Public Policy

  • September 30, 2026

    Judge Backs CMS' Contested Organ Procurement Metrics

    Federal health officials didn't violate federal law when they implemented a competitive rule that will alter how organ procurers are rated by decertifying low performers, a Florida federal judge ruled, a holding that could bring wide changes to the organ donor network. 

  • September 30, 2026

    Hemp Interests Say Texas THC Rule Defies Federal Law

    A trio of hemp interests challenging a Texas policy redesignating intoxicating hemp products as Schedule I substances have urged a federal judge to declare that the policy is both preempted by federal law and inconsistent with Texas state law.

  • September 30, 2026

    DOJ Accuses Judges Of Ethics Violations With Press Remarks

    Several Minnesota federal judges ran afoul of their ethical obligations when they commented on President Donald Trump's immigration policies in a recent news article, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a judicial misconduct complaint filed Wednesday.

  • September 30, 2026

    DC Judge Sends Shinnecock Land Dispute To NY Court

    A D.C. district court judge is moving a challenge over a decision to place 84 acres into a "restricted fee" status for the Shinnecock Indian Nation to a New York district court, saying the interest in "having local controversies decided at home tips heavily in favor of transfer."

  • September 30, 2026

    NJ Co. Says PPE Stockpiling Was Chinese Sovereign Activity

    A New Jersey company accused of helping China hoard personal protective equipment to create a monopoly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic told the Eleventh Circuit that a lower court erred in finding that the allegations fall within the commercial activity exception to sovereign immunity.

  • September 30, 2026

    DOJ Atty Picked For Judgeship Probed On Fulton County Raid

    A top U.S. Department of Justice official tapped for a federal judgeship faced questions from Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday about the department's investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, over Trump's allegations of fraud in the 2020 election.

  • September 30, 2026

    Texas AG Says ABA Stifling Law School Competition

    The Texas Attorney General announced an investigation into the American Bar Association relating to alleged anticompetitive conduct in the association's accreditation of law schools, claiming Wednesday that the ABA "weaponized its accreditation authority" to push "unconstitutional racial and gender preference requirements."

  • September 30, 2026

    Sen. Blackburn Sues Smith For Seizing Phone Records

    U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn alleges in a federal complaint filed Wednesday that Jack Smith illegally subpoenaed her phone records as part of an investigation into alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

  • September 30, 2026

    Split 9th Circ. Keeps Ariz. Land Swap In Place

    The Ninth Circuit won't rethink a decision to allow a 2,500-acre land exchange within Arizona's Tonto National Forest that tribal nations and conservation groups say will destroy a sacred Apache worship site, with several judges voicing opposition in a pair of dissents and a statement saying the circuit court's 2024 decision in the dispute was wrong.

  • September 30, 2026

    Commerce Finds Chinese, Indian Electrodes Being Stockpiled

    Imports of electrodes used for smelting from India appear to have surged in response to the opening of a countervailing duty investigation, the U.S. Department of Commerce preliminarily found Wednesday, setting up possible retroactive duties on the goods.

  • September 30, 2026

    Bessent Owes $910K In Taxes As Limited Partner, Wyden Says

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent should pay more than $910,000 in payroll taxes as a hedge fund limited partner after the Second Circuit ruled that such partners are subject to the self-employment tax, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden said Wednesday.

  • September 30, 2026

    Judge Orders ICE Reports After Hold Room Violations

    A Maryland federal judge ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide cell count and medical care data for its short-term holding facilities in Baltimore, largely granting a detainee class's push to enforce an injunction issued over "deplorable" and likely unconstitutional conditions.

  • September 30, 2026

    Ex-Budget Official Sentenced To 7 Years After Fleeing US

    Former Connecticut budget official Konstantinos Diamantis, who fled to Greece before learning his fate on federal corruption charges, was sentenced while absent on Wednesday to seven years in prison, if extradition efforts are successful, and immediately faced new litigation over his state government pension.

  • September 29, 2026

    OpenAI Knew AI Was Rogue Before Hugging Face, Suit Says

    A public interest law nonprofit sued OpenAI in California state court Tuesday, seeking to hold the ChatGPT maker liable for a July cyberattack on Hugging Face, arguing OpenAI "straightforwardly violated California law" by failing to rein in hundreds of rogue AI agents that OpenAI knew were running amok without proper safeguards.

  • September 29, 2026

    RealPage Wins Injunction Against NY Rent Software Law

    A federal judge in Manhattan granted RealPage's request for a preliminary injunction blocking a New York law banning building owners from using the property management platform to set residential rents, saying the company is "marginally" likely to prevail on its claim the statute regulates speech protected by the First Amendment.

  • September 29, 2026

    DOJ Says Trump Name Is Key To Kennedy Center Survival

    The U.S. Department of Justice told the D.C. Circuit the Kennedy Center's donors will flee if his name isn't put back on the building, arguing in its opening brief to the appeals court that the institution faces "financial ruin" without "appropriate recognition" for Trump.

  • September 29, 2026

    Ministry Stance In Anti-LGBTQ+ Hiring Suit Confuses 9th Circ.

    An en banc Ninth Circuit struggled Tuesday to understand a Washington-based Christian ministry's legal stance as it sought to preserve its ability to reject job applicants who are gay, with several judges suggesting it was immune from enforcement action since the state recognized the jobs as ministerial and therefore constitutionally exempt from anti-discrimination laws.

  • September 29, 2026

    Trump Admin Can't Dodge Claims Over Slashed Foreign Aid

    The Trump administration has persuaded a D.C. federal judge to cut three claims from a suit seeking to stop it from terminating foreign assistance grants and contracts en masse, but most of the suit — another 15 claims — marched forward untouched.

  • September 29, 2026

    Groups Say Calif. Biogas Credits Incentivize More Methane

    Four environmental groups accused California regulators of violating state law by allowing factory farm biogas producers to receive carbon credits — a practice they said is notionally aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions but in reality incentivizes more methane production.

  • September 29, 2026

    Squires Confirms PTAB Judges Will Resume Institution Calls

    Administrative patent judges will soon resume deciding whether Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges will be instituted on the merits, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires told the Senate on Tuesday during a hearing that also raised questions about if the office has sacrificed patent quality to speed through an examination backlog.

  • September 29, 2026

    NYC Property Owners Say 2nd-Home Tax Is Unconstitutional

    A group of New York City property owners and other parties sued the New York state government on Tuesday over its pied-à-terre tax for certain high-value second homes, alleging in state court that the tax is unconstitutional because it discriminates against people who don't primarily live in the city.

  • September 29, 2026

    X Corp. Says Crypto Gambling Company Bribed X Employees

    X Corp. told a Texas federal court that a company behind two controversial crypto gambling websites, which allegedly bribed X employees, cannot arbitrate claims that X unfairly removed their access to its website.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • State Of Insurance: Q2 Notes From Illinois

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    The second quarter of 2026 featured a trio of auto insurance opinions from Illinois' appellate courts, addressing a notice requirement, narrowing insurers' exposure for delayed payment of underinsured motorist claims, and creating a district split on coverage for employee-drivers under employers' policies, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • Tips For Issuers Left In Lurch Without Genius Act Final Rules

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    The compliance runway envisioned by the Genius Act is steadily shrinking after regulators failed to finalize all the required implementing regulations by July 18, so stablecoin issuers should begin implementing "no-regrets" compliance measures and securing outside vendors before the law takes full effect in January, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • 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.

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