Public Policy

  • October 21, 2026

    Trucking Group Tells DC Circ. Fee System Doesn't Deliver

    A trucking trade group is challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's interstate motor carrier fees for 2027, claiming in a new D.C. Circuit petition that the agency never lawfully established the fee-setting system by regulation.

  • October 21, 2026

    Lumos Urges FCC To Preempt Local Project Reviews

    Lumos Fiber says there are counties in Ohio that have so much red tape they're keeping competitive broadband from being deployed there, and it wants the Federal Communications Commission to step in and preempt those rules so it can continue with its planned projects.

  • October 21, 2026

    PBM Fee Disclosure Rule Clears White House Review

    A White House budget office has completed review of a rule from the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm that would require new fee disclosures from pharmacy benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drugmakers, pharmacies and insurers.

  • October 21, 2026

    AT&T Asks To Be Freed From California Landline Obligations

    AT&T says it only needs a "modest extension" of the permission the Federal Communications Commission has already given the telecom titan in order to drop its remaining copper line services in California, something state regulators have refused to give the company permission to do.

  • October 21, 2026

    Chicago Mayor Pitches Return Of $25-Per-Worker Corp. Tax

    The mayor of Chicago released a $17.6 billion budget plan Wednesday that includes the return of a tax on corporations for every employee at large firms, as well as increasing tax rates on sports betting and leased property.

  • October 21, 2026

    Feds Say High Court Ruling Forecloses Haiti TPS Challenge

    The Trump administration asked a D.C. federal judge on Tuesday to end a suit challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, suggesting there is nothing left to litigate following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case.

  • October 21, 2026

    Ex-Arizona Recorder Urges High Court To Drop Voter ID Case

    A former recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona, says the Supreme Court should dismiss the Republican National Committee's challenge to two state voting laws as improvidently granted, telling the justices that the case is an improper vehicle for deciding provisions of the National Voter Registration Act.

  • October 21, 2026

    Allegheny County Passes 12-Week Paid Parental Leave

    Pennsylvania's second-most populous county approved what worker advocates said was the first county-mandated paid parental leave policies in the U.S.

  • October 21, 2026

    6th Circ. Weighs First Amendment Right To Court Videos

    Modern technology necessitates updated court-access rules, a representative for a University of Michigan professor told a Sixth Circuit panel Wednesday, saying that citizens should have access to audio and video recordings of public court proceedings in addition to written transcripts.

  • October 21, 2026

    Prison Union Fights BOP's Emergency Bid To Ax Labor Deal

    The Bureau of Prisons' push to immediately terminate its collective bargaining agreement does not constitute an emergency, a prison guards union argued Wednesday, urging a Connecticut federal judge to reject the agency's request to fast-track its bid to end the contract.

  • October 21, 2026

    Squire Patton Lands Akerman's Public Finance Co-Leader

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP announced Wednesday that it has added the co-chair of Akerman LLP's public finance group to bolster its capacity to handle public finance, healthcare finance and other matters.

  • October 21, 2026

    Forced Labor Tariff Lacks Justification, Biz Group Tells Court

    Near-worldwide tariffs deployed by the U.S. government to address imports produced with forced labor should be considered unlawful given that the underlying report for those measures fails to meet statutory requirements, a coalition of small businesses told the U.S. Court of International Trade.

  • October 21, 2026

    OPM's DOGE Data Access Was Unlawful, Judge Says

    The U.S. Office of Personnel Management unlawfully gave employees associated with the Department of Government Efficiency "broad" access to the sensitive personal information of millions of current and former federal workers, a New York federal judge has ruled.

  • October 21, 2026

    Trade Court Blesses Retroactive Korean Steel Duty Findings

    The U.S. Court of International Trade adopted a Federal Circuit reversal directing the court to allow the U.S. Department of Commerce to adjust its countervailable duty rate for a South Korean steel manufacturer by reconsidering earlier determinations.

  • October 21, 2026

    EU Says Trump's Russia Sanctions Waiver Weakens Pressure

    The European Commission said President Donald Trump's executive action waiving tariffs and economic sanctions against Russia last week was "regrettable" and would impede international pressures to end the country's war with Ukraine.

  • October 21, 2026

    Meta Owes $25B After NM Data Privacy Trial

    A New Mexico judge ruled Wednesday that Meta must pay $25 billion for the "systematically broadcast" lies the social media giant offered the public regarding its data privacy practices, including in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

  • October 21, 2026

    High Court Lets Block On Prison Gender Care Ban Stand

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed federal prisons to continue to offer gender transition medical services to incarcerated people.

  • October 21, 2026

    ​​​​​​​Mamdani Taps Top Judicial Adviser Amid New Ethics Reforms

    New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that he has appointed a lawyer from the New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice to lead his judicial advisory committee as the mayor's office unveils new reforms to the city's judicial selection process.

  • October 21, 2026

    Sen. Blackburn Clears Path For Trump's Tenn. Court Nominee

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has returned her blue slip for a judicial nominee for the Eastern District of Tennessee after an apparent delay.

  • October 21, 2026

    OCC Finalizes Stablecoin Rules, Drops Disputed Yield Plan

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday finalized its rules for stablecoin issuers under its purview, issuing a 700-page document expected to set the baseline for other federal and state stablecoin frameworks.

