Public Policy

  • June 25, 2025

    Biden WH Counsel, Civil Rights Atty Joins Cooley's DC Team

    A former associate White House counsel to President Joe Biden, who has worked in the Senate and in leadership roles in higher education, has joined the litigation team at Cooley LLP, having served alongside some of his new colleagues while representing victims of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

  • June 25, 2025

    DOJ Sues Md. Federal Judges Over 'Lawless' Habeas Orders

    The Trump administration is suing the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges over a standing order that temporarily staves off the deportation of detained noncitizens who file habeas petitions.

  • June 25, 2025

    Ore. Lawmakers OK Requiring Report On Property Taxes

    The Oregon Legislature would issue a report on the state's property tax system and options to modernize it, including an analysis of two tax-limiting initiatives, under legislation approved by lawmakers.

  • June 25, 2025

    Ga. University Contract Lands Dorm Operator In Ch. 11

    The Georgia affiliate of student and military housing provider Corvias filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court Wednesday saying an unsustainable contract with Georgia's public universities has left it unable to support its $532 million in debt.

  • June 25, 2025

    Court Halts Trump Order Curbing Federal Union Bargaining

    Several federal agencies must stop enforcing a part of President Donald Trump's executive order that would ax labor contracts covering agencies that have "national security" aims, a California federal judge ruled, finding unions showed they would suffer irreparable harm by losing collective bargaining rights.

  • June 24, 2025

    Colo. Justices Order Fraud Retrial Over Legal Advice Hearsay

    Colorado's highest court granted a new securities fraud trial Monday to a man whose testimony in his own defense about advice of counsel was curtailed by a judge, saying legal advice is unquestionably relevant in mounting a defense around "willfulness."

  • June 24, 2025

    Wash. Judge Blocks Trump Admin's EV Charging Funds Freeze

    A Seattle federal judge Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from withholding funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects in 14 states, but stopped short of applying it to two other states and Washington, D.C., and stayed the order to give the administration time to appeal.

  • June 24, 2025

    FTC Commish Says Enforcement Is The Way, Not Regulation

    The newest member of the Federal Trade Commission was preaching less regulation and increased enforcement as the path toward a more just and competitive business landscape in the United States at a Senate antitrust subcommittee hearing Tuesday afternoon.

  • June 24, 2025

    Anthropic Copyright Ruling May Spur More AI Licensing Deals

    The first federal court decision on the fairness of taking copyrighted material to train generative artificial intelligence is a mixed outcome for tech companies and content creators that could prompt both parties to seek coexistence, according to attorneys, with the judge concluding that while the technology is "spectacularly" transformative, using pirated material is inexcusable.

  • June 24, 2025

    Powell Says Leverage Rule Revamp Won't Exclude Treasuries

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told House lawmakers Tuesday that a forthcoming plan to revamp big-bank leverage limits won't exempt U.S. Treasuries from their calculation, a potential disappointment for financial-sector lobbies that hope to resurrect the pandemic-era carveout. 

  • June 24, 2025

    Colo. Gov.'s Enforcement Of ICE Subpoena Called A 'Disaster'

    The state director who sued Colorado Gov. Jared Polis over an order to comply with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoena said Tuesday in Colorado state court that the testimony given the day prior by a Polis appointee was not fully accurate.

  • June 24, 2025

    NJ Bank, DOJ Push To End Redlining Deal Amid Opposition

    Lakeland Bank and the U.S. Department of Justice urged a New Jersey federal judge to reject a brief from three fair housing groups opposing the early termination of the bank's $13 million redlining settlement, arguing the groups' call for housing discrimination accountability is irrelevant to the settlement's termination.

  • June 24, 2025

    2nd Circ. Tells Feds To 'Facilitate' Another Deportee's Return

    The Trump administration must "facilitate the return" to the U.S. of a man deported to El Salvador in violation of an order blocking his removal, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday, citing a U.S. Supreme Court decision backing the return of a Maryland man improperly deported to a Salvadoran prison.

  • June 24, 2025

    Arkansas Insurance Dept. Fights Teamsters Plan's ERISA Suit

    The Arkansas Insurance Department is looking to sink a challenge to a state insurance regulation filed by a Teamsters healthcare plan, telling an Illinois federal judge that the regulation isn't preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and, besides, the plan can't sue the department.

  • June 24, 2025

    State AGs Sue Trump Admin To Stop Billions In Grant Cuts

    A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia filed suit Tuesday in Massachusetts federal court, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully using a single clause "buried in federal regulations" to nix billions of dollars in federal grant funding to the states.

  • June 24, 2025

    E-Verify Restrictions Are Not Preempted, Illinois Argues

    The federal court handling the U.S. government's lawsuit targeting a recent Illinois statute restricting the use of electronic employment verification systems on prospective hires should reject the government's injunction request and dismiss the case instead, because the statute steers clear of federal immigration law, the state asserted.

