Public Policy

  • September 29, 2026

    EB-5 Visa Fees More Than Double For Individual Investors

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced increased filing fees Tuesday for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program — more than double for individual investors — saying the higher price tag is needed to close a $48.4 million annual funding gap.

  • September 29, 2026

    NHTSA Fuel Economy Regs Overhaul Crushes EV Ambitions

    The elimination of strict federal mandates for higher fuel efficiency in new cars crushes momentum for the U.S. auto industry to pivot toward alternative-powered vehicles, ensuring that manufacturers will again be caught in litigation limbo as environmental groups prepare challenges to seemingly inconsequential standards with no penalties, experts say.

  • September 29, 2026

    FCC Looking To Duck Mandamus In 2021 RF Exposure Order

    Five years after the D.C. Circuit told the FCC it needed to provide more in-depth reasoning for why it believes cellphones and other wireless devices don't pose a risk to humans, the agency is arguing it needs more time to sort out a response.

  • September 29, 2026

    Lupin Strikes Deal In States' Generic Drug-Price Fixing Suit

    Lupin Pharmaceuticals has reached a settlement with multiple states to resolve allegations that it conspired with G&W Laboratories Inc. to raise prices of the tuberculosis drug Ethambutol during a supply shortage years ago, according to a minute order entered in Connecticut federal court on Monday.

  • September 29, 2026

    Suit Accuses USDA Of Unlawfully Gutting Aid For Rural Solar

    A coalition including farm and renewable energy trade groups has accused the Trump administration of abruptly and unlawfully making most solar projects ineligible for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant and loan program created to advance renewable energy in rural areas.

  • September 29, 2026

    Fugitive Ex-Conn. Budget Official Seeks To Split Restitution

    A onetime Connecticut budget official now on the lam in Greece asked a federal judge Tuesday to postpone restitution until two admitted co-conspirators who testified against him are sentenced, arguing their plea agreements could force them to shoulder at least some of the costs of a school construction bribery scheme.

  • September 29, 2026

    CFTC Sends Event-Contracts Swaps Proposal To White House

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has submitted two rule proposals to the White House that appear to explicitly establish event contracts as swaps while excluding "casino-style gambling products," updates that could affirm the agency's view that prediction markets are under its "exclusive jurisdiction" and beyond the reach of states.

  • September 29, 2026

    Aldi Sued Over Online Order Delivery Fees By SNAP Users

    Aldi illegally charges ancillary, nonfood-related delivery, expedited fulfillment and convenience fees to customers who use SNAP-EBT benefits to buy grocery items online through Instacart or Aldi Express, alleges a proposed consumer protection class action filed Monday in California state court. 

  • September 29, 2026

    Trump Admin Can't Use Anti-DEI, Citizenship Rules For Grants

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Tuesday said the U.S. Department of Justice can't impose new conditions related to diversity, equity and inclusion activities and immigration status on domestic violence assistance grants, a ruling that sides with a coalition of states and nonprofits that challenged the restrictions.

  • September 29, 2026

    Feds Tell 4th Circ. Ábrego García Delayed His Own Removal

    The Trump administration is telling the Fourth Circuit that a Maryland federal judge shouldn't have granted Kilmar Ábrego García protection from continued immigration detention, saying the unlawful rulings he successfully sought are what's preventing his removal to Liberia.

  • September 29, 2026

    DC Circ. Anthropic Ruling Could Chill Contractor Speech

    The D.C. Circuit's decision backing the U.S. Department of Defense's removal of Anthropic from its supply chain was based on a broad reading of the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act, which could lead contractors to be more careful about publicizing disputes with the department.

  • September 29, 2026

    States' Temporary Aid Data-Sharing Injunction Bid Falls Short

    A D.C. federal judge declined to block a Trump administration policy allowing disclosures of temporary financial assistance recipients' sensitive personal information to federal authorities, saying that while it "seems plausible" this will chill participation in the program, Democratic-led states challenging the policy haven't provided "concrete evidence" of such harm.

