Public Policy

  • October 10, 2025

    Federal Worker Unions Press For Immediate Block Of Layoffs

    Unions representing federal workers urged a California federal court Friday to immediately block the Trump administration from laying off workers amid the government shutdown as the administration acknowledged it had begun issuing reduction-in-force notices to thousands of employees.

  • October 10, 2025

    SG Tells Justices Courts Should Defer To BIA On Persecution

    Solicitor General D. John Sauer has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to find that courts should defer to Board of Immigration Appeals' determinations on whether asylum seekers suffered persecution or the threat of persecution back home, arguing that it's a factual analysis that appellate courts are "ill-equipped to handle."

  • October 10, 2025

    Ill. AG, Retailers Will Split Swipe-Fee Law's Defense At Hearing

    A Chicago federal judge has agreed to allow a coalition of merchant groups to take part in a key hearing later this month that could decide a banking industry legal challenge to the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, a law banning swipe fees on tax and tip payments.

  • October 10, 2025

    FAIR Sues LAPD, LA Sheriff's Dept. Over ICE Records Delays

    A conservative nonprofit that advocates for reductions in immigration sued the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Friday, saying they have not properly responded to open records requests seeking their communications related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

  • October 10, 2025

    5th Circ.'s FDIC Ruling 'Cries Out' For Review, Ex-CEO Says

    A former Texas bank CEO has asked the full Fifth Circuit to revive his constitutional challenge to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s in-house enforcement process, arguing that a recent panel decision to reject his case as premature "cries out" for review.

  • October 10, 2025

    SEC's Atkins Commits To Expanding Use Of Wells Process

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins plans to refresh the agency's Wells process of engaging with firms ahead of potential enforcement actions, saying he intends for the agency to be more forthcoming with investigative findings and provide more time and opportunities to respond to these findings.

  • October 10, 2025

    AI Company Wants Justices' Input On 'Interested Party' Ruling

    Percipient.ai urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review an en banc Federal Circuit ruling limiting who qualifies as an interested party eligible to protest an alleged statutory violation committed by the government in connection with a procurement at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. 

  • October 10, 2025

    DOJ Can't Pause Review Of UnitedHealth Deal Amid Shutdown

    A Maryland federal judge rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's bid to stay its recently settled case with UnitedHealth over the company's merger with Amedisys because of the government shutdown and lapse in appropriations, ruling that a stay would impede the DOJ's ability to evaluate the public interest in the settlement.

  • October 10, 2025

    AstraZeneca Strikes 'Most Favored Nation' Price Deal

    Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Friday cut a deal with the Trump administration to reduce drug prices in the United States, agreeing to provide its medications for Medicaid beneficiaries at discount prices.

  • October 10, 2025

    FERC's $1B Penalties Would Doom Energy Co., NC Judge Told

    An energy efficiency aggregator told a North Carolina federal judge that it will go out of business without an order blocking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from imposing nearly $1 billion in penalties against it for alleged market manipulation and tariff violations.

  • October 10, 2025

    Senate Passes $925B Defense Bill, Ends Military Force In Iraq

    The U.S. Senate approved a $924.7 billion defense policy and budget bill for 2026 late Thursday evening, which includes an amendment that would formally end Congress' decades-old authorizations for the use of military force in Iraq.

  • October 10, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Voting Rights & Warrantless Entries

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return Tuesday to hear oral arguments in four cases, including a dispute over the constitutionality of the last remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act and whether federal prisoners seeking postconviction relief are subject to the same rules as state inmates.

  • October 10, 2025

    Calif. Panel Says City's Affordable Housing Map Is Flawed

    A California appellate court has revived a lawsuit brought by developers challenging Redondo Beach's plans to develop lower- and moderate-income housing, ruling on Friday the city's map for the plans violates state law.

