Public Policy

  • September 24, 2026

    $16M Note Leads To Fraud Charges For Booted Housing Boss

    The former executive director of two Connecticut housing authorities pled not guilty Thursday to five counts of wire fraud and four counts alleging illegal money transactions after prosecutors accused him of pocketing about $824,000 from a loan tied to a $16.2 million promissory note.

  • September 24, 2026

    Issa Copyright Bill Looks To Combat Foreign Website Piracy

    A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow U.S.-based copyright holders to seek federal court declarations that foreign websites are engaged in copyright piracy and then to have the sites blocked in the U.S.

  • September 24, 2026

    Trump's Antitrust Pick Advances Amid Independence Worries

    President Donald Trump's pick to lead the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite Democratic concerns about agency independence.

  • September 24, 2026

    Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims To Tighten Telecom Cybersecurity

    A bipartisan Senate bill filed Thursday would aim to ramp up cybersecurity in the telecom industry by creating a system for providers and suppliers to voluntarily certify that they meet security standards.

  • September 24, 2026

    5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

  • September 24, 2026

    Texas Utility Commission Looks To Quash Coal Subpoena

    The Public Utility Commission of Texas is pushing back against a subpoena issued by BlackRock in a suit from Republican state attorneys general accusing asset managers of driving up coal prices by pressuring producers to lower their output to meet emission reduction goals.

  • September 24, 2026

    Squires Undoes 2024 PTAB Invalidation Of EagleView Patent

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has thrown out a two-year-old Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that found claims in an EagleView Technologies patent on measuring roofs to be invalid.

  • September 24, 2026

    EPA Cuts Deal To Partially Settle U. Of Calif. Grant Fight

    University of California researchers urged a California federal judge Wednesday to preliminarily sign off on their proposed deal to resolve claims against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in broader litigation challenging the Trump administration's termination of thousands of UC grants.

  • September 24, 2026

    Nonprofits, Voters Seek To Stymie NC's New Mail Ballot Rules

    Nonprofit groups and two voters are asking a North Carolina federal judge to block the Tar Heel State's new mail-in ballot restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections, saying the rules threaten to disenfranchise eligible voters over "innocuous, technical errors."

  • September 24, 2026

    Colo. Seeks Toss Of ICE Contractor's Inspection Law Suit

    The Colorado attorney general and state health officials are defending a new state health inspection law governing an immigration detention center in Aurora, urging a Colorado federal court to toss much of The GEO Group Inc.'s lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality.

  • September 24, 2026

    Congressional Probes Raise Legal, 'Reputational' Risks

    An array of companies and executives may face investigations over their dealings with the Trump administration if Democrats take control of Congress, raising the possibility that some may refuse to comply. But experts say holding out hope for a mass pardon or expecting the Justice Department not to pursue contempt charges is a risky bet.

  • September 24, 2026

    CIT Judge Threatens Sanctions Over Possible Hallucinations

    A U.S. Court of International Trade judge ordered a Chinese company and its counsel to explain, under threat of sanctions, the inclusion of "outlandish" and possibly hallucinated claims in its challenge of an antidumping duty on boom lifts and other mobile access equipment.

  • September 24, 2026

    Holland & Knight Hires Defense Lobbyist As Partner In DC

    A former U.S. Department of Defense senior official, who has more than 15 years of national security, economic security and government affairs experience as an attorney, lobbyist, regulator and diplomat, has joined Holland & Knight LLP, the firm recently announced.

  • September 24, 2026

    Pipeline Groups Say Enbridge Ruling Weakens Tribal Deals

    Two oil and gas industry groups have urged the Seventh Circuit to reconsider part of its ruling that Enbridge Energy is trespassing on Wisconsin tribal lands, arguing that the decision could make long-term pipeline agreements with tribes less reliable.

  • September 24, 2026

    Ind. Tax Court Rules Nestle Facility Accurately Assessed

    A Nestle facility in Indiana was correctly assessed from 2018 through 2023 at roughly $50 million, the state tax court said, rejecting the company's claim that the state tax board failed to properly consider its own appraisal.

  • September 24, 2026

    Judge Dubious Of DOJ Offer On Harvard Admissions Data

    A Massachusetts federal judge appeared skeptical Thursday of assertions by a Trump administration lawyer that the government was always willing to negotiate with Harvard University before bringing a lawsuit seeking a decade's worth of admissions data for hundreds of thousands of applicants.

  • September 24, 2026

    New Eastern La. Judge's 5th Circ. Bid Goes To Full Senate

    U.S. District Judge Anna St. John of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who was confirmed to her current post in March, is one step closer to being elevated to the federal appeals bench.

  • September 24, 2026

    Sen. Hyde-Smith's Opponent Seeks Blue-Slip Transparency

    Four years ago, Scott Colom — the son of the first African American elected to the chancery bench in her region of Mississippi — was nominated for a federal judgeship. Now he's running for Senate against the senator who blocked his confirmation.

  • September 24, 2026

    Cayuga Tribe Fights to Keep Caesars Sports Betting Suit Alive

    The Cayuga Nation is asking a district court to reject a bid by Caesars Sportsbook to dismiss the tribe's lawsuit, arguing that the gambling giant's arguments largely rest on a misplaced premise that its New York gambling license allows it to accept wagers from every location within the state.

  • September 24, 2026

    White House Must Restore Press Passes To CNN, Others

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the White House to immediately reinstate White House access for CNN, Politico and MS Now on Thursday morning, writing that the outlets were likely to succeed in claiming that their abrupt ban from the building last week violated their Fifth Amendment procedural due process rights.