  • September 29, 2026

    Key Bank Policymaking Official To Depart Treasury

    Luke Pettit, a top U.S. Department of the Treasury official who has helped shepherd the Trump administration's financial services policy agenda will step down next month, becoming the latest federal regulatory official to decamp in advance of the midterm elections.  

  • September 29, 2026

    Tech Giants Tell Fed. Circ. To Spurn Squires Remand Bid

    Google, Meta and other tech giants that challenged an Express Mobile website building patent have asked the Federal Circuit to reject the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's bid to remand the case to the patent office for further proceedings, after a panel of top Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges upheld the patent.

  • September 29, 2026

    CNN Wants Preliminary Injunction In White House Ban Case

    News outlets CNN, Politico and MS Now have asked for a preliminary injunction in their suit against the Trump administration over its ban on their journalists from entering the White House.

  • September 29, 2026

    DEA Judge Pauses Marijuana Rescheduling Over GAO Report

    A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge on Tuesday paused consideration of a pending proposal to reclassify marijuana after opponents of cannabis reform said a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that regulators did not articulate the reasoning behind their recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana.

  • September 29, 2026

    Late Notice Can't Void Rent Control Exemption, Judge Rules

    A New Jersey federal judge has sided with the owners of two apartment towers on Jersey City's waterfront, ruling that the buildings qualify for an exemption from rent control under state law despite the city's contention that the owners failed to meet a notice requirement.

  • September 29, 2026

    Surgical Robot Co. Says 9th Circ. 'Expands' Antitrust Law

    Intuitive Surgical asked the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a decision reviving a surgical repair company's claims that it blocked third parties from refurbishing components for its popular da Vinci surgery robot, arguing the panel created a whole new pathway to alleging monopolization of secondary markets.

  • September 29, 2026

    Summer Vacation Rules Save Texas Slip-And-Fall Suit

    A Texas appeals panel on Tuesday revived a woman's slip-and-fall suit, finding the trial court judge abused their discretion by ignoring her attorney's summer vacation designation and dismissing the case with prejudice when he was unprepared at trial.

  • September 29, 2026

    USPTO Details Best Practices For Subject Matter Declarations

    Patent applicants submitting declarations explaining why their patents are eligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act should hand in those statements separately from other evidence and also send them in sooner rather than later, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires recommended on Tuesday.

  • September 29, 2026

    DC Circ. Weighs Limits On Boasberg's Contempt Inquiry

    A top Justice Department official told an en banc D.C. Circuit panel that a district judge should refer former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for contempt over the 2025 deportation flights to El Salvador and move on, saying the judge had no authority to wrap others into his inquiry.

  • September 29, 2026

    Glock Says Conn. Wouldn't Clarify Convertible Pistol Sale Ban

    Glock Inc. criticized Connecticut's attorney general and other state authorities Tuesday, arguing litigation was necessary because officials provided no clear answers when asked whether certain pistols violate a new law that bans the importation, advertising or sale of newly manufactured handguns that can be "readily converted" into fully automatic weapons.

  • September 29, 2026

    Colo. Says DHS, ICE Flouted Notice Laws For Detention Site

    Colorado urged a federal judge to nullify a government contract for the renovation and operation of a federal immigrant detention facility northeast of Denver, alleging Tuesday that federal agencies flouted their legal obligations to conduct an environmental analysis and to notify the public about the planned facility's environmental impact.

  • September 29, 2026

    Fed Bill Seeks To End NY Control Of Seneca Policing

    U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has introduced companion legislation that will establish a path to end a federal law that gave the state criminal jurisdiction over Seneca Nation territory, which is designed to resolve overlapping responsibilities among federal, state and tribal authorities.

  • September 29, 2026

    Housing Agency Says Indicted Ex-Boss Can't Use Home For Bond

    The former executive director of two Connecticut housing authorities cannot use his home to secure a $500,000 bond in his federal wire fraud case, the Groton Housing Authority and related entities told the state court judge overseeing a civil case arising from his alleged theft.

