Public Policy

  • January 13, 2026

    Voting Rights Orgs., Ill. Voters Ask To Fight DOJ Records Suit

    Voter and immigrant advocacy groups are seeking, alongside individual voters, to step in to fight the U.S. government's legal pursuit of unredacted voter registration records from Illinois election officials, saying they can more appropriately defend the suit given the privacy rights and interests at stake.

  • January 13, 2026

    Landmark To Pay $95K To End Wash.'s Patent Troll Claims

    A patent assertion entity has reached a tentative deal with Washington state to settle a high-profile lawsuit in federal court accusing the company of violating the state's Patent Troll Prevention Act by filing bad faith infringement claims against small businesses.

  • January 13, 2026

    Minn. Protesters Seek Bar On 'Widespread' Excessive Force

    Six Minnesota protesters and observers allegedly harassed by federal immigration officers urged a federal judge at a hearing Tuesday to bar officers deployed in the state from "widespread" constitutional violations, seeking prohibitions on a laundry list of offenses from pepper spraying peaceful protesters to ramming observers with vehicles.

  • January 13, 2026

    San Antonio Slams Tribal Church Rehearing Bid In 5th Circ.

    San Antonio is fighting an attempt by two Native American church members to win a Fifth Circuit rehearing in a case over plans to restore a municipal park, saying a panel of the appeals court broke no new ground in its December opinion that would merit another look.

  • January 13, 2026

    Expert Says Fla. Electoral Maps Are Racially Designed

    An expert witness in a trial over claims that Florida's electoral maps are racially gerrymandered told a three-judge district court panel Tuesday that she found a uniform concentration of Hispanic voters across three congressional districts that was not explained by regional demographics.

  • January 13, 2026

    SEC's Atkins Launches Review Of Corporate Disclosures Reg

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said Tuesday he has directed the Division of Corporation Finance to review the agency's broad regulation covering what qualitative information public companies should disclose in regulatory filings.

  • January 13, 2026

    No Jury Yet In Goldstein Trial, But Celeb Witnesses Possible

    Day two of jury selection in Tom Goldstein's tax and mortgage fraud case wrapped without a jury being seated Tuesday, but did reveal that the government could call celebrities Tobey Maguire and Kevin Hart to the stand.

  • January 13, 2026

    Starbucks Misled Patrons On Coffee Supplier Ethics, Suit Says

    Two consumers are targeting Starbucks for touting "100% Ethical Coffee Sourcing" on product labels despite reports of forced labor and other human rights violations on supplying farms around the world, according to a proposed class action launched in Washington state federal court Tuesday.

  • January 13, 2026

    Fla. AG Sues Nat'l Org. Over Trans Swimmer Policy

    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued U.S. Masters Swimming on Tuesday, accusing the organization of violating Florida law by allowing transgender women to compete with cisgender women in swim meets.

  • January 13, 2026

    Trump Codefendants Seek Legal Fees In Ga. Election Case

    A dozen defendants targeted in the state of Georgia's case alleging unlawful interference in the 2020 presidential election have followed President Donald J. Trump in demanding millions of dollars in legal fees for their efforts fighting the now-dropped charges.   

  • January 13, 2026

    Colo. Asks Judge To Halt USDA's SNAP Pilot Project

    Colorado asked a federal judge Monday to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from forcing the state to comply with the USDA's new pilot project for Supplemental Nutrition Act Program recipients, contending the project is a "targeted attack" against Colorado and otherwise violates federal and state law.

  • January 13, 2026

    USPTO Launches New Pilot For SEP Development

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Tuesday it has created a new pilot program encouraging the development of standard-essential patents by smaller entities.

  • January 13, 2026

    CEO Of Auto Mat Maker WeatherTech Tapped For FTC Spot

    The founder and CEO of automobile accessories-maker WeatherTech, David MacNeil, was nominated to a seat on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission by President Donald Trump, the White House announced Tuesday. 

  • January 13, 2026

    DOJ Again Demands That Pa. Turn Over Voter Data

    The U.S. Department of Justice again demanded that Pennsylvania turn over voters' driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, saying in Pennsylvania federal court that the information is required to be delivered under Title III of the Civil Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act.

  • January 13, 2026

    Atlanta Escapes Suit Alleging Ex-Cop's Sex Assault Of Teen

    The city of Atlanta won't have to face a lawsuit over allegations that a former police officer raped a teenage girl following a vehicular crash after a Georgia federal judge said Monday the victim can't allege the officer's assault was perpetrated as part of city business.

  • January 13, 2026

    Senate Backs Bill Giving Deepfake Porn Victims Right To Sue

    The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that would allow individuals depicted in nonconsensual, artificial intelligence-generated, sexually explicit content to sue and recover damages, backing the bill once again after it stalled in the House in 2024.

  • January 13, 2026

    Financial Aid-Fixing Antitrust Claims Heading To Trial

    An Illinois federal judge refused a bid from the remaining elite private universities accused of fixing financial aid offerings to end the case ahead of trial after accepting the students' view of the market, along with evidence suggesting they paid inflated costs.

  • January 13, 2026

    Green Card Seekers Say Suspensions Are Discriminatory

    A group of 83 immigrants subject to President Donald Trump's travel bans has asked a Maryland federal court to undo an "indefinite" hold on their permanent residency applications, saying the hold amounts to nationality-based discrimination.

  • January 13, 2026

    Astronomers Seek Upper C-Band Coordination With Wireless

    As the U.S. government moves toward an auction of upper C-band airwaves to wireless carriers, the nation's radio astronomers said the carriers should be required to coordinate with observatories to keep mobile services from disrupting their observations in space.

