to the bank rating system commonly known as CAMELS could constrain examiner discretion and tie supervisory outcomes more closely to measurable financial risk, potentially saving compliance costs, reducing the frequency of ratings downgrades and spurring a more growth-oriented banking system, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The last three months were particularly consequential for Illinois banking law, with a federal court ruling reshaping the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, the state filling enforcement gaps, significant legislative activity and a revision to the community bank leverage ratio, say attorneys at Riley Safer.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

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    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • Md. Ruling Reflects Classic Administrative Law Principle

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    A Maryland federal court's recent decision in Columbus v. Kennedy significantly limits how far the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can go in reshaping the Affordable Care Act through regulation, highlighting a principle that will likely be applied in similar Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Michael King at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • DOJ China Container Indictments Signal Global Cartel Risk

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent announcement that it had indicted Chinese manufacturers for conspiring to drive up the price of shipping containers sold in the U.S. illustrates the Antitrust Division's interest in pursuing overseas cartel conduct, especially in China, signaling that multinational companies with employees abroad should strengthen antitrust compliance to avoid running afoul of U.S. national security policy, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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