Public Policy

  • December 15, 2025

    Palin Can't Get 3rd Trial In NYT Defamation Case

    A New York federal judge on Monday denied Sarah Palin's attempt for another redo of her libel trial against The New York Times, saying her lawyers "seriously misconstrued" a Second Circuit decision as reducing what she had to prove at trial.

  • December 15, 2025

    Racial 'X-Acto Knife' Used For Prop 50 Map, Calif. Panel Told

    A three-day hearing before three federal judges kicked off Monday in Los Angeles over challenges brought by California Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice to the state's Proposition 50 voter-approved congressional districts, with a RealClearPolitics election analyst testifying that one district was created using a racial "X-Acto knife" rather than a political one.

  • December 15, 2025

    3rd-Country Removal Relief Is Proper, Immigrants Tell 1st Circ.

    Immigrants challenging the Trump administration's authority to abruptly deport people to third countries urged the First Circuit on Friday to restore an order that required some notice to allow for claims asserting fears of torture or persecution.

  • December 15, 2025

    Senate Banking Committee Pushes Crypto Markup To 2026

    The Senate Banking Committee anticipates marking up a crypto market structure proposal in the new year as bipartisan negotiations on the bill continue, a spokesperson for committee chairman Tim Scott, R.-S.C, said Monday.

  • December 15, 2025

    DC Judge Won't Block Calif. Tribe's Recognition Status

    Three California residents and a nonprofit cannot have an emergency order blocking a decision by the U.S. Interior Department to give federal recognition to California's Ione Band of Miwok Indians, a D.C. federal judge ruled, saying the plaintiffs didn't comply with federal rules governing such requests.

  • December 15, 2025

    Groups Challenge FERC's Texas Natural Gas Project Approval

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was hit with a lawsuit on Monday over its approval of a natural gas project in Texas, with the Sierra Club, the South Texas Environmental Justice Network and the city of Port Isabel, Texas, alleging the agency used a flawed analysis to assess the polluting effect of the project.

  • December 15, 2025

    Walmart Adds To Visa, Mastercard Swipe-Fee Deal Objections

    Walmart has become the latest retailer to object to a proposed new settlement between Visa, Mastercard and a class of potentially millions of merchants to resolve two decades of antitrust litigation, claiming the class plaintiffs and counsel have "sold out their fellow class members."

  • December 15, 2025

    Md. Residents, Advocates Fight DOJ's Bid For Voters' Data

    Three Maryland voters and a pair of civil rights watchdog groups are the latest to push to participate in the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit seeking to force the state to hand over voters' sensitive personal information, arguing the request threatens residents' privacy and could enable voter disenfranchisement. 

  • December 15, 2025

    NC Panel Says State's Hospital Law Is Constitutional

    North Carolina's "certificate of need" law hasn't created a monopoly nor has it restricted an eye surgeon's right to earn a living, a state court panel ruled Friday, ending for now the surgeon's yearslong suit arguing the law is facially unconstitutional.

  • December 15, 2025

    FCC Moves Forward On Multilingual Wireless Alerts

    The Federal Communications Commission will soon make effective a rule rolling out multilingual alert templates for cellphones during public emergencies following pressure from Democrats on Capitol Hill over alleged delays in the effort.

  • December 15, 2025

    Ohio Gov. To Designate Synthetic Kratom Extract Illegal Drug

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is looking to immediately ban synthetic kratom compounds while simultaneously seeking to either ban or heavily regulate the active ingredient in "natural kratom," citing serious public health concerns.

  • December 15, 2025

    PCAOB Challenger Tells DC Circ. He Should Stay Anonymous

    An anonymous accountant challenging the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has told the D.C. Circuit he should be allowed to proceed in district court as a John Doe plaintiff, aiming to reverse a ruling that he cannot continue to litigate the suit pseudonymously.

  • December 15, 2025

    Judge Orders Return Of Comey Atty Richman's Seized Files

    A D.C. federal judge has ordered the government to return copies of materials seized from former James Comey attorney Daniel Richman, allowing the government to deposit only a single sealed copy of the materials with the Eastern District of Virginia for potential future warranted access.

  • December 15, 2025

    DOJ Sues Fulton County To Obtain 2020 Election Records

    The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the clerk of courts in Fulton County, Georgia, in an effort to obtain five-year-old ballots linked to the 2020 presidential election, accusing the clerk of violating federal law by not relinquishing the records.

