Public Policy

  • May 08, 2026

    DOL Benefits Chief Warns Of 'Bad Faith' Focus On ESG, DEI

    The top official for the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits subagency said at a trade association conference Friday that agency investigations will focus on benefit plan managers' loyalty conflicts, including disloyal pursuits of socially conscious investing or diversity goals.

  • May 07, 2026

    Judiciary Panel Punts AI Rules, Mulls Judges' Survey Results

    Buckle up: Efforts to modernize evidentiary rules amid artificial intelligence fears are getting bumpy, as judiciary advisers Thursday agreed to dramatically delay action while digesting an AI survey of nearly 1,000 judges and organizing a symposium of litigators and tech pros.

  • May 07, 2026

    OpenAI CEO Altman Fueled 'Toxic Culture Of Lying,' Jury Told

    California federal jurors weighing Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion on Thursday watched prerecorded testimony from a former OpenAI board member who voted to oust CEO Sam Altman in 2023 over concerns his pattern of lies and deception fostered a "toxic culture of lying."  

  • May 07, 2026

    Proposed Meta Age Reforms Echo Europe Efforts, Judge Told

    An online safety expert testified Thursday that Meta would not be unduly burdened by age-verification reforms New Mexico's attorney general is seeking in a $3.7 billion bench trial over harm to teen users of its social media platforms, given that European regulators in recent weeks announced nearly identical demands.

  • May 07, 2026

    Agri Stats Reaches Meat Price-Fixing Deal With States, DOJ

    Agri Stats has agreed to stop putting together certain sales reports for broiler chicken processors to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice's allegations that those reports enabled price-fixing by meat processors, according to an announcement made Thursday.

  • May 07, 2026

    Judges Clash On Whether Kelly Urged Order Disobedience

    A D.C. Circuit panel appeared to be headed for a split decision on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's appeal of a district court order stopping him from dropping Sen. Mark Kelly's U.S. Navy rank, with judges clashing over whether Kelly ever told service members to disobey lawful orders.

  • May 07, 2026

    Incarcerated Woman Sues DOJ Over Transgender Policy Shift

    A transgender woman currently in federal prison has sued the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging a December memo issued by the agency illegally excludes transgender people from a major federal anti-sexual assault law designed to protect incarcerated people.

  • May 07, 2026

    Blue States Say Trump Admin Can't Duck Energy Order Suit

    Blue states have urged a federal judge to keep alive their lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's declaration of a national energy emergency, saying every action that's been taken by federal agencies to fast-track nonemergency energy activities flows from that order.

  • May 07, 2026

    Trump Campaign Exits Sex Assault Suit, Manager Appeals

    Days after President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign settled negligence claims in a former aide's sexual assault lawsuit, an ex-campaign manager accused of rape faced doubts from New York state appellate judges that he could escape the case with their help.

  • May 07, 2026

    6th Circ. Tosses Ohio's Out-Of-State Wine Limits

    The Sixth Circuit has struck down as unconstitutional Ohio's restrictions on out-of-state retailers' ability to sell wine directly to consumers in the Buckeye State.

  • May 07, 2026

    Father 'Blacked Out' While Killing Baby, Civil Court Hears

    A father convicted of murdering his 7-month-old by throwing the infant into a river from a 90-foot-high bridge in 2015 "blacked out" most of the details, he testified Thursday in a mother's wrongful death lawsuit against a Connecticut child protection agency.

  • May 07, 2026

    DOJ Antitrust Head Tells Merging Firms: No Games

    Combating "gamesmanship" remains top of mind for the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division as it reviews mergers, according to a New York speech Thursday from acting head Omeed A. Assefi warning parties against "altering" merger notification material or trying to "play games with documents and data."

  • May 07, 2026

    DC Judge Says ICE Guidance Violates Immigrant Arrest Order

    A D.C. federal judge said Thursday that the Trump administration violated her order banning warrantless civil immigration arrests in Washington, D.C., without officers first determining if an individual would likely escape before a warrant is secured, blaming agency guidance.

  • May 07, 2026

    Crypto Bill Could Get Senate Banking Markup Next Week

    A bill to regulate crypto markets known as the Clarity Act could be marked up by the Senate Banking Committee as soon as next week, but lawmakers are still finalizing key provisions that could make or break the voting process, policymakers told attendees of the crypto conference Consensus.

  • May 07, 2026

    How Litigation Funding Disclosure Could Affect ITC Cases

    The U.S. International Trade Commission's proposed rule to require disclosure of litigation funding in intellectual property cases could bring more transparency to disputes and promote settlements, but it could also discourage some suits if it's not carefully tailored, attorneys say.

  • May 07, 2026

    NAACP Urges Miss. Judge To Turn Off XAI Gas Turbines

    The NAACP has asked a Mississippi federal judge to block X.AI Corp. from operating a battery of polluting gas turbines in the community of Southaven, asserting it has continued to add turbines to power a nearby data center rather than address permitting violations.

  • May 07, 2026

    'If It Quacks': Judge Hints Kalshi's Biz Is Sports Gambling

    Fourth Circuit judges appeared dubious Thursday as counsel for Kalshi explained why its "sports event contracts" can only be regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than state gambling laws, with one judge remarking, "If it quacks, you know, it's a duck. Right? It's gambling isn't it?"

  • May 07, 2026

    La. Says Mailed Abortion Pills Harm State Budget, Sovereignty

    The state of Louisiana on Thursday defended its standing to challenge telehealth access to the abortion medication mifepristone, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that it has suffered financial and other injuries as mail-order pills flood the state.

