Public Policy

  • September 14, 2026

    NY-Led States, Cities Sue Over Trump Public Charge Rule

    A coalition of Democratic-led states and local governments sued the Trump administration on Monday, alleging that its revamped criteria for determining who is likely to become a public charge is arbitrary, will have a chilling effect and could worsen public health outcomes.

  • September 14, 2026

    Pa. Warns Data Centers Growth Could Overwhelm Supply

    The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission said in a Monday report that the state's electric grid by 2030 will carry a risk of outage nearly six times greater than a reliability standard for the region allows, based on the likeliest scenario to follow a rush of data center-driven electricity demand.

  • September 14, 2026

    Aetna Tells 5th Circ. DOL Can't Block Aramark Suit Arbitration

    Aetna Life Insurance Co. urged the Fifth Circuit on Monday against the U.S. Department of Labor's argument that uniform company Aramark Services Inc.'s health claims dispute with the insurer should remain in court, arguing a Texas judge erred in declining to enforce the parties' binding arbitration agreement.

  • September 14, 2026

    Mich. Justices Keep Judge Off Ballot, But 2 Urge Law Change

    The Michigan Supreme Court has declined to hear a Kalamazoo, Michigan, district court judge's challenge to her removal from the November ballot over an inaccurate affidavit of identity, leaving intact an appellate ruling that state election officials were required to reject her candidacy.

  • September 14, 2026

    NY Village Can Pursue PFAS Claims Against Local Cos.

    A New York federal judge won't let a group of manufacturing and industrial companies out of a suit by the Village of Nyack alleging they contaminated the water supply with so-called "forever chemicals," saying the allegations in the complaint make a plausible claim under state and federal environmental law.

  • September 14, 2026

    DOJ Derides Anti-Weaponization Fund Discovery

    The Justice Department is asking a Virginia federal judge to reverse a magistrate judge's order compelling discovery in a suit challenging the Trump administration's "anti-weaponization fund," claiming the plaintiffs lack standing and are merely attempting to set out on a fishing expedition that would intrude on executive privilege.

  • September 14, 2026

    Software Co. Urges Justices To Pause Thryv Order

    A Vermont software company has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a D.C. Circuit mandate enforcing a Thryv remedy issued by the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the high court will likely grant its upcoming petition challenging the circuit court's decision to uphold the mandate.

  • September 14, 2026

    FCC Eyes Reg Waiver For Maritime Locating Devices

    The Federal Communications Commission is looking at waiving restrictions on maritime equipment to allow for a new device for rescues at sea.

  • September 14, 2026

    Cop Pitches Nationwide Class In Flock Privacy Lawsuit

    Flock's surveillance network invades the privacy of the public and enables law enforcement employees to track people for improper reasons, according to a proposed class action filed in Georgia federal court.

  • September 14, 2026

    Feds Want Justices To Skip Google 'Settled Expectations' Row

    The federal government is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that Google didn't meet the appropriate standard to get the Federal Circuit to look at the company's challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's policy of using the age of patents as a reason not to review them.

  • September 14, 2026

    BREAKING: EPA Repeals Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized the rescission of a Biden-era rule that limited greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, and separately suggested that the agency shouldn't be regulating greenhouse gases emitted by the electricity sector.

  • September 14, 2026

    NextEra, Dominion Offer $1B Va. Plan Ahead Of $67B Merger

    NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy on Monday unveiled a benefits package aimed at winning support for their $67 billion proposed merger, including up to $1 billion in annual spending with Virginia suppliers for five years.

  • September 14, 2026

    Big Biz Coalition Backs Litigation Funding Disclosure Rule

    Big U.S. businesses and insurers like Amazon, Anthropic, Chubb and Walmart asked the federal judiciary on Monday to tighten disclosure requirements for litigation finance, claiming the lack of guardrails allows funders to operate "in the shadows."

  • September 14, 2026

    NY Pardon Ends High Court Fight Over Immigration Detention

    A dispute before the U.S. Supreme Court over whether noncitizens subject to removal proceedings because of criminal convictions are entitled to bond hearings was rendered moot after the immigrant at the center of the case received a pardon.

  • September 14, 2026

    1st Circ. Rejects Judge's Standing Order On Deportations

    The First Circuit struck down a federal district judge's standing order that prohibited U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting criminal defendants unless the government resolved or permanently dropped the pending charges.

