Public Policy

  • January 22, 2026

    Ford, GM Industrial Bank Bids Get FDIC Approval

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Thursday that it has signed off on industrial loan company applications from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., clearing the two automakers to open federally insured banking units over objections from community bankers.

  • January 22, 2026

    FDIC Rolls Back Biden-Era Digital Signage Rule

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday finalized a rollback of its digital signage requirements, easing where and how banks must display FDIC-insured labeling online after industry criticized a prior Biden-era revamp as overly rigid and confusing for customers.

  • January 22, 2026

    Goldstein Prosecutors Unveil Conflicting Cash Source Claims

    A former lawyer at SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's firm said Thursday that Goldstein told coworkers that the more than $960,000 in cash he brought off a flight from Hong Kong — the source of which is integral to the government's case — had come from a client.

  • January 22, 2026

    SEC Approves Cuts To PCAOB Budget, Board Member Salaries

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday approved a 2026 budget for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board that includes a 9.4% decrease overall from the prior year and cuts upward of 42% for board members' compensation.

  • January 22, 2026

    Transportation Cases To Watch In 2026

    Clashes over the scope of federal preemption in personal injury cases involving freight brokers and motor carriers, the Trump administration's gutting of Biden-era vehicle emissions standards and cuts to states' transportation and infrastructure funding are among the court battles that transportation attorneys are monitoring in 2026.

  • January 22, 2026

    House Report Claims Evidence of CVS Antitrust Violations

    House Judiciary Committee staffers said Wednesday that they'd uncovered "a pattern of anticompetitive activity" in CVS Health tactics aimed at coercing independent pharmacies into avoiding working with online services the company saw as a threat to its own pharmacy and pharmacy benefit manager businesses.

  • January 22, 2026

    DOJ's Revival Of Mediation Agency Doesn't End Suit Yet

    Community organizations told a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday they are planning to continue fighting what they alleged was the dismantling of a small racial-justice mediation agency within the U.S. Department of Justice, even as the agency's employees have been called back to work, saying it is still not clear if services have been restored.

  • January 22, 2026

    Full 5th Circ. Weighs Order Blocking Texas Migrant Arrest Law

    The full Fifth Circuit pushed multiple immigrants' rights organizations to explain why a Texas law allowing the state to arrest unauthorized immigrants could not stand, asking Thursday where it says in the U.S. Constitution immigrants have a right to file for asylum.

  • January 22, 2026

    Fla. Archaeologist Says Stolen Artifact Claims Ruined Career

    A Florida archaeologist filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against a Maryland nonprofit and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official, alleging she damaged his reputation and ruined his career with false claims that he trafficked stolen Native American human remains. 

  • January 22, 2026

    Proposed Subpoena Rule Change Raises Victim Privacy Fears

    A proposal to loosen restrictions on the use of federal criminal subpoenas would endanger and further traumatize victims of crime, most of whom lack legal representation to fight the invasive demands, victims' rights advocates told a federal rules advisory committee on Thursday.

  • January 22, 2026

    6th Circ. Clears 911 Dispatch Of Failure To Stop Murder

    Michigan county dispatchers can't be held responsible for the murder of a man by his mentally ill son, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, finding that although the son told 911 he "might do something bad" an hour before the killing, the agency's "failure to act does not suffice."

  • January 22, 2026

    Courthouse News Drops Access Suit Against DC Court Clerk

    National litigation news outlet Courthouse News Service has voluntarily and permanently dropped claims against a Washington, D.C., Superior Court clerk and the executive officer of the D.C. courts over filing delays, with both sides agreeing to pay their own costs.

  • January 22, 2026

    FDA Action Shouldn't Halt Amazon Labeling Suit, Plaintiffs Say

    Shoppers accusing Amazon of failing to make required disclosures on dietary supplement product pages told a Washington federal judge there's no need to pause their proposed class action amid possible rulemaking by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, arguing that the supposed rule change wouldn't negate the suit's claims under California law.

