Public Policy

  • June 25, 2025

    Court Halts Trump Order Curbing Federal Union Bargaining

    Several federal agencies must stop enforcing a part of President Donald Trump's executive order that would ax labor contracts covering agencies that have "national security" aims, a California federal judge ruled, finding unions showed they would suffer irreparable harm by losing collective bargaining rights.

  • June 24, 2025

    Colo. Justices Order Fraud Retrial Over Legal Advice Hearsay

    Colorado's highest court granted a new securities fraud trial Monday to a man whose testimony in his own defense about advice of counsel was curtailed by a judge, saying legal advice is unquestionably relevant in mounting a defense around "willfulness."

  • June 24, 2025

    Wash. Judge Blocks Trump Admin's EV Charging Funds Freeze

    A Seattle federal judge Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from withholding funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects in 14 states, but stopped short of applying it to two other states and Washington, D.C., and stayed the order to give the administration time to appeal.

  • June 24, 2025

    FTC Commish Says Enforcement Is The Way, Not Regulation

    The newest member of the Federal Trade Commission was preaching less regulation and increased enforcement as the path toward a more just and competitive business landscape in the United States at a Senate antitrust subcommittee hearing Tuesday afternoon.

  • June 24, 2025

    Anthropic Copyright Ruling May Spur More AI Licensing Deals

    The first federal court decision on the fairness of taking copyrighted material to train generative artificial intelligence is a mixed outcome for tech companies and content creators that could prompt both parties to seek coexistence, according to attorneys, with the judge concluding that while the technology is "spectacularly" transformative, using pirated material is inexcusable.

  • June 24, 2025

    Powell Says Leverage Rule Revamp Won't Exclude Treasuries

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told House lawmakers Tuesday that a forthcoming plan to revamp big-bank leverage limits won't exempt U.S. Treasuries from their calculation, a potential disappointment for financial-sector lobbies that hope to resurrect the pandemic-era carveout. 

  • June 24, 2025

    Colo. Gov.'s Enforcement Of ICE Subpoena Called A 'Disaster'

    The state director who sued Colorado Gov. Jared Polis over an order to comply with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoena said Tuesday in Colorado state court that the testimony given the day prior by a Polis appointee was not fully accurate.

  • June 24, 2025

    NJ Bank, DOJ Push To End Redlining Deal Amid Opposition

    Lakeland Bank and the U.S. Department of Justice urged a New Jersey federal judge to reject a brief from three fair housing groups opposing the early termination of the bank's $13 million redlining settlement, arguing the groups' call for housing discrimination accountability is irrelevant to the settlement's termination.

  • June 24, 2025

    2nd Circ. Tells Feds To 'Facilitate' Another Deportee's Return

    The Trump administration must "facilitate the return" to the U.S. of a man deported to El Salvador in violation of an order blocking his removal, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday, citing a U.S. Supreme Court decision backing the return of a Maryland man improperly deported to a Salvadoran prison.

  • June 24, 2025

    Arkansas Insurance Dept. Fights Teamsters Plan's ERISA Suit

    The Arkansas Insurance Department is looking to sink a challenge to a state insurance regulation filed by a Teamsters healthcare plan, telling an Illinois federal judge that the regulation isn't preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and, besides, the plan can't sue the department.

  • June 24, 2025

    State AGs Sue Trump Admin To Stop Billions In Grant Cuts

    A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia filed suit Tuesday in Massachusetts federal court, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully using a single clause "buried in federal regulations" to nix billions of dollars in federal grant funding to the states.

  • June 24, 2025

    E-Verify Restrictions Are Not Preempted, Illinois Argues

    The federal court handling the U.S. government's lawsuit targeting a recent Illinois statute restricting the use of electronic employment verification systems on prospective hires should reject the government's injunction request and dismiss the case instead, because the statute steers clear of federal immigration law, the state asserted.