  • September 23, 2026

    NM Offers Infernal Literature Lesson In Meta Trial Closing

    New Mexico wrapped its data privacy trial against Meta on Wednesday by likening the social media company's alleged habitual lying about data protection to the worst of sins in Dante's "Inferno," asking the jury, "Does lying matter?"

  • September 23, 2026

    Newman's Roadblocks Guide Judicial Conduct Reform Bill

    The Judicial Conduct and Disability Act has worked well in allowing the judicial branch to govern itself for nearly 50 years, but the ongoing suspension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has exposed gaps that could be addressed with newly introduced legislation, attorneys say.

  • September 23, 2026

    Oakland Beats ADA Challenge To Rent Control Program

    Oakland city officials beat a proposed class action alleging its rent control program discriminatorily excludes tenants with mobility disabilities since few units under the program are accessible, after a California federal judge said Wednesday there are other options that could address disparate impacts without violating the state's rent control law.

  • September 23, 2026

    NY's Landmark Climate Change Superfund Blocked Again

    Another New York federal judge on Wednesday agreed with the federal government that the Empire State overstepped its authority with its Climate Change Superfund Act, the second such ruling on the state's landmark attempt to collect payments from fossil fuel companies to fund climate change mitigation efforts.

  • September 23, 2026

    WH Aide Says CFTC Needs Congress For Full Crypto Powers

    A White House crypto aide said Wednesday that Congress' failure to pass the Clarity Act leaves the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission without authority over spot crypto markets, which could limit the agency's plans to stand up a digital asset framework in the absence of crypto market structure legislation.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: A Shift In The Pricing Disclosure Terrain

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    Recent state and Federal Trade Commission developments spotlight materially different ways in which personalized pricing might be addressed, which could result in an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape in which businesses face differing disclosure obligations and substantive restrictions depending upon the jurisdiction, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

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    The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Compliance Lessons From Agriculture Co. Mexican Bribe DPA

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    Agricultural company Scoular’s recently announced deferred prosecution agreement over alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations at the U.S.-Mexico border reinforces the U.S. Department of Justice’s focus on cartels, and companies must accordingly ensure they address risks associated with the use of customs brokers, says Adam Safwat at Foley Hoag.

  • OpenAI Deal Highlights AI Hiring Risks In PERM Process

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement of allegations that OpenAI discriminated against U.S. applicants for positions connected to the permanent labor certification process underscores that employers providing or using artificial intelligence must align their recruitment practices with their overlapping compliance obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • 5 Practice Tips After DOJ's Healthcare Fraud Declination

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to not prosecute Campus Eye Management under the agency's new corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy, healthcare companies should keep several considerations in mind when weighing their risk and self-disclosure strategy, including the distinctions between reporting to the DOJ versus other government agencies, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • What Bulk-Power Gear Import EO Means For US Energy Cos.

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    Though President Donald Trump's recent executive order restricting imports of foreign-produced bulk-power system electrical equipment imposes no immediate obligations on private parties, stakeholders can take near-term steps to mitigate supply chain and contractual risks, as much of the order's ultimate impact will depend on implementing regulations, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Assessing The Early Days Of Woodcock's SEC Tenure

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    Since David Woodcock took over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement four months ago, the division has pursued a scaled-back caseload centered on fraud and manipulative conduct, largely following the enforcement outlook that emerged under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • AI And AML: Rulemakings Lean Into Responsible Innovation

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    Recent federal rulemaking increasingly supports deployment of artificial intelligence tools for anti-money laundering compliance purposes, and institutions that build clear use and governance frameworks will be best positioned to defend programs when AI systems err, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Series

    Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

  • Unpacking Texas' New Grid Reliability Rules For Data Centers

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ recently effective technical and compliance obligations, designed to prevent data centers and other large energy customers from causing cascading outages when they go offline, will challenge facilities to develop equipment and protocols to help protect the grid, says Casey Bell at Balch & Bingham.

  • Opinion

    Md. Court Got Ad Tax Similarity Analysis Wrong

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    Decisions striking Maryland’s digital advertising tax are fundamentally flawed because the Maryland Tax Court found similarity between digital ads and other ads without considering deep market distinctions, says Darien Shanske at UC Davis School of Law.

  • Opinion

    NC Litigation Funding Ban Sets Model For Other States

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    States worried about rising liability costs and the commercialization of their courts should treat North Carolina's recently enacted litigation funding ban as a model because a prohibition adequately addresses the distortion that disclosure only documents, say attorneys at McAngus Goudelock.

  • The Future Of DOL Judge Removal Challenges After Slaughter

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. Slaughter calls into question whether U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judges exercising significant governmental authority remain insulated from presidential removal, but the answer depends on the governing statute, its severability provisions and other factors, says Mark Ishu at Conn Maciel.

  • DOJ Executive Privilege Opinion Portends 3rd-Party Dilemmas

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    The recent opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel concluding that executive privilege can shield the president's communications with private advisers may lead to interbranch disputes, and companies must come up with a response plan now before they’re caught in the middle, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Planning For The Impact Of FinCEN's CTA Rollback

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    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent rollback of Corporate Transparency Act reporting obligations should reduce compliance costs, but its plans to revisit customer due diligence rules should prompt companies and financial institutions to reassess state beneficial ownership programs, say attorneys at Sidley.

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