Public Policy

  • August 27, 2026

    Developer Says Mass. City Can't Tie Permits To Rent Caps

    A developer seeking to build a mixed-use mid-rise in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says the city is unlawfully withholding its building permit unless the developer meets affordable-housing requirements and pays a $450,000 permit fee under an inclusionary housing ordinance, according to a complaint filed Thursday in state court.

  • August 27, 2026

    Ukrainians Still Can't Tie Cos. To Russian Missiles, TI Says

    Several semiconductor manufacturers, including Mouser Electronics Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc., asked a Texas federal court to throw out claims brought by Ukrainian civilians alleging the companies' parts ended up in Russian missiles, saying the civilians failed to cure defects in their pleadings.

  • August 27, 2026

    6th Circ. Rules Mich. Doesn't Own Unclaimed Accounts

    The Sixth Circuit revived proposed class claims accusing Michigan officials of violating property owners' due process rights by keeping interest earned on unclaimed financial accounts, holding that the state takes custody of abandoned property but does not take ownership of it. 

  • August 27, 2026

    Feds Fight 'Premature' Attempt To Block New Birthright Order

    The Trump administration has defended its new executive order targeting birthright citizenship after losing at the U.S. Supreme Court in June, urging a Maryland federal court not to block the new order from being implemented.

  • August 27, 2026

    FCC Urged To Hold Off On New Subsea Cable Security Regs

    A trade association for submarine cable owners and other groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to hold off on adopting more regulations for undersea communication cable equipment until more information is available.

  • August 27, 2026

    USPTO Sets Radiation Monitoring Patent Order As Informative

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has added weight to a Patent Trial and Appeal Board order from earlier this year that undid a decision rejecting an RNA patent application.

  • August 27, 2026

    MARTA, Atlanta Reach $52M Deal In Lengthy Tax Dispute

    The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and the city of Atlanta announced a $52 million settlement Thursday to end their yearslong dispute over the amount of sales tax proceeds allocated for its enhanced bus service.

  • August 27, 2026

    Dems Want DOJ, FTC To Look At Sysco's $29B Jetro Buy

    Two Democratic lawmakers called on the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to closely inspect Sysco Corp.'s plans to buy competitor Restaurant Depot LLC aka Jetro Restaurant Depot at a total enterprise value of $29.1 billion, warning in a letter the transaction could hurt independent restaurants, farmers and Americans who "are already facing an affordability crisis."

  • August 27, 2026

    DOJ Can't Get Rethink On Apple Peek Into Fed Phone-Buying

    A special master has refused to reconsider his New Jersey federal court mandate giving Apple a look into how the Pentagon, CIA, State Department and other agencies purchase smartphones, criticizing the Justice Department for trying to "split hairs" in contending the agencies aren't "party" to the monopolization lawsuit.

  • August 27, 2026

    Albright Cuts $9M IP Verdict Against GlobalFoundries To $1M

    A Texas federal judge has reduced a $9.2 million jury verdict against semiconductor-maker GlobalFoundries Inc. for patent infringement to $1 million, faulting several aspects of Katana Silicon Technologies LLC's damages theory.

  • August 27, 2026

    Kratom Group Says DEA Order Could Snare Natural Wares

    A kratom trade group has asked a D.C. federal judge to find that a recent U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration rule change targeting certain kratom-derived compounds should not apply when those compounds naturally occur in the kratom leaf.

  • August 27, 2026

    Data Brokers Can't Pause Judicial Privacy Law Fight

    A federal judge has denied a bid to pause dozens of lawsuits brought under the state's judicial privacy law, rejecting data brokers' request to stay the litigation while the Third Circuit weighs the statute's constitutionality.

  • August 27, 2026

    Mass. Judge Nixes HUD's Changes To Fair Housing Grants

    A Massachusetts federal judge has sided with two fair housing groups that sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over grant funding changes to HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program, ruling that the planned revisions for fiscal year 2025 must be vacated, in part, because the federal government failed to justify them.

