Public Policy

  • September 18, 2026

    NJ Seeks Quick Win On TikTok's Money Transfers

    New Jersey's attorney general urged a state court Friday to find TikTok liable for operating an unlicensed money transmission business via its livestreaming service, arguing the platform receives users' money, converts it into virtual currency and ultimately pays creators in cash.

  • September 18, 2026

    Feds Must Face Suit Over Boy's Golden Gate Park Fall

    The family of a boy who fell into a maintenance hole after stepping onto an unsecured steel plate at a San Francisco-area national park can proceed with their core claim that the government committed willful misconduct, with a federal court ruling Friday a jury could find park services knew about the danger for years.

  • September 18, 2026

    Fugitive Ex-Conn. Official Sues To Keep His Pension Flowing

    Former Connecticut budget official Konstantinos Diamantis sued the state attorney general and comptroller Friday in federal court to keep his government pension payments flowing despite fleeing the U.S. ahead of a court hearing that could have ended with a decade-long prison sentence on corruption charges.

  • September 18, 2026

    Colo. Judge Mulls Sanction For Hospital In Gender Care Suit

    Transgender adolescent patients of Children's Hospital Colorado told a state judge the court must sanction the hospital for refusing to resume providing gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth patients, saying Friday that "nothing has changed" since the patients filed their January lawsuit.

  • September 18, 2026

    1st Circ. Backs Notice Requirement For 3rd-Country Removals

    The First Circuit on Friday largely rejected the Trump administration's challenge to limits on its so-called third country removal policy, leaving in place a lower court's order requiring deportees to be given advance notice and a meaningful opportunity to challenge a destination where they may face persecution or torture.

  • September 18, 2026

    Keeping Google Ad Tech Biz Intact 'Not A Close Call'

    The Justice Department Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission are now 0-3 in their efforts to break up major technology companies, and with monopolization trials still ahead against Amazon.com and Apple, observers say a Virginia federal judge's newly unsealed ruling underscores the legal and practical difficulties of those efforts.

  • September 18, 2026

    AI 'Brainrot' Fight Tests Copyright, TM Reach Of Viral Memes

    A bat-wielding wooden drum named Tung Tung Sahur is raising questions Mickey Mouse, Godzilla and James Bond never posed: Can a "brainrot" character created using artificial intelligence be protected by copyright, and can it later function as a trademark if it went viral before anyone used it as a brand?

  • September 18, 2026

    Newsom Convenes AI Safety Panel To Mull 'Kill Switch' Law

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered the prompt creation of an artificial intelligence safety panel to hasten the implementation of various potential AI safety and security laws, including a proposed measure that would require companies to develop a "kill switch" for their AI models.

  • September 18, 2026

    DOJ Revises Policies Over False Claims Act Suits

    The U.S. Department of Justice issued revisions Friday to department policy governing False Claims Act lawsuits, emphasizing that agency guidance documents have limited effect and that the government should continually assess whether to seek dismissal of qui tam actions.

  • September 18, 2026

    7th Circ. Skeptical Of Bid To Block Ill. 'Captive Audience' Ban

    Two interest groups asking the Seventh Circuit to revive their challenge to an Illinois law banning captive audience meetings by employers faced pointed questions Friday about whether the law has injured them at all, with one judge saying their suit is based on a "series of ifs."

  • September 18, 2026

    9th Circ. Decertifies Class Of Ore. Transgender Prisoners

    The Ninth Circuit has reversed class certification for a group of transgender incarcerated people, finding that they had not shown that the Oregon Department of Corrections has systemically targeted trans women by housing them in male-only facilities.

  • September 18, 2026

    Employers See Moving Targets With H-1B Fee, And New Limits

    The Trump administration on Friday ordered federal agencies to scrutinize H-1B employers that have laid off U.S. workers, adding another layer of uncertainty for employers seeking to recruit highly skilled foreign workers.

  • September 18, 2026

    FTC Chair Defends Overlapping Antitrust Authorities

    Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson on Friday defended his agency's continuing role as an antitrust enforcer despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened the agency's independence and left it as beholden to the White House as its counterpart at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • September 18, 2026

    9th Circ. Asks Wash. Justices About Indirect Employer Claims

    A Ninth Circuit panel has asked the Washington State Supreme Court to clarify whether the state's law permits common law wrongful firing claims against indirect employers and certain individuals, saying the answers are key to assessing a former solar company CFO's claim he was unjustly ousted by a private equity backer.

  • September 18, 2026

    Judge Questions Whether 'Lawfare' Fund Fight Is Really Moot

    A Virginia federal judge seemed unlikely to toss a challenge to the Trump administration's nixed "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and tax audit immunity for the Trump family Friday, saying she worries the fund could be revived in a different form down the road.

  • September 18, 2026

    Kalshi Loses Bid To Lift Wash. Event Contracts Ban

    Kalshi can't lift an injunction currently barring its operations in Washington, a King County Superior Court judge ruled, denying the prediction market's request to reconsider an August order blocking the company from offering most event contracts to state residents.

