Public Policy

  • November 19, 2025

    Trump's Global Tariffs Curtailed Trade, Data Shows

    U.S. imports dropped by 5.1% in August, the month when many of President Donald Trump's global tariffs took effect, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

  • November 19, 2025

    Trump's New Pick For CFPB Director Is OMB Energy Official

    President Donald Trump has tapped an energy official at the Office of Management and Budget to become permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a key regulator whose future remains in doubt after months of turmoil and dwindling finances.

  • November 19, 2025

    Trump Taps Norton Rose Atty To Be EEOC General Counsel

    President Donald Trump has nominated Norton Rose Fulbright's global labor and employment head to serve a four-year term as general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • November 18, 2025

    Fed Pushes To Shift Oversight Focus In Examiner Guidance

    The Federal Reserve shared new internal guidance Tuesday that directs its examiners to concentrate on material financial risks to banks and not get "distracted" by process concerns, deepening a policy shift that is drawing sharp rebuke from Fed Gov. Michael Barr.

  • November 18, 2025

    CFPB's Gradler Takes Deputy Post Amid Agency Uncertainty

    Geof Gradler, a former industry lobbyist who recently joined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's front office, said that he is taking over as the agency's deputy director, a job that positions him as a potential successor to acting director Russell Vought.

  • November 18, 2025

    DHS Unlikely To Exit Suit Over Protected Status Terminations

    A California federal judge Tuesday tentatively denied the government's request to dismiss a class action challenging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's termination of temporary protection status for immigrants from three countries, expressing disbelief at the government's assertion during the hearing that Noem's discretion is "unfettered" and "unreviewable."

  • November 18, 2025

    Broadband Permit Reforms Survive House Subcommittee

    The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee had a productive morning Tuesday, consolidating 28 bills largely related to broadband permitting into seven and passing them along to the full committee for review.

  • November 18, 2025

    Delaware Chancery Atty Fee Awards Under Fire In New Report

    Attorney fees in Delaware's Court of Chancery lack "consistent benchmarks" and, for big awards, may fail to reflect "risk or performance," according to a report Tuesday that potentially ratchets up pressure on state lawmakers wary of jeopardizing Delaware's standing as the national hub for corporate law disputes.

  • November 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Halts 1 Of 2 Calif. Corporate Climate Disclosure Laws

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday blocked a new California law requiring large companies to publicly disclose financial risks tied to climate change, barring enforcement as an appeal by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups challenging the policy unfolds in federal appellate court.

  • November 18, 2025

    NTSB Flags Vessel's Loose Wire In Key Bridge Collapse Probe

    A single loose wire triggered a power failure aboard the container carrier that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year, and the absence of an effective warning system didn't give construction workers enough time to clear the collapsing bridge, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday.

  • November 18, 2025

    Judge Says Texas, Toronto Exchange Logos Seem Dissimilar

    A Texas federal judge expressed skepticism that the Toronto Stock Exchange has much of a leg to stand on in its attempt to get the Texas Stock Exchange to change its logo, saying during a hearing Tuesday that the logos look dissimilar enough for most people to tell the difference.

  • November 18, 2025

    Colo. High Court Weighs Test For Political Donor Disclosures

    Colorado Supreme Court justices pushed attorneys Tuesday on how the court should measure a political organization's spending and efforts on ballot measures in determining whether a conservative political group fined for not disclosing donors after spending millions on state ballot questions in Colorado's 2020 election qualifies as an "issue committee" that must disclose its donors.

  • November 18, 2025

    Trump Admin May Be Overpromising WOTUS Clarity

    The Trump administration says its proposal to shrink the Clean Water Act's reach would reduce regulatory burdens and provide clarity to farmers, homebuilders and other businesses, but it could face court challenges and potential reworking by future administrations.

  • November 18, 2025

    FDIC Says Capital One Is 'Turning Back Time' With Fee Fight

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has accused Capital One of trying to "turn back time" by retroactively distributing $56 billion and claiming it was erroneously included in the FDIC's fee calculations, in order to dodge roughly $99 million in special assessments tied to the 2023 regional bank crisis.

  • November 18, 2025

    Colo. Justices Unsure On Limits For Borrowing Claims Rule

    Colorado Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grappled with when an attorney has satisfied their requirements under Colorado law to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" when including pleadings from other litigation during oral arguments in CenturyLink's petition to have a securities class action dismissed for including anonymous claims from a different lawsuit.