  • January 22, 2026

    Supplement Cos. Challenge FDA Health Claim Denials

    A group of health supplement companies hit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with a suit in D.C. federal court Wednesday alleging regulators wrongly denied them approval to make over 100 distinct claims concerning the health benefits of their products.

  • January 22, 2026

    Judge Recommends Toss Of Ex-Deputy's Political Firing Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has recommended tossing a former metropolitan Atlanta deputy sheriff's suit alleging he was forced to resign because he supported the sheriff's 2024 election opponent, while also urging sanctions against the deputy's attorney for citing nonexistent cases and misstating the law.

  • January 22, 2026

    Fla. Must Provide Everglades Detention Center Funding Docs

    A state judge on Thursday ordered the Florida Division of Emergency Management to fulfill a records request from an environmental group related to a federal grant that funded an immigration detention center in the Everglades.

  • January 22, 2026

    Judge Expands Block On Trump's Grant Restrictions

    A Washington federal judge agreed to broaden a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration over its political restrictions for using over $12 billion worth of federal grants, expanding the block to cover additional plaintiffs who were added to the suit.

  • January 22, 2026

    Feds Given More Time To Revisit School Grant Cancellations

    A Washington federal judge agreed Thursday to extend a deadline for the Trump administration to make fresh determinations as to 138 public school mental health grants that the court has found were illegally canceled, but admonished the federal government for previously understating how long those reassessments would take.   

  • January 22, 2026

    Trump Calls For Prosecution Of Jack Smith Post-Hearing

    Shortly after former special counsel Jack Smith gave his first public congressional testimony on the Trump cases, in which he warned the rule of law should not be taken for granted, President Donald Trump said he should be prosecuted.

  • January 22, 2026

    5th Circ. Appears Divided On President's Alien Enemies Power

    The full Fifth Circuit appeared divided Thursday on whether President Donald Trump can label any threat an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, with judges split between giving the president broad deference and those doubtful the courts have only a limited role.

  • January 22, 2026

    Meta Fights Late Data Request In Instagram Addiction Suit

    Meta Platforms has told a judge that Massachusetts' attorney general should not be allowed to fill what the company said are holes in the state's Instagram addiction lawsuit with a late subpoena for records from two of its own health agencies.

  • January 22, 2026

    Ill. Judge Dismisses Suit Over Federal Agents' Use Of Force

    An Illinois federal judge has allowed plaintiffs accusing immigration officials of using excessive force to voluntarily end their case, but first disbanded the class of media and peaceful protesters she'd certified late last year.

  • January 22, 2026

    Drugmakers May Dodge Disgorgement In States' Antitrust Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge probed the limits of his equitable powers Thursday in a sprawling generic drug antitrust enforcement action, expressing doubt that he could order the drugmaker defendants to hand over their profits while also awarding multiplied damages and imposing civil penalties.

  • January 22, 2026

    As Lawmakers Scrutinize Costs, Insurers Point To Hospitals

    Facing a barrage of questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill about rising costs, the heads of the biggest health insurance companies in the U.S. sought to blame providers and other parts of a complex industry.

  • January 22, 2026

    FERC Commissioners Back Fed-State Push For PJM Changes

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday backed plans from the Trump administration, state governors and PJM Interconnection to address escalating power prices amid data center-fueled increases in electricity demand, and encouraged the nation's largest grid operator to promptly submit policy proposals.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: Amazon's $2.5B Pact Broadens Regulatory Span

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    Amazon's $2.5 billion deal with the Federal Trade Commission offers takeaways for counsel managing risk across both consumer protection and competition portfolios, including that design strategies once evaluated solely for conversion may now be scrutinized for their competitive effects, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Minn. Financial Abuse Law Should Prompt Operational Review

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    A new Minnesota law targeting the financial exploitation of vulnerable adults with an order-for-protection mechanism will affect multiple functions across banking organizations, and in the time remaining in 2025, banks should take action to update any needed workflow and documentation protocols, say attorneys at Winthrop & Weinstine.

