Public Policy

  • October 14, 2025

    Ore. Tax Court Denies Break For Land Claimed As Woodlot

    An Oregon landowner could not prove that a portion of a parcel was used as a woodlot that would qualify for a property tax break, the state tax court ruled, noting that the standard for that classification was not clear.

  • October 14, 2025

    Calif. Allows Extended Property Tax Relief After LA Fires

    California property owners affected by several fires in Los Angeles County in January will have extended property tax relief under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • October 14, 2025

    Calif. Gov. Vetoes Regulation Of AI In Employment Decisions

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required businesses to make sure humans reviewed termination and disciplinary decisions made by artificial intelligence tools, calling the legislation "overly broad."

  • October 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Weighs Taking 'Novel' ICE Detainee Labor Appeal

    A Second Circuit panel mulled Tuesday if it should consider on an interlocutory basis if the New York Labor Law covers a class of detainees who allege they were underpaid by a for-profit company that manages a Buffalo-area immigration detention facility.

  • October 14, 2025

    Justices Decline 7th Amendment Review In Calif. Pot Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a case arguing that the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial in civil cases should apply in instances of local law enforcement issuing penalties for alleged illicit marijuana cultivation.

  • October 14, 2025

    High Court Won't Hear FDA Stem Cell Regulation Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a circuit court holding that a stem cell treatment derived from a patient's own tissue is subject to Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act regulations.

  • October 13, 2025

    Fla. Judge Won't Block Trump Library Land Transfer Yet

    A Florida state judge punted Monday on a bid to temporarily block the transfer of roughly three acres of land Miami Dade College gave to the state to build the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, saying the plaintiff needed to present more evidence to back up his request.

  • October 10, 2025

    Ex-Trump Ally Felix Sater Liable In Money Laundering Trial

    A bank and a Kazakh city won $52 million in New York federal court over claims that real estate financier and former Donald Trump ally Felix Sater skimmed money while helping others launder tens of millions of dollars, according to the plaintiffs. 

  • October 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Flouting 'Imperial Judiciary' Warning, Judges Assert

    A large contingent of Ninth Circuit judges accused colleagues Friday of ignoring recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions limiting legal remedies in politically charged disputes, adding fresh fuel to a heated debate over the judiciary's handling of suits against the Trump administration.

  • October 10, 2025

    4th Circ. Denies Shutdown-Based Stay In DOGE Access Case

    A Fourth Circuit panel has refused to grant the government more time to respond to several major unions' petition for an en banc rehearing regarding the panel's split August decision granting the Department of Government Efficiency access to personal data that is held by several federal agencies.

  • October 10, 2025

    Delta, Aeromexico Say USDOT Erred In Blocking Partnership

    Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico have asked the Eleventh Circuit to vacate the U.S. Department of Transportation's order terminating approval of their joint venture and ordering them to dismantle it by January, according to a petition for review posted to the case docket Friday.

  • October 10, 2025

    Federal Worker Unions Press For Immediate Block Of Layoffs

    Unions representing federal workers urged a California federal court Friday to immediately block the Trump administration from laying off workers amid the government shutdown as the administration acknowledged it had begun issuing reduction-in-force notices to thousands of employees.

  • October 10, 2025

    SG Tells Justices Courts Should Defer To BIA On Persecution

    Solicitor General D. John Sauer has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to find that courts should defer to Board of Immigration Appeals' determinations on whether asylum seekers suffered persecution or the threat of persecution back home, arguing that it's a factual analysis that appellate courts are "ill-equipped to handle."

  • October 10, 2025

    Ill. AG, Retailers Will Split Swipe-Fee Law's Defense At Hearing

    A Chicago federal judge has agreed to allow a coalition of merchant groups to take part in a key hearing later this month that could decide a banking industry legal challenge to the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, a law banning swipe fees on tax and tip payments.

  • October 10, 2025

    FAIR Sues LAPD, LA Sheriff's Dept. Over ICE Records Delays

    A conservative nonprofit that advocates for reductions in immigration sued the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Friday, saying they have not properly responded to open records requests seeking their communications related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

  • October 10, 2025

    5th Circ.'s FDIC Ruling 'Cries Out' For Review, Ex-CEO Says

    A former Texas bank CEO has asked the full Fifth Circuit to revive his constitutional challenge to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s in-house enforcement process, arguing that a recent panel decision to reject his case as premature "cries out" for review.

  • October 10, 2025

    SEC's Atkins Commits To Expanding Use Of Wells Process

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins plans to refresh the agency's Wells process of engaging with firms ahead of potential enforcement actions, saying he intends for the agency to be more forthcoming with investigative findings and provide more time and opportunities to respond to these findings.

  • October 10, 2025

    AI Company Wants Justices' Input On 'Interested Party' Ruling

    Percipient.ai urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review an en banc Federal Circuit ruling limiting who qualifies as an interested party eligible to protest an alleged statutory violation committed by the government in connection with a procurement at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. 

  • October 10, 2025

    DOJ Can't Pause Review Of UnitedHealth Deal Amid Shutdown

    A Maryland federal judge rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's bid to stay its recently settled case with UnitedHealth over the company's merger with Amedisys because of the government shutdown and lapse in appropriations, ruling that a stay would impede the DOJ's ability to evaluate the public interest in the settlement.

  • October 10, 2025

    AstraZeneca Strikes 'Most Favored Nation' Price Deal

    Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Friday cut a deal with the Trump administration to reduce drug prices in the United States, agreeing to provide its medications for Medicaid beneficiaries at discount prices.