  • June 24, 2025

    Mich. Pot Shops Cut Constitutional Claims In License Fee Suit

    A group of pot shops agreed Monday to drop their constitutional claims alleging Grand Rapids' marijuana licensure program imposes illegal fees, a few days after a Michigan federal judge said the case belongs in her court because the pot companies' claims had federal interest.

  • June 24, 2025

    Ex-Inmate's Debit Fee Class Action Cleared For Trial

    A jury should decide if a former jail inmate was forced to accept a prepaid debit card and pay related fees when his money was returned to him upon release, a Washington federal magistrate judge said on Tuesday, advancing a class action against Central Bank of Kansas City.

  • June 24, 2025

    5th Circ. Says EPA Ignored Cos. To Push Efficiency Testing Rule

    The Fifth Circuit has thrown out part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule for determining measures for fuel efficiency, finding Tuesday that the agency used a faulty methodology to justify tightening standards and outright ignored comments when creating the rule.

  • June 24, 2025

    GOP Senators Unveil Crypto Market Framework Principles

    Senate Republicans on Tuesday morning released a set of principles to guide the development of digital asset market structure legislation, their latest push toward regulating the cryptocurrency space following their passage of stablecoin legislation last week.

  • June 24, 2025

    AST Seeks FCC OK For Big Expansion Of Satellite Fleet

    AST SpaceMobile is seeking permission to launch hundreds of low-earth orbit satellites by the end of July to roll out its space-based cellular broadband network, which it says will eliminate coverage gaps and connect to standard smartphones across the country.

  • June 24, 2025

    Submarine Cable Cos. Seek Cautious FCC Reg Approach

    Companies that run undersea telecommunications cables said they're worried the Federal Communications Commission might burden them with even more regulation than they already have to deal with, urging the agency to have a light touch when regulating the industry.

  • June 24, 2025

    4th Circ. Tosses Trans Man's Appeal Over Canceled Surgery

    The Fourth Circuit declined to revive a transgender man's constitutional claims against a religious hospital run by the University of Maryland Medical System over a canceled hysterectomy for gender dysphoria, concluding Tuesday that it couldn't grant further relief, and refused to consider a "late-breaking" argument for emotional distress damages.

  • June 24, 2025

    Motorola Fights Fintiv Memo Withdrawal At Fed. Circ.

    Motorola is urging the Federal Circuit to reverse the decision of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's acting leader to not have the Patent Trial and Appeal Board review the company's challenges to a series of Stellar Inc. patents on glasses equipped with cameras.

  • June 24, 2025

    NC Senate Backs $700M Boost For Hurricane Helene Recovery

    The North Carolina Senate has signed off on a proposal to allocate another $700 million to the state's Hurricane Helene Disaster Recovery Fund, including $75 million for road and bridge repairs and $70 million to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency's state matching requirements.

  • June 24, 2025

    8th Circ. Rolls Back Block On Arkansas Hemp Law

    An Eighth Circuit panel on Tuesday overturned a lower district judge's decision blocking enforcement of a new Arkansas policy restricting hemp-derived intoxicating products, delivering a blow to the hemp industry's campaign to challenge state-led efforts to rein in its wares.

  • June 24, 2025

    NTSB Flags Boeing Failures In 737 Max 9 Door Plug Blowout

    Poor training and persistent quality control lapses on Boeing's manufacturing and assembly lines, along with the Federal Aviation Administration's ineffective oversight of the plane-maker, led to the January 2024 door-plug blowout aboard a 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

  • June 24, 2025

    Connecticut AG Seeks $7.7M Penalty For Ghost Gun Supplier

    A supplier of ghost gun parts that promised customers "extreme discretion" should pay nearly $7.7 million in penalties to Connecticut for continuous violations of the state's unfair trade practices law, the attorney general's office told a state court Tuesday.

  • June 24, 2025

    Key House Republican Calls For Telecom Law Reforms

    A top House Republican called Tuesday for reform of the 1992 Cable Act and for loosening the Federal Communications Commission's limits on broadcast media ownership, which he says would help modernize telecommunications law.

