Public Policy

  • October 06, 2026

    DOD Seeks 1st Circ. Relief Over Fee Award In Grant Cap Case

    The U.S. Department of Defense is appealing a Massachusetts federal court's decision awarding attorney fees to an academic organization that helped successfully argue that the department's cap on reimbursing indirect costs from universities' grant-funded research was unlawful.

  • October 06, 2026

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Monopoly Suit Setback, Historic Deal

    The North Carolina Business Court rounded the corner into fall with a setback for residents in an antitrust class action, a historic settlement in "forever chemical" contamination litigation and a raft of new restrictive covenant complaints.

  • October 06, 2026

    Wrestler Asks Justices To Shield Her From Trans Opponents

    A high school wrestler asked the U.S. Supreme Court for emergency relief protecting her from competing against female-identifying students who are biologically male, after she said one such opponent sexually assaulted her during a match.

  • October 06, 2026

    Fed To Realign Bank Supervision Into 5 State-Based Regions

    The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official said Tuesday that the central bank is overhauling how it manages its nationwide supervision operations, laying out plans for a reorganization aimed at streamlining the chain of command for its bank examination work.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Wary Of Hikvision Appeal Over FCC Device Denials

    Chinese device-maker Hikvision hoped to convince the D.C. Circuit Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission doesn't have the authority to strip a company's existing authorizations for national security reasons, but the judges did not seem persuaded.

  • October 06, 2026

    1st Circ. Sees Gaps In Order Halting RFK's Vaccine Advisers

    A First Circuit panel on Tuesday puzzled over aspects of a lower court's order staying Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointments to a vaccine policy committee, with one judge saying he can't tell what authority the order was based on.

  • October 06, 2026

    Cato, NRA Back Review Of Gun Ban For Nonviolent Felons

    Some four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a gun ownership ban for drug users is unconstitutional as applied to a marijuana user, gun rights advocates are urging the high court to expand the finding to those convicted of nonviolent marijuana crimes.

  • October 06, 2026

    Colo. Developer Says Town Reversed Course On Sewer Taps

    The developer of a tiny home community just outside a Colorado mountain town has told a federal judge that the town refuses to process the community's wastewater and won't issue new tap permits to new properties despite approving more than a dozen prior to the dispute.

  • October 06, 2026

    Calif. Tribe Says Kalshi Evades Tribal Sports Betting Bans

    A Southern California tribe warned the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that a recent Third Circuit decision blocking New Jersey from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi could threaten tribes' exclusive rights to regulate gambling on their reservations.

  • October 06, 2026

    FCC Threats Loom Like 'Guillotine,' ABC Tells Court

    ABC argued during intense questioning from a D.C. federal judge Tuesday that a Federal Communications Commission probe of eight network-owned TV stations needs to end, because the agency's threats hang like a "guillotine" that could be cut loose at any time.

  • October 06, 2026

    Texas Justices Leery Of Banning AI Deposition Transcripts

    Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant to bar attorneys outright from using artificial intelligence voice transcription software during depositions, pointing out Tuesday that multiple safeguards exist to ensure accuracy.

  • October 06, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs Hybrid Test For Categorizing Sex Offenders

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday joined its sister circuits and adopted a "hybrid" framework to determine a sex offender's appropriate category under a federal registry law by looking at the text of state laws used to charge an offender, and weighing facts from the case.

  • October 06, 2026

    Chicago Woman Sues Over Shooting By Border Patrol Agent

    A Chicago woman who was shot five times by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during an immigration enforcement operation last year sued the federal government Monday, alleging that the agent deliberately struck her car and shot her without justification while she was alerting her neighbors to the officers' presence.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ábrego García Deportation Hearing Abruptly Scrapped

    A hearing on the Trump administration's monthslong bid to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to Liberia was abruptly scrapped Tuesday afternoon, and attorneys on both sides declined to say why.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ariz. Tribe Seeks Emergency Stop To Border Wall In DC Circ.

    The Tohono O'odham Nation is asking the D.C. Circuit for an emergency injunction pending appeal to block construction of a border wall on its Arizona reservation, telling the appellate court that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security intends to start construction as early as Monday.

  • October 06, 2026

    Farmers Strike Deal With Insurer To End Crop Loss Dispute

    Two tobacco farmers in North Carolina have settled their suit seeking to recoup the cost of arbitration proceedings and other damages from a crop insurance provider accused of trying to halve their recovery for crop-related losses, federal court records show.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Tells FCC To Respond In Fox Philly License Case

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday ordered the Federal Communications Commission to respond to an advocacy group's petition for court action to compel full commission review of a staff order that tossed a challenge to Fox TV's Philadelphia broadcast license.

  • October 06, 2026

    10th Circ. Revives Prosecution Of Utah Psilocybin Church

    The Tenth Circuit has revived a state court prosecution against a Utah church that uses the psychedelic psilocybin as a sacrament, saying the enforcement action did not violate religious freedoms and a lower district judge erred by halting it.

  • October 06, 2026

    3rd Circ. Judge Faces Ethics Complaint For Managing PR Firm

    A pair of U.S. senators from Delaware have filed an ethics complaint with the Third Circuit raising concerns over U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott's purported operation of a public affairs agency, months after she was officially confirmed to the appellate court.