  • October 10, 2025

    GOP Reps Back Legality Of Trump Birthright Citizenship Order

    Eighteen Republican lawmakers on Friday told the U.S. Supreme Court the Trump administration is right to assert that the 14th Amendment was never meant to confer birthright citizenship to the children of parents who are in the country without legal authorization.

  • October 10, 2025

    More Gun Rights Groups Take Aim At National Firearms Act

    Gun rights groups have launched another lawsuit aimed at repealing the National Firearms Act in the Northern District of Texas, joining a growing number of legal challenges to the gun law that controls access to short-barreled rifles and firearms with suppressors.

  • October 10, 2025

    Squires Says Patent Eligibility Needed For National Security

    The newly confirmed head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has solidified his views that making more inventions eligible for patent protection is imperative for national security, saying expansive eligibility speaks to "the very spirit of American ingenuity."

  • October 10, 2025

    Supreme Court Asked To Consider Appeal Over AI-Created Art

    A computer scientist who was denied a copyright for artwork created by an artificial intelligence system he built has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his appeal challenging the U.S. Copyright Office's decision.

  • October 10, 2025

    Feds Nix Large-Scale Enviro Review Of Nev. Solar Project

    The U.S. Department of the Interior confirmed that it canceled a broad environmental review of a massive solar development in Nevada, saying it would instead perform individual reviews of the seven projects that make up the development.

  • October 10, 2025

    7th Circ. Won't Pause Block Of National Guard Deployment

    The Seventh Circuit on Saturday refused to grant the Trump administration's emergency order to stay an Illinois federal judge's ruling blocking the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago while the appeals court considers the matter, but did pause the ruling as it pertains to the federalization of the National Guard in Illinois.

  • October 10, 2025

    Philly-Area Transit System Rider Files Rate Hike Class Claims

    A proposed class action accused the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority of "playing chicken" with the Pennsylvania state Legislature and enacting "doomsday" fare increases to force lawmakers to give the agency a bigger budget, and the suit asked a state court to undo the price hike.

  • October 10, 2025

    Experts Doubt Gold Card Will Siphon Off EB-5 Investors

    Concerns that President Donald Trump's gold card will siphon off noncitizens who would otherwise seek permanent residency through the EB-5 investor program might be overblown, with experts suggesting the program's 35-year track record and stability will continue attracting foreign investors.

  • October 10, 2025

    Ex-Judge Claims Illegal Arrest May Have Cost Him Reelection

    A former Washington state judge claims in a new lawsuit that his roadside stop and subsequent arrest by Grays Harbor County sheriff's deputies violated his constitutional rights and may have cost him his seat on the bench, noting that a county prosecutor later challenged him in an election and won.

  • October 10, 2025

    Curaleaf Says NJ's Pot Shop Union Requirement Bucks NLRA

    Curaleaf Holdings Inc. is suing the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission in federal court, saying the commission's requirement that cannabis companies have "labor peace agreements" with particular unions is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act.

  • October 10, 2025

    SEC's Atkins Criticizes Del. As 'Uninterested' In IPO Reform

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said he is "disappointed" by recent changes to Delaware law that he believes will drive up litigation costs for public companies and make the state seem "uninterested in reform" that would encourage more companies to file initial public offerings there.

  • October 10, 2025

    Rediscovered Texas Indigenous Site Spurs Preservation Push

    The Texas Historical Commission is investigating whether to list an Indigenous Gulf Coast tribal settlement as a historic property or a state antiquities landmark after a local scientist rediscovered what could be part of the tribe's ancestral lands.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: When Green Goals And Antitrust Law Collide

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    A recently concluded Federal Trade Commission investigation has turned an emissions deal involving major U.S. heavy-duty truck manufacturers that was brokered by the California Air Resources Board into a cautionary tale about the potential for environmental agreements to run afoul of competition rules, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • High Court E-Cig Ruling Opens Door For FDA Challenges

