Public Policy

  • August 24, 2026

    'History And Tradition' Allow For Religious Emails, USDA Says

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture urged a California federal court to toss a suit by federal workers and their labor union accusing the agency's secretary of sending "proselytizing" religious emails to employees, arguing the messages align with the "history and tradition" of public officials making references to religion.

  • August 24, 2026

    DHS Must Face Bias Suit Over Candidate's Ayahuasca Use

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security can't escape a lawsuit alleging it unlawfully nixed an applicant's job offer because her religious practice includes consuming the psychoactive tea ayahuasca, a Florida federal judge ruled Friday, rejecting the agency's assertion that the court can't review its hiring decisions on national security grounds.

  • August 24, 2026

    DOJ Backs Biotech Co. Against Red Cross At 1st Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing to back a biotech company that accuses the American Red Cross of blocking competition for blood platelet testing, telling the First Circuit the nonprofit is not part of the government and is not immune from the antitrust claims.

  • August 24, 2026

    Colo. Judge Certifies Class In Hospital Gender Care Suit

    A Colorado state judge granted class certification in transgender adolescents' lawsuit seeking to have Children's Hospital Colorado resume providing gender-affirming medical care for them and other transgender youth patients.

  • August 24, 2026

    FCC's Trusty Sees Need For Fresh Look At Universal Service

    Since taking a seat on the Federal Communications Commission more than a year ago, Olivia Trusty says her travels around some of the most rural parts of the country have convinced her of a need to bring the FCC's universal service programs up to date.

  • August 24, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Agrees To Speed Up Args In COVID Vax Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Monday agreed to accelerate the schedule in a COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute between Moderna and Arbutus Biopharma Corp. by holding arguments in November.

  • August 24, 2026

    Judge Says ICE Skirted Review In CAT Removal Reversal

    A Maryland federal judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Mexican national who testified against drug cartel members, saying the government violated his due process rights by revoking his removal protection after trying to deport him unsuccessfully twice prior.

  • August 24, 2026

    9th Circ. Sends Juneau Trust Fight Back After DOI Reversal

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday remanded a dispute over a 787-square-foot parcel in downtown Juneau after the U.S. Department of the Interior changed its position on the land-into-trust decision for an Alaskan tribal government.

  • August 24, 2026

    Social Media Giants Denied Pause Of Calif. Kids Algorithm Law

    A California federal judge on Friday again refused to block the Golden State law that bars social media companies from using algorithmic feeds to deliver content to children without parents' consent, telling Meta, Google and TikTok that predictive algorithms that show "interesting" content aren't protected free speech.

  • August 24, 2026

    NCUA No Longer Leaderless As Crews Sworn In, Named Chair

    The National Credit Union Administration said Monday that President Donald Trump's pick to lead the federal credit union regulator has now formally taken office, ending its brief leaderless stretch without any sitting chairman or board members at its helm.

  • August 24, 2026

    High Court Lifts Block On Mail-In Ballot Changes

    The Trump administration can proceed with plans to implement some new nationwide mail-in voting regulations ahead of this year's midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, but questions remain about the enforceability of proposed U.S. Postal Service restrictions.

  • August 24, 2026

    11th Circ. Says Sudden Snatching Is A Deportable Crime

    The Eleventh Circuit has denied a Trinidad and Tobago native's petition to review a decision deeming him removable for his conviction for robbery by sudden snatching, saying the crime is indeed a deportable offense.

  • August 24, 2026

    Trump Threatens 50% Tariffs On Canadian Vehicles, Steel

    President Donald Trump on Monday escalated his trade war against Canada, saying he would implement 50% tariffs on vehicles and steel from the country in January, after a 50% levy took effect over the weekend on other goods imported from Canada.

  • August 24, 2026

    Transit Stabbing Victim's Estate Sues North Carolina City

    The estate of a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed last year on a light rail train car in Charlotte, North Carolina, has filed a wrongful death suit in state court, alleging the city and its private security contractor failed to put reasonable safety measures in place.