Expert Analysis

  • Texas Targets Del. Primacy With Trio Of New Corporate Laws

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    Delaware has long positioned itself as the leader in attracting business formation, but a flurry of new legislation in Texas aimed at attracting businesses to the Lone Star State is aggressively trying to change that, says Andrew Oringer at the Wagner Law Group.

  • Explicit Pic Takedown Law Casts A Wide Net

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    With a surprisingly broad range of online platforms potentially subject to the new Take It Down Act’s process for removing revenge porn or explicit deepfakes, all services that allow user interaction or content hosting should proactively evaluate their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, say attorneys at Goodwin, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • What Money Transmitters Need To Know About New Colo. Law

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    Colorado's new Money Transmission Modernization Act updates standards for the licensing, supervision and regulation of money transmitters while codifying an agent-to-payee exemption, and represents another step toward standardizing these rules across state governments, say Sarah Auchterlonie and Joel Herberman at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • How States Are Taking The Lead On Data Center Regulation

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    While support for data center growth is a declared priority for the current administration, federal data center policy has been slow to develop — so states continue to lead in attracting and regulating data center growth, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Justices' Charter School Tie Delays Church-State Reckoning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent deadlock in Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board v. Drummond, blocking the creation of the nation’s first religious charter school, preserved the separation of church and state for now, but offered little reassurance about its continued viability, says Jeffrey Sultanik at Fox Rothschild.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Expand The WARN Act Liability Exception

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    With layoffs surging across several industries, Congress should amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to address an exception-based disparity that prevents directors and officers from taking all reasonable steps to save a company before being required to provide workers with a mass-layoff notice, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Texas Bill Could Still Boost Property Rights In Gov't Disputes

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    The passage of a bill in Texas that would provide litigants with access to a greater swath of judicial remedies in immunity disputes with government entities and officials would be an invaluable boon for property rights, says Nathan Vrazel at Munsch Hardt.

  • Two Bills Promise A Crypto Revamp, But Not A Done Deal Yet

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    Recent efforts in Congress toward an updated regulatory framework for digital assets have led to two bills — the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act — that represent the most consequential legislative developments yet in the push for coherent, pro-innovation, reliable regulation for the industry, but both face multiple hurdles, says Mike Katz at Manatt.

  • Opinion

    NJ Should Align With Federal Rule On Expert Testimony

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    The time is right to amend Rule 702 of the New Jersey Rules of Evidence to align it with the recently amended Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and clarify the standard for admissibility of expert testimony, says Timothy Freeman at Tanenbaum Keale.

  • Recent Reports Shed Light On Section 340B's Effectiveness

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    Recent analyses of the Section 340B program's effectiveness in helping patients afford drugs in Minnesota reinforce concerns about the program's lack of transparency and underscore the need for further evaluation of whether legislative reform should be enacted, say William A. Sarraille at the University of Maryland, and Andrée-Anne Fournier and Molly Frean at Analysis Group.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Pass IP Reform, Starting With 3 Patent Bills

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    Congress is considering a trio of bipartisan bills to fix patent law problems that have cropped up over the past two decades, and it shouldn't stop there — addressing two other intellectual property issues is critical for America's economy, says retired Judge Kathleen O'Malley at the Council for Innovation Promotion.

  • Perspectives

    The Reforms Needed To Fight Sexual Abuse By Prison Staff

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    Prisoners sexually assaulted by corrections staff, such as the California women who recently won a consent decree against FCI Dublin, often delay reporting out of fear of retaliation by their abusers, but several practical reforms could empower prisoners to disclose abuse while the evidence necessary to indict perpetrators is still available, says Jaehyun Oh at Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law.

  • Colo. Antitrust Law Signals Growing Scrutiny Among States

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    Colorado's recently enacted Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act makes it the second state to add such a requirement, reflecting a growing trend and underscoring the need for merging parties to plan for a more complex and multilayered notification landscape for deals, say Puja Patel and Noa Gur-Arie at Cleary.

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