Public Policy

  • September 22, 2026

    USPTO Announces New AI Chief, Int'l Pilot, Outreach Office

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has a new leader for artificial intelligence, is participating in a pilot program for a global intellectual property recordation system and is launching the latest outreach office. Here's what you need to know.

  • September 22, 2026

    FTC's Ferguson: Don't Fight New Fed. Courts Merger Policy

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson on Tuesday warned companies that fighting the FTC's shift to challenging mergers exclusively in federal court risks making "your life more difficult."

  • September 22, 2026

    CFTC Warns Prediction Platforms Of 'Mention Market' Risks

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday warned prediction market operators that offering wagers on whether a person will say certain words, interact with someone or attend an event comes with heightened manipulation risks that platforms must address before listing.

  • September 22, 2026

    SEC E-Delivery Plan Draws Access Concerns, Enviro Praise

    State regulators, labor unions and at least one member of Congress are among those urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to rethink a proposal that would allow issuers and market intermediaries to default to electronic delivery of investor documents, while Wall Street groups and environmental advocates praised the measure.

  • September 22, 2026

    FDA Must Revisit MiMedx Wound Care Powder Classification

    A Georgia federal judge vacated the Food and Drug Administration's classification of biomedical company MiMedx's wound care treatment as a biological product, which carries heightened regulatory requirements, finding the agency's determination was arbitrary because it had classified similar products as devices.

  • September 22, 2026

    Colo. Hospital Seeks To Toss Meta Pixel Patient Data Suit

    A Colorado hospital system has asked a federal court to toss a proposed class action accusing it of illegally sharing patients' browsing data with Meta through a website tracking tool, arguing the patient who sued failed to show he was harmed and that the conduct does not violate federal wiretapping law.

  • September 22, 2026

    Wash. Appeals Court Revives Colo. Tax Payment Dispute

    Whether intercompany payments count as profit, royalties or taxable management fees is a disputed question of fact, a Washington state appellate panel said Tuesday, ordering back to a trial court a dispute over whether a Colorado company and its affiliates owe Washington's business and occupation tax.

  • September 22, 2026

    Pa. Gov., Legislators Must Face Public-Defense Funding Suit

    A divided Pennsylvania appeals court has allowed a petition filed against the commonwealth's top political leaders to proceed, granting a path forward for the claims that chronic underfunding of public defender offices has led to indigent criminal defendants receiving ineffective legal assistance.

  • September 22, 2026

    Trump Admin Sued Over $289M In Soon-To-Lapse CDFI Funds

    A business advocacy group has sued the Trump administration, seeking to force it to distribute over $289 million in congressionally appropriated funds meant to support community development financial institutions before the funds lapse at the end of the month.

  • September 22, 2026

    Trump Admin Asks Justices To Curb Noncitizen Habeas Relief

    The Trump administration implored the U.S. Supreme Court to cure a circuit split over noncitizens filing habeas petitions to challenge their detention during pending removal proceedings, warning of "intolerable disuniformity" in how the Immigration and Nationality Act is administered.

  • September 22, 2026

    DC Circ. Nixes Congressional Veto Over Capitol Protests

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday deemed regulations barring demonstrations on the U.S. Capitol building's Eastern steps without a congressional sponsor unconstitutional, holding that the government cannot "pick and choose" who gets to use the space for protected speech.

  • September 22, 2026

    RI Judge Vacates Feds' Noncitizen Benefit Restrictions

    New York and other states applauded a Rhode Island federal judge's finding that the Trump administration flouted rulemaking requirements when it reinterpreted a 30-year-old welfare reform bill to try to subject a slew of federally funded benefit programs to immigration status verification requirements.

  • September 22, 2026

    DOJ Says Fired NCUA Members Aren't Like Fed Officials

    The U.S. Department of Justice is urging the D.C. Circuit to reverse a district court order reinstating ousted National Credit Union Administration board members, arguing Congress didn't impose presidential removal restrictions on the NCUA and that the agency isn't analogous to the Federal Reserve.

  • September 22, 2026

    Telecom Looks To Retire Legacy Phone Lines In NH, Maine

    A regional telecom provider has asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve a technology transition that would let the company switch out legacy systems for internet protocol networks in Maine and New Hampshire.

  • September 22, 2026

    Ga. Leaders Push For Nonpartisan Probate Elections

    Current and former Georgia officials on Tuesday threw their support behind a proposed constitutional amendment that would require probate judges to be elected in nonpartisan elections across the state, saying judges should be assessed on skill instead of politics.

  • September 22, 2026

    Del. High Court Upholds Permanent Absentee Voting Law

    The Delaware Supreme Court has preserved the state's permanent absentee voting law, rejecting two state Senate candidates' argument that the system violates the Delaware Constitution by allowing voters to automatically receive absentee ballots in future elections without reestablishing their eligibility each time.

  • September 22, 2026

    Ex-Charlotte Councilwoman Gets 10 Months For COVID Fraud

    A former city council member in Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in federal prison on one count of wire fraud conspiracy after prosecutors said she submitted sham applications for COVID-19 relief funds with her two daughters.

  • September 22, 2026

    Guatemalan Children's Removal Rights Suit Stays Alive

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday left intact most claims challenging attempts by immigration officials to deport unaccompanied Guatemalan children in federal custody, noting the "hasty attempt" by the government to remove the children without due process or counsel.

  • September 22, 2026

    Blue States Expand Fight Over Trump Offshore Wind Buyouts

    Democratic-led states on Tuesday stepped up their fight against the Trump administration's buyouts of U.S. offshore wind leases, filing a trio of lawsuits that seek to undo payments to developers for abandoning projects on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

  • September 22, 2026

    Commerce On The Lookout For Polysilicon Stockpiling

    The U.S. Department of Commerce is looking to prevent the stockpiling of imported polysilicon and derivative products ahead of tariffs and price floors that will come into effect in December, it said in new rules Tuesday.

