Public Policy

  • October 19, 2026

    DOJ Or Trump: Judge Asks Who Is Deciding Golf Course Plan

    Trump administration lawyers continued to insist at a hearing Monday there is no final plan to remake East Potomac Golf Course, and they changed their tune about whether one would require environmental review, despite new social media posts from the president announcing that work on the overhaul would begin "immediately."

  • October 19, 2026

    Colo. City's Vacancy Tax Proposal Draws County Support

    Vacant residential properties in Boulder, Colorado, would be subject to an excise tax starting at $4,000 annually under a proposal before voters in November endorsed by county commissioners.

  • October 19, 2026

    Court Denies Gov't Bid To DQ Susman Godfrey In ABA's Suit

    A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has denied the U.S. Department of Justice's bid to disqualify Susman Godfrey LLP from representing the American Bar Association in its lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's executive orders against multiple major law firms. 

  • October 19, 2026

    Justices Won't Test NLRB Firing Protections After Slaughter

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away former National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox's challenge to a split D.C. Circuit ruling allowing her firing, declining to ponder whether board members' job protections survived last term's decision in Trump v. Slaughter. 

  • October 19, 2026

    High Court To Mull Home Distilling Ban Following Circuit Split

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a case on the federal tax code's ban on distilling whiskey at home after the Fifth Circuit found the ban unconstitutional but the Sixth Circuit upheld the ban.

  • October 19, 2026

    Arizona Court Approves State's First Non-ABA Law School

    The Arizona Supreme Court has approved the state's first law school not accredited by the American Bar Association, citing the need to increase the number of lawyers per capita in the state and provide more affordable options for legal education.

  • October 19, 2026

    Justices Want SG's Input On Block Of Iowa Immigration Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday called for the solicitor general's view on whether Iowa can implement a law allowing state officials to arrest previously deported noncitizens and requiring state judges to order that those individuals must leave the U.S.

  • October 19, 2026

    High Court Won't Hear Google's 'Settled Expectations' Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a case in which Google argued that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has exceeded its authority by using the age of patents as a reason to refuse to review them.

  • October 19, 2026

    Justices Won't Hear Challenge To Chicago Towing Practices

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Monday to take up the constitutionality of Chicago's vehicle booting, towing, impounding and disposal practices, with two justices expressing "serious concerns" over the idea of leaving the Seventh Circuit's blessing in place.

  • October 19, 2026

    High Court Skips Blackbeard Shipwreck Copyright Clash

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a videographer's long-running copyright case over photos and videos they took of the famous pirate Blackbeard's shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina.

  • October 18, 2026

    Trump Waives Russia Sanctions, Tariff Law After Fuel Deal

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order to suspend Russian sanctions and tariff provisions contained in a law passed earlier this year by Congress in response to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

  • October 16, 2026

    NY, Conn. Secure $2.7M Deal Over Health Network Data Breach

    A pediatric health network and its information technology manager have agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve the New York and Connecticut attorneys general's claims that they failed to institute "common" security measures to protect the personal data of patients impacted by a 2024 data breach, the states announced Friday. 

  • October 16, 2026

    Texas Court Tosses $60M Security Guard Scuffle Verdict

    A Texas appeals court Friday tossed a roughly $60 million verdict and castigated the trial court for creating a record "rife with error" after the lower court wrongly included several corporate entities in a judgment relating to a scuffle between a security guard and a patron.

  • October 16, 2026

    Wash. AG Office, WSU Rigged $15M Data Contract, Suit Says

    A former prosecutor and the police-use-of-force analytics company he now helms sued Washington's attorney general's office and Washington State University over an allegedly rigged $15 million public safety data contract, claiming the defendants privately coordinated and shared nonpublic procurement information ahead of a competitive bidding process.

  • October 16, 2026

    Wash. Justices Void Vague Release Term For Sex Offender

    The Washington Supreme Court has reversed a convicted child molester's community custody condition that he not possess or access "sexually exploitive materials" because the term is not clearly defined in state law, and could potentially mean many things.

  • October 16, 2026

    NORML Urges 6th Circ. To Reconsider Pot Illegality Ruling

    The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a leading cannabis consumer advocate, is urging the Sixth Circuit to rehear its decision throwing out a $31.8 million jury verdict for a Michigan marijuana grower, arguing federal illegality should not categorically bar contract damages against a cannabis purchaser that breached a supply deal.

  • October 16, 2026

    Suing The Trump Admin Can Have Massive Impact, Attys Say

    Lawyers representing clients against the federal government spoke Friday about the challenges and rewards of such litigation in the Trump era, with plaintiff-side powerhouse Elizabeth Cabraser pointing to the potential for massive impact, including one case in which she successfully got more than a billion dollars in grant funding reinstated.

  • October 16, 2026

    State Telecom Roundup: Clearing The Way For BEAD Funds

    Nearly five years after the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden, states have finally started disbursing funds to subgrantees who will carry out the projects that are supposed to end the digital divide.

  • October 16, 2026

    DC Circ. Questions Trump Records Ownership Claim

    Judges on the D.C. Circuit hounded a Trump administration attorney over the White House's attempt to do away with the Presidential Records Act on Friday, as they searched to find the limit on the president's authority over his own work documents.

  • October 16, 2026

    Permitting Bill Gives FERC A Bigger Enforcement Hammer

    Recently introduced U.S. Senate permitting legislation proposes an unprecedented extension of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's enforcement reach into areas of electricity grid planning policy that have been traditionally overseen by states, experts say.

  • October 16, 2026

    Frontier Settles Connecticut's Data Breach Probe For $625K

    Frontier is going to pay $625,000 to end a Connecticut state investigation into a data breach that compromised the Social Security numbers of nearly 60,000 people in the state two and a half years ago.