  • October 10, 2025

    FERC's $1B Penalties Would Doom Energy Co., NC Judge Told

    An energy efficiency aggregator told a North Carolina federal judge that it will go out of business without an order blocking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from imposing nearly $1 billion in penalties against it for alleged market manipulation and tariff violations.

  • October 10, 2025

    Senate Passes $925B Defense Bill, Ends Military Force In Iraq

    The U.S. Senate approved a $924.7 billion defense policy and budget bill for 2026 late Thursday evening, which includes an amendment that would formally end Congress' decades-old authorizations for the use of military force in Iraq.

  • October 10, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Voting Rights & Warrantless Entries

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return Tuesday to hear oral arguments in four cases, including a dispute over the constitutionality of the last remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act and whether federal prisoners seeking postconviction relief are subject to the same rules as state inmates.

  • October 10, 2025

    Calif. Panel Says City's Affordable Housing Map Is Flawed

    A California appellate court has revived a lawsuit brought by developers challenging Redondo Beach's plans to develop lower- and moderate-income housing, ruling on Friday the city's map for the plans violates state law.

  • October 10, 2025

    GOP Reps Back Legality Of Trump Birthright Citizenship Order

    Eighteen Republican lawmakers on Friday told the U.S. Supreme Court the Trump administration is right to assert that the 14th Amendment was never meant to confer birthright citizenship to the children of parents who are in the country without legal authorization.

Expert Analysis

  • How The Genius Act May Aid In Fight Against 'Pig Butchering'

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    ​​​​​​​The recently enacted Genius Act represents a watershed moment in the fight against crypto fraud, providing new tools to freeze and recover funds that are lost to scams such as "pig butchering" schemes executed from scam factories abroad, but there are implementation challenges to watch, say attorneys at Treanor Devlin.

  • Assessing Strategies For Mixed-Use Pro Sports Projects

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    Counsel managing mixed-use sports and entertainment districts must combine expertise ranging from stadium-arena finance to municipal law to public relations into a unified strategy, and a series of practice tips can aid project management from inception to completion, say attorneys at Katten.

  • Opinion

    Congressional Bid Protest Concerns Lack Evidence

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    The U.S. Government Accountability Office's most recent congressionally mandated report on the bid protest process showed little reason for concern, and underlined that further scrutiny should cease until data is collected that would enable the identification of purported problems, say attorneys at Fox Rothschild.

  • Trending At The PTAB: IPR Memo And Its Fed. Circ. Backdrop

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    There are new rules for when and how evidence other than patents or printed publications can be considered in inter partes reviews, and while this change is intended to reflect current Federal Circuit precedent, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's memo seems to acknowledge tension with last month's Shockwave decision, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Biosolid Contaminants Spawn Litigation, Regulation Risks

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    While nutrient-rich biosolids — aka sewage sludge — can be an attractive fertilizer, pending legislation and litigation spurred by the risk of contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other pollutants should put stakeholders in this industry on guard, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • When Misconduct Can Trigger Bank Industry Employment Ban

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    The Federal Reserve Board recently settled an enforcement action in which a former employee of a Wyoming bank was banned from banking for conduct she allegedly committed at an entity unrelated to the bank, raising questions about the scope of regulatory enforcement authority, says Travis Nelson at Polsinelli.

  • Filing Clarifies FTC, DOJ's Passive Investment Stance

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    The antitrust agencies' statement of interest filed in Texas v. Blackrock clarifies that certain forms of corporate governance engagement are permissible under the "solely for investment" exemption, a move that offers guidance for passive investors but also signals new scrutiny of coordinated engagement, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Lessons From 7th Circ.'s Deleted Chat Sanctions Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in Pable v. Chicago Transit Authority, affirming the dismissal of an ex-employee’s retaliation claims, highlights the importance of properly handling the preservation of ephemeral messages and clarifies key sanctions issues, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • Adapting To USPTO's Tighter Inter Partes Review Rules

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent pivot regarding how it will address general knowledge in inter partes review petitions presents immediate strategic implications for petitioners, patent owners and litigants watching the contours of Patent Trial and Appeal Board practice, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: Liability Lessons From 737 Max Blowout

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    The National Transportation Safety Board's recently released report on the 2024 door plug blowout on board a Boeing 737 Max airliner helps illuminate how a company's strategic mistakes can lead to flawed decision-making and supply chain oversight failures, ultimately increasing regulatory and legal exposure, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Genius Act Sets Stablecoin Standards — Without Regulation E

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    While the Genius Act expressly requires payment stablecoin issuers to be treated as financial institutions for purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act, it is notably silent as to whether they are to be treated as such under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, as implemented by Regulation E, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Breaking Down The Proposed Hemp Bill

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    A proposed bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, recently approved by the House Appropriations Committee, contains a rider that would significantly change the definition of hemp and dramatically reshape the current hemp-derived product market, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Opinion

    Sometimes Int'l Competition Should Trump Antitrust Concerns

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    The U.S. Justice Department's approval of HPE's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks shows that a merger that significantly enhances innovation and competitiveness may serve consumer and national interests despite marginally increasing industry concentration, says John Reeves at Reeves Law.

  • Divest Order Shows How Security Fears Extend CFIUS Scope

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    A recent White House order forcing a Chinese company to divest its 2020 acquisition of a U.S. audiovisual supplier demonstrates the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ growing power to sink foreign transactions over national security concerns — and the enormous risks to U.S. companies from such reviews, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • Art Market Must Prepare For More AML Scrutiny

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    Calls for art market regulation continue to grow, as evidenced by a recently introduced bill that would subject it to the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti-money laundering requirements, so participants should consider adopting basic, risk-based controls, says Jane Levine at The ArtRisk Group.

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