  • SEC Penalties Trended Down In FY 2025, Offering 2026 Clues

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's settled corporate penalties in fiscal year 2025 show a clear dividing line, as the largest penalties all came before Inauguration Day, a trend that may continue as the types of cases that lead to the biggest penalties seem to be no longer favored by the commissioners, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Client-Led Litigation

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    New litigators can better help their corporate clients achieve their overall objectives when they move beyond simply fighting for legal victory to a client-led approach that resolves the legal dispute while balancing the company's competing out-of-court priorities, says Chelsea Ireland at Cohen Ziffer.

  • Navigating 2025's Post-Grant Proceeding Shakeups

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    Extensive changes to the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board's post-grant proceedings this year, including the new settled expectations factor and revitalization of Fintiv factors, require petitioners and patent owners alike to be mindful when selecting patents to assert and challenge, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Perspectives

    Asylum Pretermission Ruling Erodes Procedural Protections

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    A recent Board of Immigration Appeals decision permitting immigration judges to dismiss asylum applications without notice or evidentiary hearings adopts the civil court's summary judgment mechanism without the procedural protections that make summary judgment fair, says Georgianna Pisano Goetz at GHIRP.

  • What To Expect From DOD's Acquisitions Revamp

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    The U.S. Department of Defense’s recently announced reshuffling of offices and changes to approval processes aimed at streamlining acquisitions and foreign military sales could materially reshape how contractors position themselves, structure bids and manage compliance, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Close Look At The Evolving Interval Fund Space

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    Interval funds — closed-end registered investment companies that make periodic repurchase offers — have recently moved to the center of the conversation about retail access to private markets, spurred along by President Donald Trump's August executive order incorporating alternative assets into 401(k) plans and target date strategies, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Meta Monopoly Ruling Highlights Limits Of Market Definition

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    A D.C. federal court's recent ruling that Meta is not monopolizing social media raises questions, such as why market definition matters and whether we have the correct model of competition, which can aid in making a stronger case against tech companies, says Shubha Ghosh at the Syracuse University College of Law.

  • Perspectives

    Nursing Home Abuse Cases Face 3 Barriers That Need Reform

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    Recent headlines reveal persistent gaps in oversight and protection for vulnerable residents in long-term care, but prosecution of these cases is often stymied by numerous challenges that will require a comprehensive overhaul of regulatory, legal and financial structures to address, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

  • Florida Throws A Wrench Into Interstate Trucking Torts

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    Florida's recent request to file a bill of complaint in the U.S. Supreme Court against California and Washington, asserting that the states' policies conflict with the federal English language proficiency standard for truck drivers, transforms a conventional wrongful death case into a high-stakes constitutional challenge, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: How To Build On Cultural Fit

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    Law firm mergers should start with people, then move to strategy: A two-level screening that puts finding a cultural fit at the pinnacle of the process can unearth shared values that are instrumental to deciding to move forward with a combination, says Matthew Madsen at Harrison.

  • Why Justices Must Act To End Freight Broker Liability Split

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent ruling in Cox v. Total Quality Logistics Inc., affirming states' authority over negligence claims against transportation brokers, deepens an existing circuit split, creating an untenable situation where laws between neighboring states conflict in seven distinct instances — and making U.S. Supreme Court intervention essential, says Steven Saal at Lucosky Brookman.

  • The Future Of Digital Asset Oversight May Rest With OCC

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    How the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency handles fintechs' growing interest in national trust bank charters, demonstrated by a jump in filings this year, will determine how far the federal banking system extends to digital assets, and whether the charter becomes a mainstream supervisory pathway, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Rare Tariff Authority May Boost US Battery Manufacturing

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    Finalizing preliminary tariffs on active anode material from China — the result of a rare exercise of statutory authority finding that foreign dumping hampered the development of a nascent U.S. industry — should help domestic battery manufacturing, but potential price increases could discourage related clean-energy use, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

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