  • September 18, 2026

    4th Circ. Punts Decision On Forcing FCC Political Ad Ruling

    The Fourth Circuit deferred action Friday on a request from Democrats to force a Federal Communications Commission ruling on whether broadcasters have to charge the lowest broadcast ad rates for political committees tied to candidates.

  • September 18, 2026

    CIA Officers Urge 4th Circ. To Reject DEI Firings Rehearing

    Career intelligence officers fighting their terminations following the Trump administration's anti-DEI executive orders told the Fourth Circuit Thursday that there's no point in granting an en banc rehearing of a panel's order allowing them to internally appeal the firings, arguing the panel's ruling has limited application beyond their own case.

  • September 18, 2026

    Dems Seek Probe Of Suspect Comments On DOL Proposal

    A trio of Democratic lawmakers urged the federal government to open a probe into reports that a U.S. Department of Labor proposal to expand retirement plans' access to alternative investments was flooded with fake comments, asserting the allegations raise questions about whether the public comment process has been corrupted.

  • September 18, 2026

    USDA Disclosure Rule Could Snag Energy Project Deals

    Energy infrastructure projects could be subject to sweeping foreign ownership disclosure requirements under a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, injecting more uncertainty into acquisition, investment and development deals.

  • September 18, 2026

    Wayne State Beats Doctor's Race Bias Suit Over Chair Job

    A Michigan federal judge tossed a Black physician's discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Wayne State University and several officials over his unsuccessful bid to become permanent chair of the medical school's obstetrics and gynecology department, finding that he never formally applied for the job.

  • September 18, 2026

    US Asks Fed. Circ. To Reverse COVID-Era Tax Deadline Ruling

    The government asked the Federal Circuit to overturn a U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision allowing a taxpayer to recover penalties and interest he sought refunds for during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the claims court wrongly interpreted a statutory 60-day extension as having lasted over three and a half years.

  • September 18, 2026

    CFTC Sends Crypto Rules To White House After Bill Stalls

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sent a crypto rule proposal to the White House for review, pushing forward with plans to craft a regulatory framework for digital assets after a landmark bill failed to advance in the U.S. Senate.

  • September 18, 2026

    Patent Atty Can't Stop His USPTO Discipline Case

    An Ohio federal court rejected a patent attorney's suit looking to stop U.S. Patent and Trademark Office disciplinary proceedings against him, saying Friday that he misread a "plain, unambiguous and easily understood" statute in making his failed constitutional challenge.

  • September 18, 2026

    NC Judge Exempts Data Center Developer From 1-Year Ban

    A state judge rejected a one-year moratorium on new data center projects that officials in Chatham County, North Carolina, enacted in February after a developer pitched a 750-megawatt project serving cryptocurrency mining operations, spending $11 million on the plan.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Words In A 1980 Law Could Redraw Bank Lending

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    The Tenth Circuit's interpretation of a single phrase in the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act could reshape interstate bank lending, requiring banks and fintechs to document loan-making functions, monitor repayment triggers, and reassess true lender and contractual risks, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Cultivating Good Judgment

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    Law schools generally overlook the role that solid judgment skills play in real-world practice, but attorneys can bridge the gap by strengthening their abilities to assess a case’s strengths and weaknesses, develop and execute effective strategies, and provide clear recommendations to clients, says Manny Caixeiro at Venable.

  • Responding To State Packaging Law Uncertainty

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    As states roll out new packaging and recycling mandates, companies face expanding compliance duties and a growing wave of constitutional challenges that offer key lessons for managing regulatory risk, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • CMS Rule, DOJ Probes Deepen Gender Care Compliance Risk

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    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' final rule restricting Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care is likely to face immediate litigation, but the CMS rulemaking is already working alongside U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement campaign to create operational risk for providers, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.

  • New Del. Corp. Law's Technical Tweaks Bring Broad Changes

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    While the new amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, which took effect on Aug. 1, appear technical, they have broad implications for wound-down corporations and carry personal exposure for whoever signed the certificate of dissolution, hinting at where entity law is heading next, says Ashwin Ram at Buchalter.

  • How Trucking Cos. Can Tackle Risk From New DOJ Task Force

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    Trucking companies should audit their drivers’ credentials and address risk areas lest they attract the attention of the new Justice Department-led task force against the fraudulent licensing of immigrants as commercial truckers, which is turning former questions of administrative or regulatory noncompliance into matters for federal prosecution, say attorneys at RJO.

  • What To Expect From Colorado's New Artist Co. Structure

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    Colorado's newly established class of artist companies, or A-Corps, provides a useful structure for small-scale ventures, but challenges could arise for more complex business plans, and limitations on investor participation may limit widespread adoption, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • 2 Cases Shed Light On Invoking The 5th Before Congress

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    Given the anticipated increase in congressional investigations following the midterm elections, those who anticipate being in Congress' spotlight can draw valuable Fifth Amendment lessons from the ongoing case involving Dr. Anthony Fauci's testimony and the D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in de la Torre v. Cassidy, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • AG Watch: Oregon Targets Consumer Costs

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    Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's challenges to bank interest rate and escrow preemption signal heightened scrutiny of consumer costs for lending services, requiring financial institutions serving Oregon and other states with opt-out laws to reassess compliance risk, says Keturah Taylor at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 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.

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