  • August 27, 2026

    Mexico Growers Say US Erred In Not Revoking Tomato Duty

    The U.S. International Trade Commission based its determination not to revoke an antidumping duty on Mexican fresh tomatoes on faulty reasoning, a group of Mexican farm associations told the U.S. Court of International Trade, seeking a redo.

  • August 27, 2026

    Flint Council Candidate's Ballot Misconduct Claims Tossed

    A former Flint City Council candidate cannot pursue a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the results of a 2025 special election she claimed was tainted by absentee-ballot misconduct, a Michigan federal judge ruled Thursday, finding the candidate lacked standing and waited too long to challenge the certified results.

  • August 27, 2026

    Disabled Adults Fight Connecticut's IQ Cutoff For Services

    A group of young adults who say they have intellectual disabilities alleged in a new lawsuit that Connecticut's "strict intelligence quotient cutoff" for receiving state agency services is unconstitutional and ignores shifts in the medical and legal landscapes.

  • August 27, 2026

    DC Circ. Says Challenges To Pa. Power Plant Orders Can Wait

    A D.C. Circuit panel granted the Trump administration's push to pause consolidated cases challenging orders that blocked a Pennsylvania power plant from retiring while litigation over similar orders involving a Michigan power plant play out.

  • August 27, 2026

    Dems Say DOJ Opinion Aims To Foil Oversight Of White House

    With midterm elections right around the corner, Senate Democrats are worried the new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could let the Trump Administration obstruct congressional oversight of the White House.

  • August 27, 2026

    NLRB Seeks To Permanently Block Calif. Fill-In Law

    The National Labor Relations Board urged a California federal court to bar a state law allowing the state labor board to perform certain duties if the national board cannot, arguing that recent decisions in other cases "confirmed" the court should find the law is preempted.

  • August 26, 2026

    5th Circ. Upholds Drug Negotiations In Blow To Big Pharma

    Medicare's landmark program of drug price negotiations doesn't flout constitutional provisions involving the separation of powers, due process or excessive fines, the Fifth Circuit ruled late Wednesday, delivering a fresh blow to the pharmaceutical industry's campaign to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review.

  • August 26, 2026

    Top Takeaways From Meta's $17B Kid Safety Deal

    A $17.1 billion deal with 29 states and Meta Platforms Inc. that includes reforms to Facebook and Instagram to protect children is seen as a benchmark for other settlements with social media companies as litigation and public pressure mounts over mental health harms to youth.

  • August 26, 2026

    KKR To Pay 'Record' $250M To End DOJ Merger Notice Suit

    KKR & Co. has agreed to pay a $250 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it hid key documentation and entire transactions for merger notification, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday, calling it the largest-ever penalty for repeat violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

  • August 26, 2026

    Fed's Cook Says Trump Has 'No Lawful Basis' To Fire Her

    Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook told the White House on Wednesday that President Donald Trump lacks a legally valid reason to fire her, arguing that previous mortgage fraud allegations leveled against her are untrue and would not justify removal.

  • August 26, 2026

    Adams, Mamdani Broke NYC Law With Race Equity Plan Delay

    A New York state judge said Tuesday that former NYC Mayor Eric Adams and his successor, Zohran Mamdani, violated city law by missing deadlines for publishing a citywide racial equity plan, which was not released until more than two years after an initial January 2024 deadline.

  • August 26, 2026

    Connecticut Sues Kalshi To End 'Free-For-All' Wagering

    Connecticut on Wednesday became the latest state to sue prediction market Kalshi for allegedly offering illegal sports gambling to its users, asking a court to shut down unlicensed wagers in the state and opening a new front in a legal battle that has previously reached the Second Circuit.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Courts Are Pushing Back On Greenwashing Laws

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    Recent Fourth Circuit and California federal court decisions blocking state greenwashing statutes on First Amendment grounds reveal a tension at the heart of environmental marketing regulation — while states want clarity, courts aren't prepared to let legislatures flatly ban categories of truthful commercial speech, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What NYC Bridge Crash Signals About Micromobility Liability

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    A recent fatal crash between a cyclist and a man riding a high-powered electric scooter on New York City's Queensboro Bridge highlights how litigation over accidents involving micromobility devices may increasingly shift away from ordinary negligence and toward product liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • 3 Ways Tokenization Is Moving To Traditional Finance

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    Recent initiatives reflect efforts to integrate distributed ledger technology into existing regulatory frameworks for securities, banking and payments settlements while preserving the underlying rights and obligations of market participants, say attorneys at Hughes Hubbard.

