Public Policy

  • August 19, 2026

    HHS, USDA Must Withdraw Dietary Guidelines, DC Court Told

    A public health nonprofit on Wednesday urged a D.C. federal court to order the federal government to withdraw dietary guidelines it issued earlier this year, arguing that reviewers who advised on the guidelines had significant conflicts of interest and were selected without public oversight.

  • August 19, 2026

    DOJ Enviro Deputy AG Leaves Post

    A top deputy in the U.S. Department of Justice's Energy and Natural Resources Division is leaving the agency, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    USPTO Says Patent Atty's Suit Shouldn't Stop Discipline Case

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has said an Ohio federal court shouldn't pause professional discipline proceedings against an attorney while he sues the agency, saying he's likely to fail with his suit challenging the fact that a judge from another agency is overseeing his discipline case.

  • August 19, 2026

    Immigration Board Says Migrants Get 1 Shot To Reopen Case

    The Immigration and Nationality Act generally limits noncitizens in immigration proceedings to only one motion to reopen a case, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled, adding that statutory restriction cannot be equitably tolled, either.

  • August 19, 2026

    PFAS Turnout Gear Buyer Lawsuits Get Consolidated In Minn.

    Minnesota will be home to firefighter turnout gear PFAS "forever chemical" federal lawsuits filed by municipal purchasers from 14 separate states, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has decided, consolidating current actions in Montana and California with lawsuits filed in the corporate home state of 3M Co.

  • August 19, 2026

    Broadband Co. Asks FCC To Fix 'Ineffective' State Pole Regs

    Broadband provider GoNetSpeed has asked the Federal Communications Commission to open a rulemaking proceeding to tackle "ineffective" state regulation of utility pole attachments for broadband equipment.

  • August 19, 2026

    DOJ Touts 'Targeted' Probes In Sales Software Merger OK

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday it had closed an in-depth review into a sales tracking software merger, mollified by the likelihood of artificial intelligence-enabled competition, in an announcement touting the use of "targeted" scrutiny to end the probe quickly.

  • August 19, 2026

    EPA Waiver Review Could Upend Rulemaking, Judge Signals

    A D.C. federal judge predicted Wednesday that there could be wide-ranging implications for oversight of agency rulemaking if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is allowed to put California emissions waivers up for congressional review more than a decade after they were first granted.

  • August 19, 2026

    Caesars Looks To Dodge Tribe's Suit Over NY Mobile Betting

    Caesars Sportsbook is asking a district court to dismiss the Cayuga Nation's claims that its entity is illegally offering mobile sports betting on tribal lands, saying the New York Indigenous nation is looking to create a remedy that Congress chose not to provide.

  • August 19, 2026

    Ex-US Attys Protest Trump's Swift Firing Of Rogoff In Seattle

    Thirty former U.S. attorneys backed Roger Rogoff's bid for reinstatement as Seattle's top federal prosecutor after President Donald Trump fired him on the heels of his court-ordered appointment, arguing Tuesday that Trump is trying to "sidestep the Senate's advice-and-consent role and sideline the judiciary" by letting unappointed individuals play such roles.

  • August 19, 2026

    Trade Court Rejects Bahrain Importer's FTA Theory

    Film imported from Bahrain cannot qualify for preferential tariff treatment under a free trade agreement because the importer failed to meet its requirements, and those of the law underlying the deal, according to a U.S. Court of International Trade opinion published Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    OCC Advancing Stablecoin Rule At 'Great Speed,' Gould Says

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plans to issue the main rule establishing its stablecoin oversight framework by November and expects to be ready to process issuer licensing applications as soon as January, the agency's top official said Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Initial Arbitration No Obstacle To EFAA

    A split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday that a fired biopharmaceutical executive could quit arbitration and file a suit claiming her boss subjected her to gender-based harassment, finding the pivot was fair game under a law that shields sex misconduct disputes from out-of-court resolutions.

  • August 19, 2026

    IRS Aims To Limit Tax Credits For Authorized Immigrants

    Fewer immigrants living in the U.S. legally would have access to refunds from individual tax credits under proposed regulations released Wednesday by the IRS that would link eligibility to welfare requirements rather than just work authorization.

  • August 19, 2026

    Groups Say NOAA Failed To Vet Samoan Seabed Mining Harm

    Two conservation groups have sued to stop the sale of deep-sea mining rights across 31 million acres of seabed around American Samoa, arguing the National Marine Fisheries Service unlawfully determined the activity would not adversely affect endangered species and their habitat.

  • August 19, 2026

    Paramount Judge Urges Parties To Be 'More Reasonable'

    A California federal judge overseeing the challenge to Paramount Skydance's $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition brought by the Writers Guild of America and state attorneys general urged the parties Wednesday to be "much more reasonable" with discovery disputes, warning that if they aren't, "you will find yourself asked to engage a special master."

  • August 19, 2026

    Paramount Viewers Stuck With Bringing Amended Suit

    A California federal judge refused Tuesday to reconsider dismissing a consumer complaint challenging Paramount's completed merger with Skydance and its planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, holding that the filing of an amended complaint mooted the motion.

  • August 19, 2026

    Trade Court Judge Mulls Class Cert. For IEEPA Refunds

    A U.S. Court of International Trade judge on Wednesday didn't commit to certifying a class of importers who paid tariffs under President Donald Trump's struck-down global regime, though the option seemed to intrigue him.

  • August 19, 2026

    Over 120 Ex-Judges Demand Probe Of DHS GC's 'Worst' Posts

    A pair of nonprofits along with a bipartisan group of 128 former state and federal judges have asked the Florida Bar to investigate the general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a recent series of social media posts attacking sitting judges.

