Public Policy

  • January 09, 2026

    FCC Approves Telecom's New Plan For Alaska Buildout

    An Alaskan telecommunications company has received the go-ahead from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy its mobile service throughout the far-flung state with federal support, after the new plan showed the firm could triple the number of people for whom it provides service.

  • January 09, 2026

    Alabama Steps Away From Appeal In ACF Water Dispute

    Alabama on Thursday dropped its appeal at the Eleventh Circuit in a fight over water management of the Apalachicola watershed after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed to changes proposed by Alabama and Georgia to end the decadeslong water feud.

  • January 09, 2026

    Mich. Bid For Behavioral Managed Care Contracts Can't Stand

    A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled the state health department's bid for Medicaid managed care contract proposals would unlawfully interfere with the duties of local governmental bodies that provide and coordinate behavioral health care.

  • January 09, 2026

    Squires Sets Precedent, Guidance On Discretionary Denials

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires on Friday designated four decisions on discretionary denials at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board precedential and another nine informative.

  • January 09, 2026

    NY Groups Fight To Keep ICE Courthouse Arrest Suit Alive

    Two providers of immigration services told a New York federal court this week that the Trump administration has misinterpreted prior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidance on courthouse arrests, saying extending them to immigration courthouses marks an "unprecedented expansion."

  • January 09, 2026

    OCC Floats Rule To Clarify Trust Companies' Broader Scope

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is proposing to amend its chartering regulations to make clear that national trust companies can engage in nonfiduciary activities, potentially resolving an area of contention that banking industry advocates have raised as crypto-focused firms applied for trust charters.

  • January 09, 2026

    H-1B Spouses Challenge End Of Auto Work Permit Extensions

    Seven spouses of H-1B visa holders asked a California federal judge to block the Trump administration's end of automatic work permit extensions, saying the move was based on unsupported national security grounds to fast-track the policy without public input.

  • January 09, 2026

    State Looks To Nix RealPage Case Over NY Rental Pricing Law

    The New York attorney general's office urged a federal court Friday to toss a case from property management software company RealPage Inc. challenging a new state law that prohibits building owners from using software to collude on residential rental rates.

  • January 09, 2026

    DC Judge OKs $14M Award Despite Russian Sanctions

    A D.C. federal judge has recognized approximately $14 million in arbitral awards originally issued to a Russian state-owned media company sanctioned by the United States for interfering in U.S. elections, concluding that a public policy exception to award enforcement does not apply.

  • January 09, 2026

    7th Circ. Upholds Ex-Atty's Conviction In Burke Bribery Case

    The Seventh Circuit on Friday kept in place the conviction and 32-month prison sentence of a Chicago real estate developer and former attorney for offering legal work to ex-Alderman Edward Burke as a bribe for help with a zoning permit, finding the government presented sufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict and arguments to the contrary were "unavailing."

  • January 09, 2026

    30 Dems Back Bill Limiting Officials' Prediction Market Trades

    U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., introduced his plan to ban public officials from trading in certain prediction markets on Friday with the backing of 30 House Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

  • January 09, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rehear Nev. Tribe's $208M Water Rights Suit

    The Federal Circuit has declined a Nevada tribe's petition for an en banc or panel rehearing on a decision to dismiss $208 million breach of trust allegations against the Bureau of Indian Affairs over water rights.

  • January 09, 2026

    Judge Restores Migrant Parole For Now, Decries 'Police State'

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday said she will temporarily bar the Trump administration from revoking the legal status of at least 10,000 migrants in the country under a program intended to allow family members of citizens or permanent residents to live in the United States while waiting for a green card.

  • January 09, 2026

    SpaceX Can Build Up Its Next-Gen Constellation, FCC Says

    The Federal Communications Commission gave its stamp of approval Friday for SpaceX to ramp up its second-generation Starlink satellite system.

  • January 09, 2026

    Maine Tribes Gain Economic Boost With Online Gaming Law

    Maine Gov. Janet Mills is expected to sign into law a bill that will allow the state's tribal governments to operate online gaming that will help to provide the Wabanaki Nations with essential services.

  • January 09, 2026

    USPTO Pushes Back At Tesla PTAB Policy Fight At Fed. Circ.

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the owner of three patents for self-driving vehicles urged the Federal Circuit on Friday to ignore Tesla's argument that the USPTO can't use the time before trial in patent litigation to deny patent reviews before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • January 09, 2026

    USTelecom Wants 'More Green Lights' For Broadband In '26

    A key telecom industry group says that if 2025 was marked by continual delays in broadband deployment, 2026 needs to be the year when construction crews actually break ground on federally backed projects.

  • January 09, 2026

    4th Circ. Frees Man Convicted For Speech After 9/11

    A lecturer and scholar of Islam convicted of inducing others to levy war against the U.S. after Sept. 11, 2001, was freed from serving his remaining sentence Friday, when a unanimous Fourth Circuit panel ruled that his speech was protected under the First Amendment.

  • January 09, 2026

    States Cite Ed. Dept. Outsourcing In Revamped Suit

    Democratic state attorneys general added fresh allegations Friday to an ongoing lawsuit over cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, saying the Trump administration has begun offloading some of the department's functions to other agencies.

  • January 09, 2026

    Class Action Challenges Solitary Confinement For NY Youth

    A group of children and young adults currently and formerly detained in New York's juvenile justice system are accusing state officials of subjecting children to prolonged solitary confinement in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal disability law, in a proposed class action filed in federal court.