  • November 18, 2025

    Over-Detentions Are Jail's 'Worst-Kept Secret,' Judge Told

    An attorney for people who allege they were unlawfully kept at a county jail for days after a court ordered their release told a Michigan federal judge Tuesday not to dismiss their due process claims, saying that release delays were the "worst-kept secret."

  • November 18, 2025

    Severe SC Abortion Bill Falters in Committee

    A South Carolina bill that would have further criminalized abortion and subjected patients and doctors to up to 30 years in prison failed to advance out of a Senate committee on Tuesday, with antiabortion committee members raising concerns that the bill went too far.

  • November 18, 2025

    Groups Seek More Time To Comment On SEC's RMBS Plan

    The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is among those calling for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to grant more time to provide feedback on a plan that could change how the agency regulates residential mortgage-backed securities, citing the recent government shutdown as a reason for extending the deadline. 

  • November 18, 2025

    Flagstar Urges 9th Circ. Redo For Escrow Interest Ruling

    Flagstar Bank pushed the entire Ninth Circuit to reconsider its prior ruling in a putative class action that accused the bank of violating a California law that requires banks to make interest payments for escrow accounts connected to certain types of residential mortgage loans, arguing that the court deciding that the state law is not preempted by the National Bank Act clashes with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a similar case.

  • November 18, 2025

    6th Circ. Revives Deadly Force Suit Against Mich. Police

    A divided Sixth Circuit panel found Tuesday that a pair of Lansing, Michigan, police officers are not entitled to qualified immunity for shooting and killing a man outside his home, reviving an excessive force claim against the officers.

  • November 18, 2025

    NJ Justices Asked How 'Beneficial Use' Should Affect Zoning

    A Garden State town urged the New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday to provide a blueprint for how municipal zoning boards should evaluate variance applications under a nearly three-decade-old amendment to the state's land use law, arguing that a lower court did not give the update proper consideration when it overturned the town's denial of a senior living facility.

  • November 18, 2025

    OCC Clears Banks To Hold Crypto For Blockchain Fees

    Banks may hold digital assets required to pay crypto transaction fees and test new crypto platforms, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirmed in a Tuesday interpretive letter.

  • November 18, 2025

    Court Says Keeping Tribe's Suit Alive Respects Federal Law

    An Oklahoma city can't dodge a jurisdictional challenge by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, a federal judge determined Tuesday, saying, "The boundary between state authority and tribal sovereignty in Indian Country was marked long before the dispute arose, and nothing in the record suggests Congress has moved it."

  • November 18, 2025

    Feds Tell DC Circ. Congress OK'd Quick Removal Of Parolees

    The Trump administration urged the D.C. Circuit to undo a federal judge's order placing limits on expedited removals, arguing that its hands are being tied in lawful efforts to deport noncitizens who were paroled into the country.

  • November 18, 2025

    Asst. Gets New Try At Religious Bias Suit Over Wash. Vax Rule

    A divided Washington state appeals court panel said Tuesday a lower court was wrong to dismiss a legal assistant's lawsuit accusing the Washington State Attorney General's Office of wrongfully refusing her request for a religious accommodation to the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, reopening the suit.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down Article 12 Of The Uniform Commercial Code

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    Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code, providing the alternative to perfection by control of assets like cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, but before accepting these assets as collateral, lenders and creditors should consider how to best maintain priority, say attorneys at Miller Nash.

  • Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

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    With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.

  • How Litigating Antitrust Fix Helped GTCR Prevail In Court

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    An Illinois federal judge's recent denial of the Federal Trade Commission's injunction request in the GTCR acquisition of Surmodics joins a developing series of cases in which deal parties have prevailed against government antitrust challenges by proposing a post-complaint fix and litigating the as-amended deal, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

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    As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

  • Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

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    Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • Wading Into NY Wetland Regs' 2025 Changes And Challenges

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    Solar developers in New York should keep a weather eye on litigation challenging the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s recently expanded authority to regulate wetlands and waterways, which could erode the impact of a new permitting process meant to streamline solar development on protected wetlands, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Takeaways As Justices Let 5th Circ. Pollution Ruling Stand

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent certiorari denial leaves intact a Fifth Circuit ruling that environmental justice organizations have standing to pursue a civil rights challenge to a parish's land-use practice, underscoring the importance of local governments proactively engaging with communities to address cumulative impacts of development, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

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