  • September 14, 2026

    Former Trump Assistant To Co-Lead Covington Policy Practice

    Covington & Burling LLP said Monday the firm has hired a former assistant to President Donald Trump, who served in the president's first administration as director of the Domestic Policy Council and most recently owned a federal consulting business in Washington, D.C.

  • September 14, 2026

    ND Opposes Tribes' Bid To Keep Court-Imposed Voting Map

    North Dakota is seeking to dissolve a 2011 court-approved remedial legislative map that was put in place while a Voting Rights Act dispute brought by two tribal nations made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling the tribes' request for a deferral "astonishing."

  • September 14, 2026

    Trade Court OKs ITC's Freight Coupler Duty Determination

    The U.S. International Trade Commission provided sufficient explanation for including a major U.S. producer and importer of Mexican freight rail couplers as part of the domestic industry during the course of its duty investigations, according to an opinion published Monday by the U.S. Court of International Trade.

  • September 14, 2026

    Lawsuits Challenge New Ill. Taxes On Digital Ads, Social Media

    Newly enacted taxes in Illinois on digital advertising and social media platforms violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution and should be struck down, an industry group charged in a pair of lawsuits in state court.

  • September 14, 2026

    Trump Says He Will Remove Tariffs On Irish Whiskey

    President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. is planning to remove tariffs on whiskey imported from Ireland.

  • September 14, 2026

    IRS Asks 6th Circ. To Uphold Revamped Microcaptive Rules

    The Internal Revenue Service asked the Sixth Circuit to affirm a Tennessee federal court's ruling that a set of revised IRS rules requiring taxpayers to disclose some microcaptive insurance arrangements doesn't violate the Administrative Procedure Act, saying the U.S. Treasury Department acted within its authority in promulgating the regulations.

  • September 14, 2026

    Chamber Tells Justices Plane Forfeiture Should Be Blocked

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reaffirm the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause and find that the state of Alaska's seizure of a $95,000 plane over a six-pack of beer is out of proportion to the alleged harm.

  • September 14, 2026

    Conn. Budget Official Deserves 10-Year Sentence, Feds Say

    Federal prosecutors say former Connecticut budget official Konstantinos Diamantis deserves to spend between roughly 10 and 12½ years in prison after being convicted of accepting bribes, committing extortion and lying to federal agents, arguing "his greed, corruption and abject lack of integrity" require time behind bars.

  • September 14, 2026

    Abbott To Pay $385M To End FCA Claims Over Infant Formula

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday said that Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay nearly $385 million to end False Claims Act allegations over the manufacture of contaminated infant formula at locations in Michigan and Arizona.

  • September 14, 2026

    Judge Blocks Construction At Toxic Calif. ICE Detention Site

    A California federal judge Monday ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop work on its conversion of a former agricultural research site into a detention facility, finding the agency offered no proof that it examined risks from prior hazardous waste violations at the property before starting construction.

Expert Analysis

  • Loper Bright Unlikely To Upend DEA Rescheduling Challenges

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    As cannabis industry stakeholders await a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ruling on broader cannabis rescheduling, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Loper Bright to eliminate judicial deference to agency decisions should not dramatically affect cannabis rescheduling litigation risk, but it could marginally strengthen proponents' hand if the DEA denies rescheduling, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Money Transmission Issue Looms For Prediction Markets

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    The circuit split recently created by the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Kalshi v. Assad has implications reaching beyond gaming regulation as, depending on the ultimate characterization of prediction market event contracts, platforms may face differing obligations under federal and state money transmission laws, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • The Deep Split Over Mandatory Detention, And What's Next

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    The government’s mandatory detention policy for noncitizens who entered the U.S. without inspection has led to a spate of decisions this year, with nine circuits rejecting the government's reading of the Immigration and Nationality Act against two that have accepted it, making the issue ripe for U.S. Supreme Court review, says attorney Kemal Hepsen.

  • Intersecting Investigation Risks Loom In Next Congress

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    Taken together, two July D.C. Circuit decisions and a recent U.S. Department of Justice opinion on executive privilege may affect the procedural defenses and privilege protections available to targets of oversight in the upcoming Congress, and companies should begin preparing now, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 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.

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