  • January 09, 2026

    CFPB's Vought Backs Down, Seeks Fresh Fed Funding

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday that its acting Director Russell Vought has moved to replenish its funding from the Federal Reserve, yielding after a weekslong standoff that left the consumer agency facing potential closure with dwindling cash.

  • January 09, 2026

    Ex-CTA Bus Driver's Disability Bias Claims Will Go To Trial

    An Illinois federal judge Thursday refused to grant summary judgment to the Chicago Transit Authority on a former bus driver's disparate treatment and failure to accommodate claims, clearing the way for the dispute over her 2022 firing to go to trial in April.

  • January 09, 2026

    Justices To Resolve Split On SEC Disgorgement Powers

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case that could resolve a circuit split over whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has to prove investor harm in order to secure disgorgement from alleged fraudsters. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Justices Will Weigh FCC's Monetary Penalty Powers

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to take a look at the Federal Communications Commission's authority to issue fines by announcing it would review both a Fifth Circuit ruling in AT&T's favor curtailing the agency's ability to issue fines using its own in-house legal process and a case that Verizon lost in the Second Circuit.

  • January 09, 2026

    Gov't Tells 4th Circ. SC Residents Can't Challenge Marsh Plan

    The federal government has urged the Fourth Circuit to uphold the dismissal of a suit filed by South Carolina property owners challenging the approval of a local marsh mitigation bank plan, arguing the property owners lack Article III standing and their claims are "speculative."

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

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    While proposals for limiting the terms of U.S. Supreme Court justices are popular, a steady stream of relatively young, highly marketable ex-justices with unique knowledge and influence entering the marketplace of law and politics could create new problems, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Navigating A Sea Change In Rent Algorithm Regulation

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's proposed settlement of the RealPage lawsuit represents a pivotal moment in the regulation of algorithmic rent-setting, restraining use of these tools amid a growing trend of regulatory limits on use of algorithmic data and methodologies in establishing housing rental prices. say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Tariffs And Trade Volatility Drove 2025 Bankruptcy Wave

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    The Trump administration's tariff regime has reshaped the commercial restructuring landscape this year, with an increased number of bankruptcy filings showing how tariffs are influencing first‑day narratives, debtor-in-possession terms and case strategies, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Insuring Equality: 3 Tips To Preserve Coverage For DEI Claims

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    Directors and officers and employment practices liability are key coverages for policyholders to review as potentially responsive to the emerging liability threat of Trump's executive orders targeting corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.

  • Perspectives

    Justice Requires Excluding Manner Of Death As Evidence

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    A recent report showing that the unstandardized and subjective U.S. system of medicolegal death investigations contributes to unjust convictions should prompt courts and lawmakers to reject manner of death testimony in favor of more transparent and testable forensic evidence, say Peter Neufeld and Isabelle Cohn at the Innocence Project.

  • The SEC Whistleblower Program A Year Into 2nd Trump Admin

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's whistleblower program continues to operate as designed, but its internal cadence, scrutiny of claims and operational structure reflect a period of recalibration, with precision mattering more than ever, say attorneys Scott Silver and David Chase.

  • Autonomous Vehicle Liability Trends To Watch In 2026

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    With autonomous vehicles increasingly making their own decisions, the liability landscape for AVs has changed over the past year — highlighting a number of important issues that companies and practitioners should keep a close eye on in 2026, says Farid Yaghoubtil at Downtown LA Law Group.

  • Key Crypto Class Action Trends And Rulings In 2025

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    As the law continued to take shape in the growing area of crypto-assets, this year saw a jump in crypto class action litigation, including noteworthy decisions on motions to compel arbitration and class certification, according to Justin Donoho at Duane Morris.

  • New Russia Energy Sanctions Add Compliance Complexity

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    Recent U.S. and U.K. designations of Russian oil companies and related entities, as well as a new sanctions package from EU, mark a significant escalation in restrictions on the Russian energy industry and add a new layer of regulatory complications for companies operating in the global energy sector, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • 6 Laws For Calif. Employers To Know In 2026

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    California's legislative changes for 2026 impose sweeping new obligations on employers, including by expanding pay data reporting, clarifying protections related to bias mitigation training and broadening record access rights, but employers can avoid heightened exposure by proactively evaluating their compliance, modernizing internal systems and updating policies, says Alexa Foley at Gordon Rees.

  • How New SEC Policies Shift Shareholder Proposal Landscape

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    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins' recent remarks provide a road map for public companies to exclude nonbinding shareholder proposals from proxy materials, which would disrupt the mechanism that has traditionally defined how shareholders and companies engage on governance matters, say attorneys at Gunderson.

  • NBA, MLB Betting Indictments: Slam Dunks Or Strikeouts?

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    Recent fraud charges against bettors, NBA players and MLB pitchers raise questions about what the government will need to prove to prosecute individuals involved in placing bets based on nonpublic information, and it could be a tough sell to juries, say attorneys at Ford O'Brien.

  • Tracking The Evolution Of AI Insurance Regulation In 2025

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    As artificial intelligence continues to transform the insurance industry, including underwriting, pricing, claims processing and customer engagement, state regulators, led by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, are increasing oversight to ensure that innovation does not outpace consumer protections, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Series

    Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.

  • How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

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    On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

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