  • January 13, 2026

    DOJ Fights For May Trial Against Agri Stats

    Justice Department attorneys pushed a Minnesota federal judge in oral arguments Tuesday to let them go to trial in May on claims that Agri Stats' protein industry reports help major producers hike prices, arguing they're entitled to leapfrog private plaintiffs and the company cannot toss or winnow their allegations.

  • January 13, 2026

    Sen. Whitehouse Presses AG On Boasberg Complaint Results

    Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., ranking member of the courts panel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the results of the disciplinary complaint she filed against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia when the investigation wraps up.

  • January 13, 2026

    Lawmakers Eye 2-Year Delay On Hemp Ban Implementation

    A bipartisan group of Congress members led by Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., on Tuesday introduced a bill that would delay implementation of a national ban on most hemp products by an additional two years.

  • January 13, 2026

    Rubio Casts Doubt On Habeas For Deported Venezuelans

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a D.C. federal judge there is no realistic way to provide habeas hearings to 137 Venezuelans deported in March after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

  • January 13, 2026

    Blue States Say HHS Conditions Funding On Anti-Trans Bias

    A dozen Democratic state attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, claiming the agency's threat to withhold billions of dollars in funding from states that don't hew to an executive order declaring that gender is immutable conflicts with antidiscrimination law.

  • January 13, 2026

    US Ends TPS for Somalia, Citing Improved Conditions

    The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it's ending a Temporary Protected Status designation for Somalia that has allowed Somalis to live and work in the U.S., after concluding that country is safe enough for them to return.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

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    To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • Investment Advisers Should Stay Apprised Of New AI Risks

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently issued annual examination priorities reiterate a host of regulatory implications for investment advisers using artificial intelligence tools, highlighting that meaningful ongoing due diligence can help mitigate both operational and regulatory surprises amid AI's rapid evolution, says Christopher Mills at Sidley.

  • New Rule Shows NRC Willing To Move Fast To Reform Regs

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    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to forgo public comment and immediately rescind certain rules governing adjudicatory procedures, federal tort claims and disclosure of licensee information signals the agency's intent to accelerate the regulatory streamlining efforts ordered by the president this spring, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • AG Watch: Texas Junk Fee Deal Shows Enforcement Priorities

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent $9.5 million settlement with online travel agency website Booking Holdings for so-called junk fee practices follows a larger trend of state attorneys general who have taken similar action and demonstrates the significant penalties that can follow such allegations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • 10th Circ. Dissent May Light Path For Master Account Access

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    While the Tenth Circuit's majority in Custodia Bank v. Federal Reserve Board recently affirmed Federal Reserve banks' control over master account access, the dissent raised constitutional questions that could support banks seeking master accounts in future litigation, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Calif. AG's No-Poach Case Reflects Tougher Antitrust Stance

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    This month, California’s attorney general resolved the latest enforcement action barring the use of no-poach agreements, underscoring an aggressive antitrust enforcement trend with significant increases in criminal and civil penalties, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • A Look At The Wave Of 2025 Email Marketing Suits In Wash.

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    Since the Washington Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy in April, more than 30 lawsuits have alleged that a broad range of retailers across industries sent emails that violate the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act, but retailers are unlikely to find clear answers yet, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • 3 Defense Strategies For Sporadically Prosecuted Conduct

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    Not to be confused with selective prosecutions, sporadic prosecutions — charging someone for conduct many others do without consequences — can be challenging to defend, but focusing on materiality, prosecutorial motivations and public opinion can be a winning strategy, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • 2025 Noncompete Developments That Led To Inflection Point

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    Employers must reshape their approaches to noncompete agreements following key 2025 developments, including Delaware's rejection of blue-penciling and the proliferation of state wage thresholds, say attorneys at Gunderson Dettmer.

  • Riding The Changing Winds For AI Innovations At The USPTO

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    As recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office moves reshape how artificial intelligence inventions will be examined and put them on firmer eligibility footing, practitioners need to consider how this shift is both an opportunity and a challenge, say Ryan Phelan at Marshall Gerstein and attorney Mark Campagna.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Integrating Practice Groups

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    Enacting unified leadership and consistent client service standards ensures law firm practice groups connect and collaborate around shared goals, turning a law firm merger into a platform for growth rather than a period of disruption, says Brian Catlett at Fennemore Craig.

  • The Tricky Issues Underscoring Prediction Market Regulation

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    Prediction markets are not merely testing the boundaries of commodities law — they are challenging the conventional divisions between gambling regulation and financial market oversight, and in doing so, may reshape both, says Braeden Anderson at Gesmer Updegrove.

  • Nonprofits Face Uncertainty Over Political Activity Rules

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    Two federal court decisions suggesting that the Internal Revenue Service's rules for 501(c)(4) organizations' political activity may be too vague to survive constitutional scrutiny leave nonprofit organizations caught between constitutional limits on government regulation of speech and tax limits on their exempt status, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Opinion

    Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

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    While proposals for limiting the terms of U.S. Supreme Court justices are popular, a steady stream of relatively young, highly marketable ex-justices with unique knowledge and influence entering the marketplace of law and politics could create new problems, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Navigating A Sea Change In Rent Algorithm Regulation

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's proposed settlement of the RealPage lawsuit represents a pivotal moment in the regulation of algorithmic rent-setting, restraining use of these tools amid a growing trend of regulatory limits on use of algorithmic data and methodologies in establishing housing rental prices. say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

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