Public Policy

  • June 25, 2025

    Team Telecom Gives Its OK To $4.4B T-Mobile, UScellular Deal

    T-Mobile's plan to take over most of UScellular's wireless operations in a $4.4 billion deal cleared a regulatory hurdle with approval from the federal group that vets telecom mergers for security concerns.

  • June 25, 2025

    EU Probing Mars' $36B Deal For Pringles-Maker Kellanova

    European competition enforcers said Wednesday they are investigating snack food and candy giant Mars Inc.'s planned $35.9 billion purchase of Cheez-It and Pringles maker Kellanova over concerns the combined company would have too much negotiating power with retailers.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs EPA's Firing Of 'Disruptive' Whistleblower

    The Federal Circuit upheld a decision finding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would've fired a federal employee even if she wasn't whistleblowing on its failure to submit affirmative employment plans, ruling Wednesday that while there was significant motive to retaliate, there's also evidence the employee was "disrespectful, disruptive and discourteous" toward colleagues.

  • June 25, 2025

    Alaska Doesn't Need 5G In Most Remote Reaches, FCC Told

    Alaskan telecoms should not have to bring 5G-level internet to every corner of the state to which they are designated to deploy under the Alaska Connect Fund, a trade group has told the Federal Communications Commission.

  • June 25, 2025

    Trade Court Cannot Stop Trump's Tariffs, Gov't Tells Fed. Circ.

    The U.S. Court of International Trade hamstrung President Donald Trump in ongoing global trade negotiations when it blocked emergency tariffs he had imposed and deemed them unlawful, the government told the Federal Circuit on Tuesday, urging it to reverse the lower court's ruling.

  • June 25, 2025

    Copyright Office Won't Collapse Sans Perlmutter, Trump Says

    The Trump administration has said the fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office has not shown that the agency's operations "will grind to a halt" if she is not immediately reinstated and asked a D.C. federal judge to reject her motion for a preliminary injunction.

  • June 25, 2025

    Community College Fights DOJ's Bid To End Texas Dream Act

    A Texas community college wants to intervene in the Trump administration's lawsuit challenging a state law allowing in-state tuition for unauthorized immigrants, arguing that the federal government colluded with the state to deprive the court of the opportunity to consider the law's constitutionality.

  • June 25, 2025

    Michigan Builders Sue State Over Energy Code Mandates

    Michigan homebuilders have sued to challenge the state's adoption of new construction codes, saying the energy efficiency demands will make new homes more expensive.

  • June 25, 2025

    House Approps Bill Keeps Public Broadcast Warning System

    U.S. House lawmakers are considering keeping $40 million intact next year for the Next Generation Warning System used by public broadcasters to get critical information to the public during emergencies.

  • June 25, 2025

    RI Allows Providence To Exceed Tax Levy Cap For Fiscal 2026

    Providence, Rhode Island, may exceed the state's limit on property tax increases for the 2026 fiscal year under legislation signed by the governor.

  • June 25, 2025

    The 5 Big Enforcement Trends White Collar Attys Must Know

    The Trump administration has made clear its intent to prioritize U.S. interests, eliminate transnational cartels and cut government fraud, waste and abuse — but questions remain about the administration’s approach to foreign bribery, crypto, public corruption, self-disclosure and clemency as we head into the second half of the year.

  • June 25, 2025

    DOL Says Trump Order Moots Contractor Wage Case

    A Colorado federal court should throw out an outdoor group's challenge to a Biden-era mandate requiring federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage, the U.S. Department of Labor argued, saying President Donald Trump has rescinded the rule that the lawsuit challenges.

  • June 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Pick Emil Bove Says He's 'Not Anybody's Henchman'

    Emil Bove, nominee for the Third Circuit, who previously served as President Donald Trump's criminal attorney and was a top acting official at the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year, where he took various controversial actions, made his case on Wednesday for judicial confirmation.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed's Powell Suggests Student Loans Too Hard To Discharge

    Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told senators Wednesday that Congress might want to consider permitting greater dischargeability of student loans, questioning whether it is a "wise national policy" to treat such debt differently under the federal bankruptcy laws.

  • June 25, 2025

    NJ Rep. McIver Pleads Not Guilty In ICE Facility Incident

    U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver pled not guilty Wednesday in New Jersey federal court to assault and interference charges stemming from an incident at an immigration detention center in Newark on May 9.

  • June 25, 2025

    Spirit Flags Competition Concerns Over United-JetBlue Pact

    Spirit Airlines LLC has filed a complaint with federal transportation regulators contending that a recently announced partnership between United Airlines and JetBlue raises issues similar to an alliance between American and JetBlue that was blocked over competition concerns.