  • August 19, 2026

    Venable Hires Treasury Legislative Deputy With Tax Experience

    Venable LLP's latest hire in the legislative and public policy group in Washington, D.C., is a U.S. Department of the Treasury official who most recently worked as the deputy undersecretary for legislative affairs.

  • August 19, 2026

    Mining Project Beats Suit, But Species Harm Estimate Flagged

    The federal government won dismissal of most claims from environmental groups challenging a gold mining project, but the presiding federal Idaho judge did order the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to revise a statement estimating harm to wolverine and bull trout.

  • August 19, 2026

    Feds Accuse Comey Of Trying To 'Shortcircuit' '86 47' Case

    Former FBI Director James Comey is seeking to end the case over an allegedly threatening photo of seashells he posted online before the government has had a chance to present the full context for its case, prosecutors argued this week.

  • August 19, 2026

    Ohio Urges 6th Circ. To Allow Hemp Reclassification

    The state of Ohio urged the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday to reverse a lower court's decision halting enforcement of a new state law that reclassified hemp products as marijuana, accusing the hemp companies who sought the injunction of pushing an "aggressive theory" of the case.

  • August 19, 2026

    DC Circ. Won't Block Loan For Mozambique LNG Project

    A D.C. Circuit panel denied an environmental group's push to block $4.7 billion in financing the U.S. Export-Import Bank approved for a TotalEnergies EP liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, finding the group unlikely to prevail in its challenge.

  • August 19, 2026

    Prison Phone Co. Says Techs Aren't Owed Public Works Pay

    A prison phone service provider told a New York federal judge that three field service technicians who installed and maintained telecommunications systems in hospitals and prisons did not agree to a "public works" contract and aren't guaranteed higher pay under state labor laws.

Expert Analysis

  • More Cos. Will Copy SpaceX's Shareholder Proposal Opt-Out

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    For more than 80 years, the shareholder proposal looked like a federal right guaranteed to all public company investors, but after SpaceX opted out before its recent initial public offering, other companies are likely to follow, says Mohsen Manesh at the University of Oregon School of Law.

  • How DOJ Is Approaching Monitorship After Signaling Limits

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    As the U.S. Department of Justice keeps more monitors in place than expected, a look at the matters in which prosecutors are maintaining oversight reveals the sort of companies enforcers might trust to self-remediate, and also those that may receive independent supervision, say attorneys at Kendall Brill.

  • Opinion

    DHS' World Cup Influencer Warning Overreads Visa Law

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    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s reported position that foreign influencers covering the 2026 World Cup need work visas if their content is monetized runs contrary to both legislative intent and long-standing precedent that structure the visa inquiry around labor market substitution, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • 3 Steps For Banks As Section 1071 Rule Finally Becomes Final

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    Some community banks and other lenders will get some breathing room in the final Section 1071 rule exempting them from small business lending reporting duties, but other reporting institutions should update applications, systems and staff training ahead of the 2028 compliance date, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.

  • Why DOE Isn't Phasing Out Appliance Efficiency Regs

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    While the U.S. Department of Energy recently acted on President Donald Trump's 2025 executive order requiring it to consider sunsetting many energy regulations, the DOE has not proposed phasing out efficiency standards for appliances and industrial equipment — but it could pursue other approaches to ease such requirements, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

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    Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five recent rulings from cases involving allegations of internet data misuse, consumer fraud claims, immigration, insurance and First Amendment violation claims.

  • Justices' FCC Fine Ruling May Weaken Agency Leverage

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T upheld the commission's forfeiture framework as consistent with Jarkesy, but it is also likely to reduce the effectiveness of the commission’s forfeiture proceedings as a collection and deterrence tool, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Takeaways From 1st Del. Ruling Applying Moelis Amendments

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    Delaware corporations should carefully review contractual arrangements and governance documents following the Court of Chancery's recent enforcement of a non-Delaware forum selection clause in a CEO's employment agreement under 2024 amendments to the state's General Corporation Law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Ill. Law Firm MSO Bill Clashes With Court Power, Ethics Rules

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    An Illinois bill prohibiting law firms from certain business arrangements with management service organizations, sent to the governor for signature last week, encroaches upon the courts' constitutional powers and goes beyond the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct in regulating investment in law-related services, says Matthew O’Hara at Smith Gambrell.

  • Google Antitrust Case Puts Spotlight On De Facto Exclusivity

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    Mozilla's recent amicus filing in U.S. v. Google arguing that its agreement to make Google the default search engine did not amount to de facto exclusivity highlights the growing debate over traditional indicators of exclusivity, with implications for any business that uses rebates, preferred contracts or volume incentives, says Chris Gowen at WilmU Farnan School of Law.

  • Justices' Montgomery Ruling Doesn't Expand Shipper Liability

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    Whether negligent hiring liability claims against shippers will increase after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II is anyone's guess, but the ruling itself will have no impact on shippers' actual liability in personal injury claims relating to trucking accidents, says Ronald Leibman at McCarter & English.

  • GHG Rescission Undermines State Climate Suit Preemption

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    As the U.S. Supreme Court considers the fate of state climate litigation in Suncor Energy Inc. v. Boulder County, it must confront the fact that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its greenhouse gas endangerment finding has also removed the foundation for federal preemption of state climate suits, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • Constructing AI Compliance Plans As State Laws Diverge

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    With Colorado, Connecticut and the federal government recently announcing wildly different approaches to artificial intelligence regulation, creating a workable compliance program means addressing overlapping obligations using shared systems rather than separate silos, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • How McDonnell Still Shapes Bribery Defense Strategy

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    The pending federal bribery allegations against Washington, D.C., Council member Trayon White Sr. highlight for defense counsel the importance of overcoming the “official act” requirement established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McDonnell v. U.S., and juries' critical role in distinguishing between official and unofficial acts, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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