Public Policy

  • January 13, 2026

    House Clears African, Haitian Trade Agreement Extensions

    The U.S. House of Representatives late Monday overwhelmingly approved two bills that would extend regional trade agreements with African nations and Haiti for three years each, with both now headed to the U.S. Senate for approval.

  • January 13, 2026

    Sen. Warren Questions SEC On Crypto In 401(k) Plans

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of a banking committee vote on cryptocurrency market structure legislation, asking how the agency will protect investors as the administration also pushes to broaden access to cryptocurrency in 401(k) retirement plans.

  • January 13, 2026

    Approach The Bench: Judge Bough On Ethics

    Years of experience as a plaintiff's attorney influenced U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough's disclosure rules for litigators appearing in his court.

  • January 13, 2026

    Hemp Co. Accuses Rival Of Using Pot-Based THC, Not Hemp

    Hemp-derived cannabinoid company CCT Sciences LLC is suing a competitor in Florida federal court, alleging that despite the rival's claims of using "natural" hemp-derived THC, it instead uses illegal cannabis derivatives in its products.

  • January 13, 2026

    Md. Bill Would Allow Separate Land, Improvement Tax Rates

    Maryland would authorize local governments to establish subclasses of real property consisting of land and improvements to land and impose separate tax rates for each subclass under legislation set to be considered by the state House of Delegates' Ways and Means Committee.

  • January 12, 2026

    4 Ways DOJ Probe Into Powell Could Be Risky For Trump

    The criminal probe that President Donald Trump's U.S. Department of Justice has opened into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dramatically escalates administration pressure on the central bank, but it is not without significant potential risks for the White House.

  • January 12, 2026

    NY Fights Feds' Stop-Work Orders For Offshore Wind Projects

    New York is challenging a federal order halting construction of two offshore wind projects that are projected to power more than a million homes, saying the Trump administration has not explained why the projects, which both previously passed all safety and environmental reviews, have suddenly presented national security concerns.

  • January 12, 2026

    Dominion Energy Wants $11B Offshore Wind Project Revived

    Dominion Energy has asked a Virginia federal court to block the Trump administration from shutting down work on an $11 billion offshore wind project, arguing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hasn't explained its rationale for the abrupt suspension order, which threatens thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • January 12, 2026

    DC Court Won't Rehear Calif. Tribal Recognition Dispute

    A D.C. federal judge has refused to reconsider his order denying a bid by a group of residents to block a U.S. Department of the Interior decision giving federal recognition to California's Ione Band of Miwok Indians as the tribe completes construction of a casino.

  • January 12, 2026

    5th Circ. Won't Revive TMX's Texas Challenge To $52M Pa. Fine

    An affiliate of consumer lender TMX Finance can't use Texas federal courts to challenge the enforcement of Pennsylvania's consumer lending interest rate cap by the Keystone State's financial regulator, the Fifth Circuit has determined.

  • January 12, 2026

    Energy Dept.'s Blue State Grant Cuts Are Unlawful, Court Says

    President Donald Trump's administration unlawfully canceled hundreds of U.S. Department of Energy grants slated for states whose voters leaned toward former Vice President Kamala Harris in the last election, a D.C. federal judge ruled Monday when finding that the government's decision violates the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee.

  • January 12, 2026

    The Curious, Very Long Delay In A Pioneering Drug Prices Suit

    When Merck & Co. launched a fiery challenge to Medicare's landmark drug price negotiations, it blazed a trail for many similar suits. But 31 months later, the challenge is stalled where it started as Merck begs for a ruling, other suits speed along the path it created and huge costs now seem unavoidable.

  • January 12, 2026

    Attorneys Chastened By Fed. Circ.'s ITC Mixed Deadline Ruling

    A Federal Circuit decision concluding that certain mixed rulings from the U.S. International Trade Commission can generate different appeal deadlines, even when issued in the same document, is a reminder of just how strict courts can be when handling unclear appeal due dates, attorneys told Law360.

  • January 12, 2026

    Trial Opens In Gerrymandering Claims On 4 Fla. Districts

    The coalition of civic groups and Florida residents claiming new congressional and state legislative maps are racially gerrymandered opened their case Monday against the state, putting on an expert witness who proffered alternative maps for the challenged districts.

  • January 12, 2026

    CFPB, DOJ Revoke Lender Guidance On Anti-Immigrant Bias

    The Trump administration is withdrawing Biden-era guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and U.S. Department of Justice that cautioned lenders about refusing to provide credit to immigrant borrowers, saying it believes the withdrawal clarifies that lenders may legally consider immigration status under several circumstances.

  • January 12, 2026

    FirstEnergy Investors Again Push For Class Cert. In Bribe Suit

    FirstEnergy Corp. investors have renewed their bid for class certification in Ohio federal court after the Sixth Circuit decertified the class and found that the district court applied the wrong legal standard, in a case accusing the utility company of bribing Ohio officials to secure a $1 billion bailout of a pair of nuclear plants.

  • January 12, 2026

    The Issues That Could Decide The Tom Goldstein Tax Case

    Federal prosecutors are set to begin making their case against famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer and SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein at trial Wednesday, alleging that he deliberately hid millions of dollars in high-stakes poker winnings from the Internal Revenue Service between 2016 and 2021 and lied on mortgage applications.

  • January 12, 2026

    CFTC Chair Taps Kalshi, Polymarket CEOs To Advisory Panel

    The new chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday said he plans to nominate leaders of prediction market platforms including Polymarket to serve as charter members of a new advisory committee, a day after congressional Democrats pressed him to respond to manipulation threats in the event contract markets.