  • June 25, 2025

    Senate Panel Narrowly Advances FAA Chief Nominee

    The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted along party lines Wednesday to advance President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration.

  • June 25, 2025

    Pa. Wealth Manager Gets 8 Years For Stealing Client Money

    A suburban Philadelphia wealth manager was sentenced Wednesday to just over eight years in prison for using nearly $25 million of his clients' money on properties, country club fees and luxury vacations, his counsel said.

  • June 25, 2025

    Mass. Atty Gets 18 Mos. For 'Greed' In Pot Shop Bribery Plot

    A Massachusetts lawyer, whose conviction for attempting to bribe a police chief to endorse his client's retail cannabis license application had been partly reversed at the First Circuit, was re-sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison by a federal judge who said the attorney should have known better.

  • June 25, 2025

    FCC To Consult Tribes On Wireless Cos.' NEPA Petition

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to consult with tribal governments on a wireless industry proposal to cut red tape associated with the National Environmental Policy Act for cell towers, following comments from Native American organizations blasting the plan and saying it would threaten sacred lands.

  • June 25, 2025

    Do Kwon Trial Judge Has Eye On Federal Crypto Legislation

    Federal legislation that could codify stablecoins as payment-related assets — not securities — has the potential to impact the Manhattan U.S. attorney's $40 billion criminal case against Terraform founder Do Kwon, a federal judge said Wednesday.

  • June 25, 2025

    FCC Democrat Takes Civil Rights, Speech Issues To Rural Ky.

    A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission recently visited rural Kentucky as part of an effort calling attention to civil rights and free speech issues that she says the agency has raised through recent actions.

  • June 25, 2025

    Biden WH Counsel, Civil Rights Atty Joins Cooley's DC Team

    A former associate White House counsel to President Joe Biden, who has worked in the Senate and in leadership roles in higher education, has joined the litigation team at Cooley LLP, having served alongside some of his new colleagues while representing victims of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

  • June 25, 2025

    DOJ Sues Md. Federal Judges Over 'Lawless' Habeas Orders

    The Trump administration is suing the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges over a standing order that temporarily staves off the deportation of detained noncitizens who file habeas petitions.

  • June 25, 2025

    Ore. Lawmakers OK Requiring Report On Property Taxes

    The Oregon Legislature would issue a report on the state's property tax system and options to modernize it, including an analysis of two tax-limiting initiatives, under legislation approved by lawmakers.

Expert Analysis

  • What Disparate Impact Order Means For Insurers' AI Use

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    A recent executive order seeking to bar disparate impact theory conveys a meaningful policy shift, but does not alter the legal status of federal antidiscrimination law or enforceability of state laws, such as those holding insurers accountable for using artificial intelligence in a nondiscriminatory matter, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Choosing A Road To Autonomous Vehicle Compliance

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    As autonomous vehicle manufacturers navigate the complex U.S. regulatory landscape, they may opt for different approaches to following federal, state and local rules and laws, as they balance the tradeoffs between innovation, compliance and speed of deployment, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Navigating The Expanding Frontier Of Premerger Notice Laws

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    Washington's newly enacted law requiring premerger notification to state enforcers builds upon a growing trend of state scrutiny into transactions in the healthcare sector and beyond, and may inspire other states to enact similar legislation, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Evolving Federal Rules Pose Further Obstacles To NY LLC Act

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    Following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent changes to beneficial ownership information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act — dramatically reducing the number of companies required to make disclosures — the utility of New York's LLC Transparency Act becomes less apparent, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

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    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

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    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Action Steps To Prepare For Ramped-Up Export Enforcement

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    In light of recent Bureau of Industry and Security actions and comments, companies, particularly those with any connection to China, should consider four concrete steps to shore up their compliance programs given the administration's increasingly aggressive approach to export enforcement, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • DOJ Signals Major Shift In White Collar Enforcement Priorities

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    In a speech on Monday, an official outlined key revisions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure, corporate monitorship and whistleblower program policies, marking a meaningful change in the white collar enforcement landscape, and offering companies clearer incentives and guardrails, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

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    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

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    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews

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    The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption

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    If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.

  • Balancing Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order, Int'l Agreements

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing exploration and exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources appears to conflict with the evolving international framework regulating such activities, so companies and investors should proceed with care and keep possible future legal challenges in mind, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • CFTC Memos Clarify When 'Sorry' Still Gets You Subpoenaed

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    A pair of Commodity Futures Trading Commission advisories released in February and April open a new path to self-reporting but emphasize that serious breaches still warrant a trip to the penalty box, prompting firms to weigh whether — and how — to disclose potential violations in the future, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

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