  • June 24, 2025

    Ex-Inmate's Debit Fee Class Action Cleared For Trial

    A jury should decide if a former jail inmate was forced to accept a prepaid debit card and pay related fees when his money was returned to him upon release, a Washington federal magistrate judge said on Tuesday, advancing a class action against Central Bank of Kansas City.

  • June 24, 2025

    Mich. Pot Shops Cut Constitutional Claims In License Fee Suit

    A group of pot shops agreed Monday to drop their constitutional claims alleging Grand Rapids' marijuana licensure program imposes illegal fees, a few days after a Michigan federal judge said the case belongs in her court because the pot companies' claims had federal interest.

  • June 24, 2025

    5th Circ. Says EPA Ignored Cos. To Push Efficiency Testing Rule

    The Fifth Circuit has thrown out part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule for determining measures for fuel efficiency, finding Tuesday that the agency used a faulty methodology to justify tightening standards and outright ignored comments when creating the rule.

  • June 24, 2025

    GOP Senators Unveil Crypto Market Framework Principles

    Senate Republicans on Tuesday morning released a set of principles to guide the development of digital asset market structure legislation, their latest push toward regulating the cryptocurrency space following their passage of stablecoin legislation last week.

  • June 24, 2025

    AST Seeks FCC OK For Big Expansion Of Satellite Fleet

    AST SpaceMobile is seeking permission to launch hundreds of low-earth orbit satellites by the end of July to roll out its space-based cellular broadband network, which it says will eliminate coverage gaps and connect to standard smartphones across the country.

  • June 24, 2025

    Submarine Cable Cos. Seek Cautious FCC Reg Approach

    Companies that run undersea telecommunications cables said they're worried the Federal Communications Commission might burden them with even more regulation than they already have to deal with, urging the agency to have a light touch when regulating the industry.

  • June 24, 2025

    4th Circ. Tosses Trans Man's Appeal Over Canceled Surgery

    The Fourth Circuit declined to revive a transgender man's constitutional claims against a religious hospital run by the University of Maryland Medical System over a canceled hysterectomy for gender dysphoria, concluding Tuesday that it couldn't grant further relief, and refused to consider a "late-breaking" argument for emotional distress damages.

  • June 24, 2025

    Motorola Fights Fintiv Memo Withdrawal At Fed. Circ.

    Motorola is urging the Federal Circuit to reverse the decision of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's acting leader to not have the Patent Trial and Appeal Board review the company's challenges to a series of Stellar Inc. patents on glasses equipped with cameras.

  • June 24, 2025

    NC Senate Backs $700M Boost For Hurricane Helene Recovery

    The North Carolina Senate has signed off on a proposal to allocate another $700 million to the state's Hurricane Helene Disaster Recovery Fund, including $75 million for road and bridge repairs and $70 million to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency's state matching requirements.

Expert Analysis

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

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    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

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    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Action Steps To Prepare For Ramped-Up Export Enforcement

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    In light of recent Bureau of Industry and Security actions and comments, companies, particularly those with any connection to China, should consider four concrete steps to shore up their compliance programs given the administration's increasingly aggressive approach to export enforcement, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • DOJ Signals Major Shift In White Collar Enforcement Priorities

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    In a speech on Monday, an official outlined key revisions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure, corporate monitorship and whistleblower program policies, marking a meaningful change in the white collar enforcement landscape, and offering companies clearer incentives and guardrails, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

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    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

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    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews

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    The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption

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    If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.

  • Balancing Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order, Int'l Agreements

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing exploration and exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources appears to conflict with the evolving international framework regulating such activities, so companies and investors should proceed with care and keep possible future legal challenges in mind, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • CFTC Memos Clarify When 'Sorry' Still Gets You Subpoenaed

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    A pair of Commodity Futures Trading Commission advisories released in February and April open a new path to self-reporting but emphasize that serious breaches still warrant a trip to the penalty box, prompting firms to weigh whether — and how — to disclose potential violations in the future, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • Parsing The SEC's New Increased Co-Investment Flexibility

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new co-investment exemptive orders simplify processes and reduce barriers for regulated funds — and rulemaking may evolve further to allow investors access to additional investment opportunities and increase available capital for issuers seeking to raise money from fund complexes, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Cos. Must Assess And Prepare For Cartel-Related FCPA Risks

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    Given the Trump administration’s strong signaling that it will focus on drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations when it resumes Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, global businesses should refresh their risk assessments and conduct enhanced due diligence to account for these shifting priorities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • State AGs Shape Regulatory Dynamic In Trump's 1st 100 Days

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    With President Donald Trump's promised rollback of long-standing federal regulations and enforcement actions just beginning, alongside a flurry of executive orders, what state attorneys general do now will influence the complex state-federal regulatory landscape for years to come, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Opinion

    New Hospice Regulations Should Enforce Core Principles

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    As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General prepares to research and expand on oversight of Medicare hospice care, the OIG should keep in mind certain core principles, such as an emphasis on preventing the entry of hospices that raise red flags, says Bill Dombi at Arnall Golden.

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