Expert Analysis

  • Negotiating The Scope Of The Stablecoin Customer ID Rule

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    Though comments on bank regulators’ proposed rule for stablecoin issuers under the Genius Act generally agree that oversight would help prevent illicit activity, agencies must reconcile disagreement over whether to extend customer identification requirements from issuers' primary-market relationships to secondary-markets activity, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How To Improve Hiring Transparency Amid Ghost Job Scrutiny

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    Recent regulatory and state law scrutiny of ghost job postings for roles that don't exist or aren't being filled signals a shift toward hiring transparency, and employers that fail to adapt risk enforcement actions, consumer protection claims and financial penalties, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • FTC Push May Create Dual Origin-Claim Risks For Contractors

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    Recent Federal Trade Commission actions involving Made in USA advertising requirements offer a preview of enforcement themes that may impose dual compliance burdens on government contractors that are also subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation Buy American restrictions, says Amy Hoang at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

  • FCC Robotics Restrictions Raise AI Compliance Risks

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    A recent "covered list" update from the Federal Communications Commission places restrictions on foreign-produced advanced robotic devices’ ability to obtain new authorizations, creating a framework that is poorly suited to continuous artificial intelligence updates, and raising several transactional and contractual challenges, says Kim Larsen at Stinson.

  • Navigating Employer Obligations Under NY Personnel File Law

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    In light of a New York law that will soon give private sector employees the right to review and comment on their personnel files, employers should understand where their exposure lies and be mindful of where records are stored, and for how long, among other things, says attorney Jason Tenenbaum.

  • Banks Should Stay Disciplined As OCC, FDIC Ease Oversight

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    Despite a newly issued Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rule that narrows the range of conduct that regulators may require institutions to remediate, prudent risk management suggests banks should still document how they arrive at their risk determinations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Tracking Trends In State-Level Regulatory Enforcement

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    State-level enforcement now increasingly involves antitrust, artificial intelligence and data privacy issues, and the key for organizations to reducing risk is having the ability to respond across governance, public affairs, discovery and remediation in multiple states simultaneously, say consultants at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    The Time Is Right To Simplify Overlapping Broker-Dealer Regs

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has made an important start to simplifying its rules, legislators should follow and expand on the commission's example by reexamining and removing the unnecessary overlap between SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and state broker-dealer regulations, says Howard Spindel at Integrated Solutions.

  • What Cos. Must Know As Fast Energy Permitting Gains Steam

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    A recently approved geothermal project in Nevada may be the first authorized by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management under a new 14-day expedited environmental review process — but project developers may find that a more thorough environmental analysis will provide better protection against litigation challenges, says Jill Yung at Allen Matkins.

  • Opinion

    Calif. Bill Goes Too Far In Trying To Regulate Attorney AI Use

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    California’s first-in-the-nation act regulating how attorneys and arbitrators use generative artificial intelligence will likely soon become law, but read broadly, the provisions may dissuade lawyers from employing AI at all, thereby depriving them of key work tools, says Joshua Wurtzel at Schlam Stone.

  • The Preemption Gap In Prediction Market High Court Petitions

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    The Supreme Court is considering three certiorari petitions following a split in prediction market litigation between the Third and Ninth circuits, but one of the petitions would not allow the court to reach the express preemption question, which would leave the dispute half-resolved, says Jordan Garman at Withers.

  • How Data Center Projects Can Navigate Wyo. Siting Process

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    As opposition to data center development grows nationwide, the way that Wyoming is handling the issue through its industrial siting process offers a counterintuitive lesson: More process, not less, can provide both meaningful scrutiny and a clear path forward for projects, says Jeffrey Pope at Holland & Hart.

  • Tips From Apex Ruling On Handling Workers' Public Criticism

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    A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent finding that Apex Fintech Services illegally reined in an employee’s public criticism on LinkedIn should caution employers that overbroad policies and reflexive responses may not only fail to defend the company’s reputation, but compound risks of federal labor charges, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

  • 4 Paths To AI Safety Coordination Amid Antitrust Debate

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    Frontier artificial intelligence companies have more room for collective safety work than the debate over an antitrust waiver suggests, with several existing avenues providing different degrees of protection and oversight, says Evan Miller at V&E.

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