  • September 22, 2026

    Law Firm Says Illinois Tollway Owes Limo-Crash Defense Fees

    The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is being sued in Illinois state court by a Chicago law firm claiming the agency has failed to pay attorney fees for its defense in litigation over a catastrophic 2016 limousine crash.

  • September 22, 2026

    Oil Cos. Escape Mich. Climate Change Antitrust Suit

    A federal judge on Tuesday nixed a lawsuit from Michigan accusing global oil and gas giants of conspiring for decades to delay the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, ruling the allegations do not amount to valid antitrust claims.

  • September 22, 2026

    Commerce Sets Zero-Tariff Rules For Specialty Drugs

    Nuclear medicine and animal healthcare drugs are some of the products that will qualify for a zero rate when tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals take effect at the end of the month, according to a notice issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.

  • September 22, 2026

    DC Judge Tosses Okla. Tribes' Gaming Compact Challenge

    A D.C. district court judge has handed the federal government a summary judgment win in a challenge by four tribes in a long-running dispute over gaming compacts, finding that the Indigenous nations failed to show they have standing.

  • September 22, 2026

    HVAC Contractor Accused Of $8M 'Mass Save' Rebate Fraud

    A group of utility companies that participate in a Massachusetts energy-efficiency incentive program have alleged in state court that an HVAC contractor defrauded the program out of around $8 million through various schemes, including claiming rebates for heat pumps that were never installed.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Courts Are Pushing Back On Greenwashing Laws

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    Recent Fourth Circuit and California federal court decisions blocking state greenwashing statutes on First Amendment grounds reveal a tension at the heart of environmental marketing regulation — while states want clarity, courts aren't prepared to let legislatures flatly ban categories of truthful commercial speech, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What NYC Bridge Crash Signals About Micromobility Liability

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    A recent fatal crash between a cyclist and a man riding a high-powered electric scooter on New York City's Queensboro Bridge highlights how litigation over accidents involving micromobility devices may increasingly shift away from ordinary negligence and toward product liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • 3 Ways Tokenization Is Moving To Traditional Finance

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    Recent initiatives reflect efforts to integrate distributed ledger technology into existing regulatory frameworks for securities, banking and payments settlements while preserving the underlying rights and obligations of market participants, say attorneys at Hughes Hubbard.

  • At The Intersection Of Right-To-Repair Laws And IP Rights

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    Right-to-repair legislation passing through Congress highlights a broad tension between manufacturers' security measures and consumer autonomy, with important repercussions for the automotive industry's intellectual property rights, says Keith Noe at Lando & Anastasi. 

  • Opinion

    States Should Reconsider Forced PBM Divestiture Laws

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    State legislatures are attempting to enact policies intended to force pharmacy benefit managers to divest from pharmacies, but these laws would have the practical effect of reducing patient access and competition, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution in the process, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

  • HSR Deals Proceed More Steadily Than Narratives Suggest

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    The most recent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data show that transaction volume remained relatively stable, transaction values continued to increase and enforcement activity remained low, suggesting that enforcement rates have been relatively consistent across presidential administrations despite widely differing public rhetoric regarding merger enforcement, says Amanda Wait at Michael Best.

  • Assessing The Benefits Of Fla.'s Newest Business Structure

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    As of July 1, Florida business owners can create protected series LLCs to shield assets from liability while avoiding increased costs and wasted time, but burdensome recordkeeping obligations are crucial to maintaining the very protection that makes them attractive in the first place, says Gregory Ritter at Moritt Hock.

  • Key Post-Proposal Shifts Likely In CFPB Loss Mitigation Rule

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    Mortgage servicers, borrowers and consumer advocates should prepare for a likely narrowed version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's loss mitigation rule, which is likely to permit sequential reviews, defer to investor guidelines, extend compliance timelines and preempt conflicting state standards, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

  • Noncompete Laws Show States Focusing On Bans, Healthcare

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    The first half of 2026 confirms that state legislatures are driving the most consequential changes in noncompete law, including a few state bans and several healthcare-specific laws, making a one-size-fits-all approach increasingly untenable for multistate employers, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's Inside Proposed, Expanded NY Stablecoin Regulations

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    New York's recently proposed regulations for payment stablecoin issuers would, if adopted, increase the regulatory burdens of a state license, and midsize issuers considering a conversion to a federal charter should weigh the associated costs of both options, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Justices' Tax Sale Ruling Tees Up Auction Fairness Battles

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan, that taxpayers are not entitled to fair market value of real property seized to satisfy a tax debt shifts attention to the fairness of state and local auction procedures, and whether taxpayers claiming surplus proceeds face unwarranted hurdles, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

  • What Corporate Counsel Can Learn From OpenAI Test Breach

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    The significance of the recent artificial intelligence testing breach involving OpenAI and Hugging Face lies in what it reveals about the path of AI’s evolution, because legal professionals must translate that trajectory into actionable governance, contractual and advisory frameworks, says Jason Mueller at Vorys.

  • Patent Eligibility Reforms Keep Chasing The Wrong Fixes

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    Repeated efforts to create a consistent, predictable patent eligibility standard under Section 101 have centered on replacing judge-made exceptions with new statutory language, but the better fix is to align examination standards with how courts actually apply eligibility doctrine, says former Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge Amee Shah.

  • Opinion

    Qualified Immunity Bill's Reach Goes Beyond Federal Officers

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    The federal Qualified Immunity Abolition Act, introduced earlier this year and described by the bill sponsors as a federal-officer measure, would in actuality reach the entire universe of Section 1983 defendants, a distinction that matters as much to defense counsel as to plaintiffs, says attorney V. James DeSimone.

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