  • December 15, 2025

    USPTO Replaces Denver Office With Center In Montana

    Montana has been picked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to be the first state to oversee community outreach in the area formerly serviced by the now-shuttered Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office in Denver.

  • December 15, 2025

    IRS Finalizes Tribal Welfare, Energy Direct Pay Rules

    The IRS finalized a pair of long-awaited tribal regulations Monday governing a taxable income exclusion for welfare benefits and classifying certain tribe-owned entities as tax-exempt to allow them to directly monetize tax credits for clean energy projects.

  • December 15, 2025

    Beyond Nuclear Pushes Justices To Undo Storage License

    The nonprofit seeking to stop the U.S. Department of Energy from contracting out nuclear waste storage hit back at the contractor's bid to keep the case out of the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the contractor's own brief supports the nonprofit's position.

  • December 15, 2025

    Groups Say Texas Food Labeling Law Must Be Blocked

    A group of food industry associations are urging a Texas federal judge to block a section of the state's new Make Texas Healthy Again Act, saying the section is preempted by federal law because it requires them to put false and misleading information on the labels.

  • December 15, 2025

    Fishery Says NY, NJ Wind Project 'Obliterated' Fishing Area

    A Garden State fishery has sued the owner of the Empire Offshore Wind project in New Jersey federal court, alleging that it has "completely and permanently obliterated" the ability to harvest shellfish in the project area and caused it more $25 million in damages.

  • December 15, 2025

    Nix FCC's Public Interest Standard, Free Market Group Says

    Lawmakers need to consider scrapping the longstanding public interest standard rather than seeking to hold broadcasters to a measure from the Communications Act, a free-market think tank argued Monday.

  • December 15, 2025

    Connecticut 'Likely' To Settle Generic Drug Price Cap Dispute

    A pharmaceutical industry trade group and the state of Connecticut have signaled their intent to settle a feud over the interpretation of the state's generic drug price cap law, and a federal judge gave them until Monday to say more about their plan.

  • December 15, 2025

    Ex-US Attys Say Pardons, Loyalty Demands Hurt Rule Of Law

    A bipartisan group of former U.S. attorneys spoke publicly Monday on their concerns regarding the direction the U.S. justice system has taken since the start of the second Trump administration and the potential risks that may pose to the rule of law.

  • December 15, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Litigation in Delaware's Court of Chancery sprawled from a dispute over control of banana plantations along Africa's Congo River to a fight over the late musician Prince's estate last week. Along the way, a court ruling rejected a motion for a quick decision favoring Blue Bell Creameries director and officer calls for liability releases in a tainted ice cream saga that dates to 2015.

  • December 15, 2025

    Judge Won't Boot Bondi-Appointed Prosecutor In LA

    A federal judge has refused to reconsider his ruling disqualifying Bill Essayli from holding the role of U.S. attorney but allowing him to serve as the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, finding that Essayli's appointment by U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi is valid.

  • December 15, 2025

    Fed. Court Asked To Block IRS' Microcaptive Reporting Rule

    A Texas federal court should vacate an IRS rule aimed at flagging potential tax avoidance by requiring companies to disclose information about their microcaptive insurance transactions because it undermines Congress' authority, according to a Texas plastics company and its microcaptive adviser.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

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    With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.

  • How Litigating Antitrust Fix Helped GTCR Prevail In Court

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    An Illinois federal judge's recent denial of the Federal Trade Commission's injunction request in the GTCR acquisition of Surmodics joins a developing series of cases in which deal parties have prevailed against government antitrust challenges by proposing a post-complaint fix and litigating the as-amended deal, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

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    As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

  • Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

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    Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • Wading Into NY Wetland Regs' 2025 Changes And Challenges

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    Solar developers in New York should keep a weather eye on litigation challenging the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s recently expanded authority to regulate wetlands and waterways, which could erode the impact of a new permitting process meant to streamline solar development on protected wetlands, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Takeaways As Justices Let 5th Circ. Pollution Ruling Stand

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent certiorari denial leaves intact a Fifth Circuit ruling that environmental justice organizations have standing to pursue a civil rights challenge to a parish's land-use practice, underscoring the importance of local governments proactively engaging with communities to address cumulative impacts of development, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • Next Steps For DOE's Large-Load Interconnection Reforms

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    The U.S. Department of Energy's recent letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may mark a substantial expansion of FERC's open-access framework for large-load facilities, though the proposed timeline for the rulemaking appears to be extraordinarily short, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

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