  • October 06, 2026

    Ex-FBI Analyst Says Bove Ordered Illegal Protester Probe

    A former FBI agent has come forward with a claim that when U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove was at the U.S. Department of Justice, he directed the Los Angeles field office to illegally investigate protesters.

  • October 06, 2026

    DOL Cancels Proposal To Nix Wage-Hour Guidance

    The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday said it is withdrawing a proposal to remove interpretive rules and policy statements regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act that had not gone through notice-and-comment rulemaking.

  • October 06, 2026

    USTR Keeps China Tariffs After Industry Push For Extension

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday announced the continuation of tariffs on some $50 billion worth of Chinese goods installed during President Donald Trump's first term after domestic businesses requested they be extended.

  • October 06, 2026

    Judge Newman Gets Suspension Fight Moved To 11th Circ.

    Chief Justice John Roberts has transferred the Federal Circuit's investigation of suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to the Eleventh Circuit, the latter court said Tuesday.

  • October 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Probes NewsGuard Over Harm From FTC Orders

    A D.C. Circuit panel probed an attorney for NewsGuard on Tuesday about the kind of harm a Federal Trade Commission investigation and merger settlement in the advertising industry caused the news ratings group.

  • October 06, 2026

    Cos. Say Trade Court Can Issue Nationwide Tariff Refunds

    The U.S. Court of International Trade has nationwide jurisdiction over matters involving trade laws, which should give it authority to order tariff refunds for importers that paid the unlawful duties whether or not they filed their own challenge at the trade court, businesses told the Federal Circuit.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: A Shift In The Pricing Disclosure Terrain

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    Recent state and Federal Trade Commission developments spotlight materially different ways in which personalized pricing might be addressed, which could result in an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape in which businesses face differing disclosure obligations and substantive restrictions depending upon the jurisdiction, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

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    The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Compliance Lessons From Agriculture Co. Mexican Bribe DPA

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    Agricultural company Scoular’s recently announced deferred prosecution agreement over alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations at the U.S.-Mexico border reinforces the U.S. Department of Justice’s focus on cartels, and companies must accordingly ensure they address risks associated with the use of customs brokers, says Adam Safwat at Foley Hoag.

  • OpenAI Deal Highlights AI Hiring Risks In PERM Process

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement of allegations that OpenAI discriminated against U.S. applicants for positions connected to the permanent labor certification process underscores that employers providing or using artificial intelligence must align their recruitment practices with their overlapping compliance obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • 5 Practice Tips After DOJ's Healthcare Fraud Declination

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to not prosecute Campus Eye Management under the agency's new corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy, healthcare companies should keep several considerations in mind when weighing their risk and self-disclosure strategy, including the distinctions between reporting to the DOJ versus other government agencies, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • What Bulk-Power Gear Import EO Means For US Energy Cos.

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    Though President Donald Trump's recent executive order restricting imports of foreign-produced bulk-power system electrical equipment imposes no immediate obligations on private parties, stakeholders can take near-term steps to mitigate supply chain and contractual risks, as much of the order's ultimate impact will depend on implementing regulations, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Assessing The Early Days Of Woodcock's SEC Tenure

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    Since David Woodcock took over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement four months ago, the division has pursued a scaled-back caseload centered on fraud and manipulative conduct, largely following the enforcement outlook that emerged under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • AI And AML: Rulemakings Lean Into Responsible Innovation

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    Recent federal rulemaking increasingly supports deployment of artificial intelligence tools for anti-money laundering compliance purposes, and institutions that build clear use and governance frameworks will be best positioned to defend programs when AI systems err, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Series

    Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

  • Unpacking Texas' New Grid Reliability Rules For Data Centers

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ recently effective technical and compliance obligations, designed to prevent data centers and other large energy customers from causing cascading outages when they go offline, will challenge facilities to develop equipment and protocols to help protect the grid, says Casey Bell at Balch & Bingham.

  • Opinion

    Md. Court Got Ad Tax Similarity Analysis Wrong

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    Decisions striking Maryland’s digital advertising tax are fundamentally flawed because the Maryland Tax Court found similarity between digital ads and other ads without considering deep market distinctions, says Darien Shanske at UC Davis School of Law.

  • Opinion

    NC Litigation Funding Ban Sets Model For Other States

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    States worried about rising liability costs and the commercialization of their courts should treat North Carolina's recently enacted litigation funding ban as a model because a prohibition adequately addresses the distortion that disclosure only documents, say attorneys at McAngus Goudelock.

  • The Future Of DOL Judge Removal Challenges After Slaughter

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. Slaughter calls into question whether U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judges exercising significant governmental authority remain insulated from presidential removal, but the answer depends on the governing statute, its severability provisions and other factors, says Mark Ishu at Conn Maciel.

  • DOJ Executive Privilege Opinion Portends 3rd-Party Dilemmas

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    The recent opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel concluding that executive privilege can shield the president's communications with private advisers may lead to interbranch disputes, and companies must come up with a response plan now before they’re caught in the middle, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Planning For The Impact Of FinCEN's CTA Rollback

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    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent rollback of Corporate Transparency Act reporting obligations should reduce compliance costs, but its plans to revisit customer due diligence rules should prompt companies and financial institutions to reassess state beneficial ownership programs, say attorneys at Sidley.

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