  • August 24, 2026

    Slovakia's PM Aims To Abolish Financial Transaction Tax

    Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has asked his cabinet to prepare legislation to repeal the country's atypical financial transaction tax, which has faced "massive criticism" since its introduction, he said Monday on social media.

  • August 24, 2026

    6th Circ. Upholds Mich. City's Pride Flag Ban

    The Sixth Circuit has affirmed a district court decision letting a city near Detroit bar Pride and other non-national flags from city-owned flagpoles, ruling that Hamtramck, Michigan, lawfully converted its flagpoles into a forum for government speech when it restricted which flags could be displayed. 

  • August 24, 2026

    Arnold & Porter Adds Financial Services Partner In DC

    Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP said Monday it added a Washington, D.C., partner who represents banks, financial services companies and other clients before federal and state agencies.

  • August 24, 2026

    Biz Lobby Urges OECD To Cut Platform Reporting's Threshold

    The OECD's model rules for platforms to report information to tax authorities shouldn't have a transaction-based threshold that excludes some sellers from platforms' reporting requirements, the official lobby for businesses at the organization said in response to a consultation.

  • August 24, 2026

    NYC Fights Officers' Bid To Shield Dog Care Records

    New York City has pushed back against a protective order sought by police dog handlers who allege the city owes them overtime for caring for their dogs at home, arguing in New York federal court that the workers have withheld key documents and failed to provide an adequate computation of their claimed damages.

  • August 24, 2026

    Ill. Won't Hold Religious Docs To 'Aid-In-Dying' Law, For Now

    Illinois agreed not to force a group of religious healthcare providers to refer patients to "medical aid in dying" services, a form of care recently legalized by the state allowing certain terminally ill individuals to seek prescriptions for lethal medication to bring about their death.

  • August 24, 2026

    Feds Cut Colo. River Basin Water For 2 Years Amid Drought

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has finalized a 10-year framework for Colorado River operations that will reduce water delivery to Arizona, California and Nevada by 1.25 million acre-feet for two years, as reservoirs dive to lows not seen since their 1963 construction due to ongoing drought conditions.

  • August 24, 2026

    DOJ Says House Dems Can't Sue Over ICE Visit Notice Rule

    The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a federal appeals court to throw out a lawsuit brought by House Democrats challenging a policy that requires seven days' notice for congressional oversight visits to immigration detention facilities.

  • August 24, 2026

    US Cos. Protest Being Left Out Of Quartz Surface Tariff Probe

    The U.S. International Trade Commission wrongfully ignored wide domestic opposition to a safeguard investigation and ultimate establishment of tariffs on imports of quartz surface products, a group of American companies told the U.S. Court of International Trade, seeking an order spiking the tariff.

  • August 24, 2026

    W.Va. Residents Say Coal Co. Polluted Town's Water Supply

    Eighteen residents of Gary, West Virginia, hit Taishan Resources LLC with a citizen suit that accuses the company of negligently operating a surface coal mine and contaminating the town's drinking water.

  • August 24, 2026

    Legal Center Says DOJ Is Stonewalling Fund Records Request

    A voting rights nonprofit is accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of stonewalling a request for records on the Trump administration's attempted "anti-weaponization fund," claiming that the agency has spent the summer unlawfully ducking a Freedom of Information Act submission.

Expert Analysis

  • Fed Report Underscores Focus On Nonbank, CRE Risks

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    The Federal Reserve Board's latest supervision and regulation report highlights that broad systemic stability will not insulate individual institutions from rigorous supervisory challenges regarding concentrated commercial real estate portfolios and nonbank partnerships, says Daniel Meade at Hogan Lovells.

  • 3 Upcoming Deadlines That EB-5 Investors Should Consider

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    Potential EB-5 regional center investors should weigh three approaching deadlines, the most immediate of which is Sept. 30, that may affect their filing strategy, required capital commitment and ability to participate even if Congress fails to reauthorize the program, says Michael Ashoori at Ashoori Law.