  • October 16, 2026

    Fla. Localities Seek To End Sex Offender Registry Challenge

    The state of Florida and dozens of cities and counties are urging a Florida federal court to toss an advocacy group's lawsuit that claims state and local laws governing registered sex offenders violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

  • October 16, 2026

    Denver Pot Shop Says City Can't Revoke Approved License

    A would-be marijuana shop is looking to force Denver to honor the final approval of a retail store license, claiming the city licensing director unlawfully withdrew authorization and ordered a redundant hearing, which will risk tens of thousands of dollars it has already spent.

  • October 16, 2026

    GAO Wants Better Federal Office Occupancy Data Collection

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office told the General Services Administration that the GSA needs to do a better job of collecting occupancy data for federal office space, saying that improved data collection would allow the federal government to cut waste.

  • October 16, 2026

    Conn. Agency Prevails Against Estate's $20M Infant Death Suit

    The estate of a slain infant did not prove Connecticut Department of Children and Families workers caused the 7-month-old boy's death by failing to take him away from his father, who threw him into the Connecticut River from a 90-foot-high bridge, a state judge has ruled after a bench trial.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Meeting Recaps Pose New Discovery And Privilege Risks

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    The New York City Bar Association’s recent ethics opinion, cautioning attorneys not to record nonclient conversations with artificial intelligence tools, reflects an emerging view that AI meeting recaps are now a distinct business record category, meaning counsel should set meeting-level controls and apply framework-level updates, says William Wright at Faegre Drinker.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six recent rulings involving pecuniary loss in false price comparison advertising, privity in an insurance fee class, antitrust standing, immigration class representatives, retirement beneficiary class commonality, and Rule 23(f) appeals in Fair Labor Standards Act claims.

  • How Employers Can Navigate NLRB Rulings Ripe For Reversal

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    Given a recent National Labor Relations Board memo seeking to reverse several precedents — including on severance agreements and workplace policies — employers should prepare now to restore broader protections when the board acts, while following the law as it exists today, says Howard Lavin at Thompson Coburn.

  • What Comes Next For Digital Asset Regs After Clarity Act Flop

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    After the U.S. Senate recently blocked the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, agency rulemaking could still offer a near-term remedy, and companies meanwhile should monitor the existing framework assembled from enforcement precedent and case law in the absence of a purpose-built statute, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • FDA Bill Shows Risk Of Inexact Statute Text, Post-Loper Bright

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    A recent House bill to amend the Food and Drug Administration's drug preclusion framework reveals the increased importance of precision when drafting statutory rules in a post-Loper Bright landscape, as several minor errors in the text could lock in unintended results that will be difficult to repeal, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Species 'Harm' Definition Rollback Brings Risk For Developers

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    A rule recently adopted by federal agencies rescinds the definition of "harm" in Endangered Species Act regulations to exclude habitat destruction — but while the move is aimed at reducing regulatory burdens, it creates new uncertainty for developers, and may trigger increased environmental protections in California, say attorneys at Cox Castle.

  • $95M Nev. Case Provides Clues On Wound Care Enforcement

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    Federal prosecutors’ recent U.S. v. Dubin indictment, charging a Nevada physician with healthcare fraud over an alleged $95 million Medicare billing scheme involving amniotic wound allografts, provides a clearer picture of an increasingly data-driven enforcement strategy that follows the entire wound care transaction, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • DOJ Fraud Memo Highlights Trade Enforcement Playbook

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    A recent U.S. Department of Justice memo that outlines the Fraud Enforcement Division's priorities demonstrates that customs and trade fraud enforcement has entered a new and far more aggressive phase, with recent cases highlighting how the False Claims act is driving the new push, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • HPE-Juniper Settlement Teaches Key Tunney Act Lessons

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    A California federal court's recent approval of the U.S. Department of Justice's settlement with Hewlett Packard over its Juniper Networks acquisition offers legal practitioners some crucial lessons, including on unique tech-sector remedies for mergers and acquisitions and the continued viability of the Tunney Act, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • What Opt-In Framework Means For Novel Space Activities

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    The U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Space Commerce is advancing a voluntary certification framework for commercial space activities not covered by existing licenses — but it's unclear whether this approach becomes a durable mission authorization regime, and separate legal permissions from agencies may still be necessary, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Negotiating The Scope Of The Stablecoin Customer ID Rule

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    Though comments on bank regulators’ proposed rule for stablecoin issuers under the Genius Act generally agree that oversight would help prevent illicit activity, agencies must reconcile disagreement over whether to extend customer identification requirements from issuers' primary-market relationships to secondary-markets activity, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How To Improve Hiring Transparency Amid Ghost Job Scrutiny

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    Recent regulatory and state law scrutiny of ghost job postings for roles that don't exist or aren't being filled signals a shift toward hiring transparency, and employers that fail to adapt risk enforcement actions, consumer protection claims and financial penalties, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • FTC Push May Create Dual Origin-Claim Risks For Contractors

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    Recent Federal Trade Commission actions involving Made in USA advertising requirements offer a preview of enforcement themes that may impose dual compliance burdens on government contractors that are also subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation Buy American restrictions, says Amy Hoang at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

  • FCC Robotics Restrictions Raise AI Compliance Risks

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    A recent "covered list" update from the Federal Communications Commission places restrictions on foreign-produced advanced robotic devices’ ability to obtain new authorizations, creating a framework that is poorly suited to continuous artificial intelligence updates, and raising several transactional and contractual challenges, says Kim Larsen at Stinson.

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