Public Policy

  • August 28, 2026

    Calif. Challenges Trump Admin's Offshore Wind Lease Buyout

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a federal lawsuit on Friday against the Trump administration and Golden State Wind LLC, claiming the government unlawfully used a $120 million buyout of the company's offshore wind energy lease to end the renewable energy project and facilitate fossil fuel development.

  • August 28, 2026

    Feds Gain Ground In Energy Permit Turf War With States

    A federal judge's endorsement earlier this month of the Trump administration's restart of a pipeline over California's objections will likely embolden the federal government to override state opposition to energy project development, but the ruling won't be the last word on the legality of such moves.

  • August 28, 2026

    Mass. Coke Bottler Misclassified Worker To Save OT, Suit Says

    A regional Coca-Cola bottler misclassified a worker as an exempt employee to avoid paying overtime, a new lawsuit in Massachusetts state court alleges.

  • August 28, 2026

    DOJ Cites National Security In $173M Ukraine Award Suit

    The Trump administration Thursday backed Ukraine as it fights efforts by one of Russia's largest oil companies to unpause litigation aimed at enforcing a confirmed $173 million arbitral award, pointing to Russia's increasing reputation as a "surveillance state with severely eroded rule-of-law protections."

  • August 28, 2026

    Ariz. Tribe Seeks To Pause Border Wall Work During Appeal

    The Tohono O'odham Nation is asking a district court to pause an order that denied its bid to block construction of a border wall near its Arizona reservation while it appeals the ruling to the D.C. Circuit, saying the federal government "plainly feels emboldened" by the decision.

  • August 28, 2026

    2 Men Sentenced For Car Crash Insurance Scam In NY

    Two men have been sentenced to prison over an insurance fraud conspiracy in which they staged car crashes on local highways — including one captured in a video that went viral on social media — New York City and state officials announced.

  • August 28, 2026

    FCC Creates New Innovation Zone In Iowa, Expands Old Ones

    For the first time in five years, the Federal Communications Commission has greenlit the creation of a new "innovation zone," which will give a university an experimental spectrum license that allows it to conduct wireless research, this time at Iowa State University.

  • August 28, 2026

    Circuit Split Raises Stakes For Timing Of Detention Review

    An emerging circuit split on whether district courts can hear habeas claims from noncitizens who say the government wants to deport them for their political speech raises questions about how quickly they can challenge the constitutionality of their detention before an independent judge.

  • August 28, 2026

    FCC Urged To Act On 5G Broadcast Petition

    Low power TV station operator HC2 Broadcasting wants the Federal Communications Commission to allow low-power broadcasters to transmit local programming via 5G signals if they want to.

  • August 28, 2026

    DOJ Says KKR's $250M Deal Will Deter HSR Violations

    The U.S. Department of Justice has issued its formal defense of a $250 million settlement with KKR & Co. and affiliated entities resolving allegations that the private equity firm repeatedly violated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act's premerger notification and waiting period rules.

  • August 28, 2026

    Boston Eyes Liquor License Sold By Celebrity Chef

    The city of Boston asked a judge on Friday to block the anticipated transfer of a liquor license once held by celebrity chef Barbara Lynch, contending that Lynch's original sale of the license to its current holder was a fraudulent effort at evading what ultimately became a nearly $1 million judgment over unpaid property taxes.

  • August 28, 2026

    3rd Circ. Rejects Trump Admin's No-Bond Policy

    The Third Circuit has added to the circuit split over the Trump administration's detention without bond of unauthorized noncitizens apprehended inside the U.S., finding the policy runs afoul of the Immigration and Nationality Act and violates their due process rights.

  • August 28, 2026

    Consumer Groups Back Ore. In Fight Over Rate Opt-Out Law

    Consumer advocacy groups have rallied to Oregon's defense in litigation over its new law aimed at capping interest rates on loans from out-of-state banks, arguing the state's financial industry challengers don't have history or federal law on their side.

  • August 28, 2026

    DOL Scraps 1980s Farmworker Protection Coordination Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor is repealing longtime regulations that required federal agencies to coordinate protections for migrant and seasonal workers, saying they are obsolete and have not been used for decades.

  • August 28, 2026

    ITC Finds Pipes From 3 Countries May Harm US Industry

    Stainless line and pressure pipes from India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that are allegedly being sold at unfair prices appear to be harming domestic U.S. industry, the U.S. International Trade Commission preliminarily found Friday.

  • August 28, 2026

    Medical Marijuana Industry Grapples With DEA's New Role

    After years of allowing the state-sanctioned medical marijuana industry to operate without interference, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is stepping in to regulate a drug it once treated exclusively as contraband, but attorneys and regulators say the cannabis industry's interactions with the agency are off to a rocky start.

  • August 28, 2026

    Trump Admin Wants Oklahoma Smelter Suit Thrown Out

    The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge to dismiss Oklahoma's challenge of a massive aluminum smelter project the Trump administration has backed with a $500 million grant, arguing that the case is premature and that the facility is vital to national security.

  • August 28, 2026

    Fla. Says PBMs Fixed Prices For Prescription Drugs

    Florida's attorney general on Thursday sued two competing pharmacy benefit managers for allegedly colluding to fix prescription drug reimbursement rates to pharmacies, which the state said threatens Floridians' access to affordable medications.

  • August 28, 2026

    NJ Law Requires Data Centers To Report Utility Usage

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a bill into law on Aug. 27 that requires data centers in the state to provide the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities with semiannual water and energy usage reports.

  • August 28, 2026

    Trump Denied New Bid To Federalize Hush Money Prosecution

    A New York federal judge on Friday again denied President Donald Trump's bid to move his criminal hush money conviction out of state court, finding as he did earlier that a federal law defense that Trump was operating in his official capacity would be meritless.

  • August 28, 2026

    IRS Corrects Proposed Regs On Foreign Tax Rules

    The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice Friday to correct several aspects of proposed regulations issued this month that relate to allocating foreign taxes following the repeal of a deferral election and the disallowance of foreign tax credits on certain distributions of previously taxed earnings.

  • August 28, 2026

    House Eyes Vote To Lock Supreme Court At 9 Justices

    The House returns from recess on Monday, and its agenda could include a vote to keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

  • August 28, 2026

    Minnesota Urges Justices To Reject Foster Parents' ICWA Bid

    The Minnesota Attorney General's Office said two foster parents' challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act is far from over, because even if they could clear a jurisdictional bar, the Supreme Court will likely remand the dispute and leave the couple's equal protection question to be litigated another day.

  • August 28, 2026

    4 Arguments For Benefits Attys To Watch In September

    The Fifth Circuit will weigh Louisiana's bid to block telehealth access to the abortion drug mifepristone, while the Fourth Circuit will hear Lockheed Martin's challenge to a trial court decision that kept a pension de-risking suit alive. Here's a look at these and other argument sessions that should be on benefits attorneys' radar next month.

  • August 27, 2026

    Anthropic Judge Rejects Trump's Nat'l Security 'Blank Check'

    The U.S. Department of Defense's designation of Anthropic PBC as a supply chain risk to national security was not based on a credible threat, but rather was retaliation for the company's public criticism of the Trump administration's position in contract negotiations, a California federal judge ruled Thursday.

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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