  • At The Intersection Of Right-To-Repair Laws And IP Rights

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    Right-to-repair legislation passing through Congress highlights a broad tension between manufacturers' security measures and consumer autonomy, with important repercussions for the automotive industry's intellectual property rights, says Keith Noe at Lando & Anastasi. 

  • Opinion

    States Should Reconsider Forced PBM Divestiture Laws

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    State legislatures are attempting to enact policies intended to force pharmacy benefit managers to divest from pharmacies, but these laws would have the practical effect of reducing patient access and competition, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution in the process, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

  • HSR Deals Proceed More Steadily Than Narratives Suggest

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    The most recent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data show that transaction volume remained relatively stable, transaction values continued to increase and enforcement activity remained low, suggesting that enforcement rates have been relatively consistent across presidential administrations despite widely differing public rhetoric regarding merger enforcement, says Amanda Wait at Michael Best.

  • Assessing The Benefits Of Fla.'s Newest Business Structure

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    As of July 1, Florida business owners can create protected series LLCs to shield assets from liability while avoiding increased costs and wasted time, but burdensome recordkeeping obligations are crucial to maintaining the very protection that makes them attractive in the first place, says Gregory Ritter at Moritt Hock.

  • Key Post-Proposal Shifts Likely In CFPB Loss Mitigation Rule

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    Mortgage servicers, borrowers and consumer advocates should prepare for a likely narrowed version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's loss mitigation rule, which is likely to permit sequential reviews, defer to investor guidelines, extend compliance timelines and preempt conflicting state standards, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

  • Noncompete Laws Show States Focusing On Bans, Healthcare

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    The first half of 2026 confirms that state legislatures are driving the most consequential changes in noncompete law, including a few state bans and several healthcare-specific laws, making a one-size-fits-all approach increasingly untenable for multistate employers, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's Inside Proposed, Expanded NY Stablecoin Regulations

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    New York's recently proposed regulations for payment stablecoin issuers would, if adopted, increase the regulatory burdens of a state license, and midsize issuers considering a conversion to a federal charter should weigh the associated costs of both options, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Justices' Tax Sale Ruling Tees Up Auction Fairness Battles

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan, that taxpayers are not entitled to fair market value of real property seized to satisfy a tax debt shifts attention to the fairness of state and local auction procedures, and whether taxpayers claiming surplus proceeds face unwarranted hurdles, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

  • What Corporate Counsel Can Learn From OpenAI Test Breach

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    The significance of the recent artificial intelligence testing breach involving OpenAI and Hugging Face lies in what it reveals about the path of AI’s evolution, because legal professionals must translate that trajectory into actionable governance, contractual and advisory frameworks, says Jason Mueller at Vorys.

  • Patent Eligibility Reforms Keep Chasing The Wrong Fixes

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    Repeated efforts to create a consistent, predictable patent eligibility standard under Section 101 have centered on replacing judge-made exceptions with new statutory language, but the better fix is to align examination standards with how courts actually apply eligibility doctrine, says former Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge Amee Shah.

  • Opinion

    Qualified Immunity Bill's Reach Goes Beyond Federal Officers

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    The federal Qualified Immunity Abolition Act, introduced earlier this year and described by the bill sponsors as a federal-officer measure, would in actuality reach the entire universe of Section 1983 defendants, a distinction that matters as much to defense counsel as to plaintiffs, says attorney V. James DeSimone.

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