  • CIPA Tech Tracking Suits Highlight Uncertain Legal Ground

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    Alexandra Samofalova at Spencer Fane discusses the state of California Invasion of Privacy Act website tracking litigation, why credible defendants choose to settle and how the businesses best positioned to face this uncertain legal landscape are the ones treating data practices as a legal compliance matter to address today.

  • AI, Prediction Markets Lead Securities Developments In 2026

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    Securities class actions tied to artificial intelligence and the battle over prediction market regulation both raise novel questions that courts are only beginning to address and that will continue to resonate throughout the second half of the year, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Why A Class Was Certified In Financial Aid Info-Sharing Case

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    The recent Illinois federal court decision in Corzo v. Brown University offers key guidance for defendants confronting class certification in antitrust matters, highlighting how typicality can be satisfied despite class members attending different universities, receiving different aid awards and being affected across different time periods, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Key Compliance Insights From Calif.'s Volvo Diesel Deal

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    While the future of California's vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act is uncertain, the state's recent settlement with Volvo over diesel emissions hinges on the truthfulness of manufacturer representations to state regulators, and offers important lessons for companies on compliance and recordkeeping, says Thierry Montoya at FBT Gibbons.

  • Community Bank Order Signals Fintech Partnership Scrutiny

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent consent order against Community Federal Savings Bank for deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance programs offers clear and urgent lessons for community banks pursuing revenue growth through fintech partnerships and payments services, say attorneys at Bradley.

  • House-Passed KIDS Act Spurs Child Data Practices Audit

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    Graham Dean, Brian Roper-Nelson and Will Quick at Brooks Pierce discuss the noteworthy sections of the U.S. House of Representatives' recently passed Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, the potential revisions as the law moves through the U.S. Senate and the significant business changes that the House law would require.

  • Calif. Recycle Label Order Imperils Product Responsibility Law

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    A California federal court's injunction blocking enforcement of the state's truth-in-recycling law gives companies racing to remove chasing arrows and other recyclability labels from their packaging a reprieve — and the court's action may also hobble implementation of the state's extended producer responsibility law, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • FTC Focus: Enforcing Vertically Integrated Operating Systems

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    As digital platforms increasingly pair operating systems with commerce, advertising, content and data, antitrust scrutiny will turn on whether those integrations create private bottlenecks that foreclose rivals through access, ranking, interoperability or defaults, pushing courts and enforcement agencies to adapt traditional utility and merger frameworks more aggressively, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Challenging Detention After 5th Circ. Ends Bond Clocks

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    After the vacatur of the Fifth Circuit’s holding that the U.S. Constitution requires bond hearings for detained noncriminal noncitizens, practitioners should go back to filing habeas petitions, pending the court's en banc rehearing, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • Patent Eligibility Bulletin: New USPTO Guidance And AI Risks

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    In the second quarter of 2026, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office updated its subject matter eligibility declarations in line with its increasingly permissive patent eligibility stance, while the Federal Circuit rigorously applied the Alice framework in a decision that highlighted risks facing patent claims that utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning, say attorneys at Banner Witcoff.

  • A Shift In How Policymakers Are Approaching PBM Regulation

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    Recent federal and state legislative and regulatory activity involving pharmacy benefit managers represent a change in focus from transparency to PBM compensation structures, vertical integration and competitive effects, say attorneys at Barclay Damon.

  • Workplace Menopause Laws Demand New HR Playbooks

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    A recent wave of state and local legislation that makes menopause an expressly protected condition in the workplace creates new compliance obligations amid an already ambiguous federal framework, and demands a workplace culture where employees feel safe asking for support, says Elliot Griffin at Ballard Spahr.

  • How State Actions Are Reshaping Surveillance Pricing Risk

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    Amid heightened state enforcement activity and expanding legislative action to curb surveillance pricing concerns related to transparency, fairness and discrimination, businesses should closely examine how consumer data is used in pricing decisions, say attorneys at Steptoe.

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