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    There will likely be more challenges to marketing denial orders brought before the Fifth Circuit following the Supreme Court's recent ruling in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., where litigants have generally had greater success, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    Small-Plane Black Box Mandate Would Aid Probes, Lawsuits

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    Given climbing fatality rates from small-plane and helicopter crashes, and the evidentiary significance of cockpit voice recordings in litigation and investigations, the Federal Aviation Administration should mandate black boxes in smaller aircraft, despite likely judicial challenges over privacy and cost-benefit calculations, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • Untangling 'Debanking' Exec Order And Ensuing Challenges

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order on the practice of closing or refusing to open accounts for high-risk customers has heightened scrutiny on "debanking," but practical steps can help financial institutions reduce the likelihood of becoming involved in investigations, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • What FDIC's Asset Threshold Raise Would Mean For Banking

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    If the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. goes through with its plan to raise asset thresholds that determine regulatory intensity, it could free billions in compliance costs and bolster regional and community banks, but risk of oversight gaps are making this a contested area in banking policy, says Jessica Groza at Kohr Jackson.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Gives Banks Shield From Terrorism Liability

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    A recent Second Circuit dismissal strengthens the position of international banks facing claims they indirectly helped terrorist organizations and provides clearer guidance on the boundaries of secondary liability, but doesn't provide absolute immunity, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Calif. Board's Financial-Grade Climate Standards Raise Stakes

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    After the California Air Resources Board's recent workshop, it is clear that the state's climate disclosure laws will be enforced with standards comparable to financial reporting — so companies should act now to implement assurance-grade systems, formalize governance responsibilities and coordinate reporting across their organizations, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • Series

    Coaching Cheerleading Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    At first glance, cheerleading and litigation may seem like worlds apart, but both require precision, adaptability, leadership and the ability to stay composed under pressure — all of which have sharpened how I approach my work in the emotionally complex world of mass torts and personal injury, says Rashanda Bruce at Robins Kaplan.

  • Unpacking The BIS Guidance On Chinese AI Chip Use

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    In response to May guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security, which indicates the agency considers a wide but somewhat unclear range of activities involving Chinese integrated circuits to be in violation of its General Prohibition 10, companies should consider adopting enhanced due diligence to determine how firm counterparties may be using the affected chips, says Peter Lichtenbaum at Covington.

  • How To Address Tariff-Related Risks In Commercial Contracts

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    Companies' commercial agreements may not clearly prescribe which party bears the risks and consequences of tariff-related fallout, but cases addressing common-law defenses and force majeure have one key takeaway, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How New Texas Law Targets ESG Proxy Advice

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    A recently enacted Texas law represents a major shift in how proxy advisory services are regulated in Texas, particularly when recommendations are based on nonfinancial factors like ESG and DEI, but legal challenges underscore the statute’s broader constitutional and statutory implications, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • 8 Compliance Team Strategies To Support Business Agility

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    Amid new regulatory requirements across the globe, compliance functions must design thoughtful guardrails that help business leaders achieve their commercial objectives lawfully — from repurposing existing tools to using technology thoughtfully — instead of defaulting to cumbersome protocols that hinder legitimate business, says Theodore Edelman at GCE Advisors.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Make A Deal

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    Preparing lawyers for the nuances of a transactional practice is not a strong suit for most law schools, but, in practice, there are six principles that can help young M&A lawyers become seasoned, trusted deal advisers, says Chuck Morton at Venable.

  • Annual Report Shows CFIUS Extending Its Reach In 2024

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    The recently released 2024 annual report from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reveals record civil penalties and enhanced internal capabilities, illustrating expanding jurisdiction and an increasing appetite for enforcement actions, says Nathan Fisher at StoneTurn.

  • Trump Tax Law's Most Impactful Corp. And Individual Changes

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    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act built on and reshaped elements of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including business interest deductions, bonus depreciation and personal income relief, delivering substantial changes to both corporate and individual tax policy, say attorneys at Weil.

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