  • October 20, 2026

    'Petulant' Attorney Behavior Requires New Trial, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial Friday for a woman who was halted while speaking at a Louisiana local council meeting, saying defense lawyers for two council members threw "a skunk into the jury box" with a bevy of improper maneuvers.

  • October 20, 2026

    States' Suit Over Trump Energy EO Sparks Broader Questions

    A Washington federal judge considering the Trump administration's bid to dismiss a multistate challenge to an executive order declaring a national energy emergency said Tuesday that the case highlights a broader dilemma: how courts should handle litigation based on "a single executive directive that sets in motion hundreds of agency decisions."  

  • October 20, 2026

    CFTC's Selig Says Agency Is Building AI To Police Markets

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig spoke to an audience in Washington, D.C., Tuesday about his agency's use of artificial intelligence, whether regulations adopted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis had gone "too far" and how he is pressing ahead with crypto rules despite Congress' inability to pass regulations before the midterm elections.

  • October 20, 2026

    Meta Wins Stay Of Wash. Ad Case Amid High Court Cert. Bid

    A Washington state judge on Tuesday granted Meta Platforms Inc.'s request to pause a permanent injunction requiring "full compliance" with a state political advertising disclosure law, agreeing to put the requirement on hold while the company asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law's constitutionality.

  • October 20, 2026

    Feds Offer Up-Front Payments For Fraud Whistleblower Tips

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced the creation of a whistleblower incentive program offering up-front monetary awards for tips that lead to criminal fraud charges.

Expert Analysis

  • Conn. Insurers Should Prepare To Explain Premium Hikes

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    As of Jan. 1, Connecticut insurers must provide a reasonable explanation for personal risk insurance premium increases upon policyholder request, and thus should familiarize themselves with a recent bulletin that prescribes the details, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Where The 3 Prediction Market Appellate Rulings Diverge

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    Although the recent Third, Sixth and Ninth Circuit opinions concerning prediction markets overlap on some issues, they differ on key statutory questions, deepening a circuit split over both the classification of sports event contracts and the scope of federal preemption, says Levi Giovanetto at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    California's financial regulators spent the third quarter of 2026 focusing on consumer protection enforcement at home while resisting federal efforts to displace state oversight — reinforcing the state's intention to shape the compliance landscape for institutions operating within its borders despite federal deregulatory trends, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • DOJ's Unusual Warning Puts Protests In FARA Crosshairs

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent atypical press release about Foreign Agents Registration Act liability may signal greater scrutiny of public demonstrations and foreign-directed advocacy — but it does not change the statutory requirements for companies and individuals, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Changing Strategies To Protect Your Autonomous AI's IP

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    After Insilico recently named only human inventors on a patent application for an autonomous artificial intelligence's drug discovery, companies should take concrete steps to preserve the strongest possible intellectual property protection for AI-assisted work, including documenting human contributions and strengthening trade secret controls, says Stephen Ball at Husch Blackwell.

  • How States May Enter The Shareholder Proposal Landscape

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    Rescission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shareholder proposal rule doesn't herald the end of shareholder activism, but it allows state legislatures to play a central role in determining the future of shareholder proposals, with that uncertainty creating new opportunities for both issuers and activists, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • Series

    Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

  • Why And How To Build A Neurodiversity-Informed Practice

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    By better understanding neurodiversity and implementing simple accommodations for clients with autism, ADHD or learning differences, attorneys can build stronger relationships with those who may otherwise struggle to obtain and benefit from legal services, while developing good habits that will benefit everyone they represent, says Ting Cheung at Sanford Heisler.

  • Series

    Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    Recent banking developments in Illinois include significant new consumer protection legislation, three meaningful Seventh Circuit decisions, and a high-profile constitutional challenge to the state's new digital asset tax, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • How FTC Win Charts A Court-1st Merger Litigation Playbook

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    A New York federal court's recent decision blocking Henkel's acquisition of Liquid Nails marked a decisive trial win for the Federal Trade Commission, and tips for merging parties in similar transactions now include preparing for full-blown federal litigation, including a complete evidentiary trial, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • How SEC Is Changing The Shareholder Proposal Landscape

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to place its shareholder proposal rule at the center of its agenda, now with a newly proposed rule that would rescind it entirely, showcasing an agency seeking to narrow its overall focus, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • NLRB Memo Signals Narrower View Of Protected Activism

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    A recent National Labor Relations Board memo concluding that Microsoft lawfully discharged two employees who conducted a pro-Palestinian protest on company property indicates that the current NLRB general counsel may take a more restrictive view of when political or social advocacy qualifies as protected activity, say attorneys at Franczek.

  • What Insurers Need To Know About 2 New California Laws

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two measures last week that while addressing distinct issues — catastrophe claims handling and insurers' corrective actions, respectively — reflect similar themes, including insurers' preparation before problems arise, transparency while they are being addressed, and meaningful remediation afterward, says Lucy Wang at Hinshaw.

  • Opinion

    PTAB Panels Should Revamp Their IPR Merits Decisions

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    In light of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires' recent announcement about returning merits institution determinations to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the implementing framework should strengthen PTAB panels' responsibility for the benefit of both petitioners and patent owners, says Brandon Theiss at AddyHart.

  • FCC Covered List Is Pushing Limits Of Supply Chain Scrutiny

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    Companies outside the traditional telecommunications sector may now need to factor the Federal Communications Commission's equipment authorization requirements into supply chain compliance as the FCC covered list continues to expand as a national security tool, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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