  • January 12, 2026

    States Fight USDA's Renewed Effort To Cut SNAP Benefits

    A coalition of states has asked a California federal judge to enforce an injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Agriculture from withholding funding from states refusing to share sensitive personal information on food assistance benefit recipients, saying the Trump administration has once again threatened to withhold the funding.

  • January 12, 2026

    Trump Order's Vote-By-Mail Limits Are Unlawful, Judge Rules

    A federal judge in Seattle has barred the Trump administration from enforcing key sections of a March executive order on elections, ruling that the government cannot compel Washington and Oregon to change state deadlines for mail-in ballots or use federal forms requiring proof of citizenship.

  • January 12, 2026

    Sen. Kelly Sues Hegseth Over Alleged Retaliation For Remarks

    Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Monday, urging a D.C. federal court to declare unlawful Hegseth's attempt to reduce the lawmaker's Navy rank over statements reminding service members of their obligation to disregard unlawful orders.

  • January 12, 2026

    5th Circ. Urged Again To Find FCC Subsidy Regime Unlawful

    A conservative think-tank has again launched a Fifth Circuit legal challenge to the federal government's fee regime used to pay for telecommunications subsidies, less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the funding arrangement's constitutionality.

  • January 12, 2026

    House Passes Bill To Double Ch. 7 Trustee Fee

    A bipartisan bill doubling the fixed per-case fees for Chapter 7 trustees is headed to President Donald Trump for a signature, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed it Monday night.

  • January 12, 2026

    Water District Sues Lakewood Over Rezoning Plan

    A Colorado water and sanitation district has accused the city of Lakewood in state court of passing a comprehensive development plan that current water infrastructure capacity would be unable to accommodate, and says it did so without prior consultation, in violation of Colorado statute.

  • January 12, 2026

    Senate Ag Panel Punts Crypto Markup As Banking Pushes On

    Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said Monday that he's delaying a markup on a forthcoming crypto market structure proposal to the end of the month to accommodate further bipartisan negotiations, while the Senate Banking Committee said it still intends to hold its own markup. 

Expert Analysis

  • Sports Gambling Scrutiny Expands Risks For Teams, Leagues

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    The Minnesota attorney general recently sent warning letters to 14 website operators for offering what the state considers illegal online gambling, demonstrating why the sports industry, including teams and leagues, should ask critical questions about organizational compliance, internal controls and potential criminal liability, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • The CFTC's Road Ahead Under Newly Confirmed Chair

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    Michael Selig's Dec. 18 confirmation as U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair comes at a critical juncture, as the agency is poised to gain oversight over the crypto industry and increase its jurisdictional mandate covering prediction markets, says Elizabeth Lan Davis at Davis Wright.

  • How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement

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    As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high level, but they can also present legal, ethical and operational risks that must be proactively managed, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: A Reset, A Shift And A Preview Of '26

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    With major proposals withdrawn and new priorities emerging, forthcoming U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposals in 2026 will look to reshape how digital assets are regulated, recalibrate market structure and simplify how small companies go public, says Christopher Grobbel at Goodwin.

  • Changes In Crypto, Cybersecurity Defined NY Banking In 2025

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    The major takeaways from 2025 in New York banking policy involve updated guidance, regulations and requirements primarily affecting innovation and digital banking, in areas such as cybersecurity, virtual currencies, and buy now, pay later programs, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Opinion

    Justices Should Clarify Loper Bright Doctrine Via Patent Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should use the Lynk Labs v. Samsung patent case to provide urgently needed guidance on how last year’s Loper Bright decision should be applied to real-world questions of agency authority in the post-Chevron world, says Timothy Hsieh at Oklahoma City University School of Law.

  • How OECD Tax Update Tackles Mobile Workforce Complexity

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    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recently updated model tax convention — a recalibration of international tax principles in response to an increasingly mobile workforce — should prompt companies to reevaluate cross-border operations, transfer pricing policies and tax controversy strategies, say attorneys at Eversheds.

  • Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

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    2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • 2025 Legal Milestones That Will Shape Psychedelics Sector

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    As 2025 draws to a close, psychedelic drug development stands at an inflection point, experiencing unprecedented momentum through recent sweeping regulatory changes and landmark clinical milestones, amid rapidly evolving regulatory expectations, say Odette Hauke at Odette Alina LLC and Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

  • M&A Midmarket Shows Resilience Amid 2025 Challenges

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    Midmarket mergers and acquisitions showed a slight decline in volume but climbed in value for much of 2025, particularly in the private equity space, indicating that the middle market M&A environment is cautious but steady heading into 2026, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.

  • Del. Dispatch: Key 2025 Corporate Cases And Trends To Know

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    The Delaware corporate legal landscape saw notable changes in 2025, spurred by amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, ubiquitous artificial intelligence fervor, boardroom discussion around DExit, record shareholder activism activity and an arguably more expansive view of potential Caremark liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

  • 2025 Brought A New Paradigm For Federal Banking Regulation

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    A series of thematic shifts defined banking regulation in 2025, including a fundamental reform of prudential supervision, a strategic easing of capital constraints, steps to streamline merger reviews, and a new framework for fair access and entrants seeking to offer banking services, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • What 2025 Transpo And Logistics Legal Trends Mean For 2026

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    2025 was challenging for the transportation and logistics sector, with emergent trends including dramatic federal policy shifts, developments in tort risk, and a host of mergers and acquisitions — but a review of these themes offers a useful playbook for where the industry is headed in 2026, says Jonathan Todd at Benesch.

  • How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

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    Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

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