  • May 07, 2026

    Dems Press Big 3 Bureaus On BNPL Credit Reporting Gaps

    Democratic U.S. senators are calling on the "Big Three" credit bureaus to explain how they're adapting their consumer credit scoring and reporting to account for buy-now-pay-later products, citing concerns about inconsistent tracking of a fast-growing source of everyday purchase financing.

  • May 07, 2026

    Insurer 'Arbitrarily' Cut NC Farmers' Coverage, Court Told

    A crop insurance provider owes two farmers for the cost of arbitration proceedings and other damages they suffered after the insurer tried to halve their recovery for a tobacco crop-related loss, according to a complaint filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • May 07, 2026

    Warren Asks Meta About Reported Stablecoin Payment Plans

    The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee has called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to provide more information about the company's reported plans to introduce stablecoin-based payment features for its users, accusing it of a "deeply troubling" lack of transparency about the project.

  • May 07, 2026

    Pentagon Defends Anthropic Security Risk Label At DC Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Defense told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acted well within his statutory discretion when he labeled Anthropic PBC a supply-chain risk to U.S. national security, rejecting Anthropic's claims of retaliation.

  • May 07, 2026

    Colo. Panel Says Insurance Affidavit Didn't Make Marriage

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel interpreted a Colorado Supreme Court case outlining common law marriage Thursday, finding that an affidavit signed to obtain health insurance isn't alone enough to show the existence of a common law marriage.

  • May 07, 2026

    Netlist Backs DOJ Stance On Essential IP In Samsung Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice is correct that having a patent included in a standard does not necessarily give the patentholder market power, Netlist said in defending itself against Samsung's lawsuit accusing it of exploiting a standard-setting process.

  • May 07, 2026

    Ill. Congressman's Aide Charged With COVID Relief Fraud

    An Illinois congressman's deputy district director is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly securing fraudulent unemployment insurance funds through a program implemented as part of the government's COVID-19 pandemic relief effort.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Wield The Clarity Act As A Litigation Defense Tool

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    The Clarity Act is being discussed as a future compliance statute, but for litigators it can be used as a present-day defense tool to strengthen fair‑notice framing, argue for forward‑looking remedies rather than punitive ones and reprice settlement leverage as statutory clarity approaches, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: The Human Element

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    Law school teaches you to quickly apply intellect and logic when handling a legal issue, but every fact pattern also involves a person, making the ability to balance expertise with empathy critical to the growth of relationships with clients, colleagues and adversaries, says Rachel Adcox at Adcox Strategies.

  • As Justices Mull Suncor, Cos. Face New Climate Suit Realities

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Suncor Energy v. Boulder County — its first case analyzing the litigation impact of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding — companies must consider new preemption questions surrounding climate lawsuits after the rescission, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • 7 Steps For Gov't Contractors In Post-IEEPA Tariff Landscape

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    In response to U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down tariffs issued by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, there are several actions federal contractors should take to preserve their place in any refund waterfall, and to manage audit, overpayment and False Claims Act risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How DExit, Mandatory Arbitration Could Alter IPO Outlook

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    As companies continue to leave Delaware and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission begins allowing companies to implement mandatory arbitration provisions, these developments could have a major impact on the initial public offering, securities class action, and directors and officers insurance landscapes, says Walker Newell at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

  • How High Court Recast State Sovereign Immunity In Galette

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in Galette v. New Jersey Transit, asserting that the state-chartered transit agency has independent corporate personhood and sole obligation to pay judgments against it, turned on substance rather than form — and its analysis should be carefully reviewed in courthouses and statehouses, say attorneys at McCarter & English.

  • Get Smart: Navigating The Genius Act's Regulatory Gaps

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    While some recent Genius Act rulemaking has covered consumer protection issues within the stablecoin market, the context is generally narrow and the final outcome remains uncertain for financial institutions or companies in the evolving landscape, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Opinion

    Ga. HOA Reform Bills Risk Undermining Local Governance

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    Lawmakers considering several bills in Georgia that would centralize regulation of homeowners associations should acknowledge that effective reform needs to protect homeowners’ rights while preserving the financial and governance structures that allow communities to function, says Julie Howard at NowackHoward.

  • Why Prediction Market Regulation Is At Major Inflection Point

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    As prediction markets experience tremendous growth and rapid mainstream adoption, regulators have begun to exercise enforcement authority to ensure market integrity and protect participants, though forthcoming guidance will shed light on how aggressively the agencies will police the fast-changing landscape, say attorneys at Latham.

  • How Cos. Should Prepare For NY RAISE Act Compliance

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    With the New York Responsible AI Safety and Education Act taking effect March 19, state regulators will expect subject artificial intelligence governance policies to understand whether appropriate safeguards and protocols are in place to prevent or mitigate discriminatory or adverse outcomes by frontier models, says Michael Paulino at Gordon Rees.

  • Compliance Takeaways Amid Increased Auto Finance Scrutiny

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    Recent supervisory focus on consumer protection in auto finance by agencies such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. provides meaningful signals regarding areas of heightened regulatory scrutiny for lenders, including data accuracy, AI risk management and vendor oversight, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • The Benefits Of Choosing A Niche Practice In The AI Age

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    As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly accessible, lawyers with a niche practice may stand out as clients seek specialized judgment that automation cannot replicate, but it is important to choose a niche that is durable, engaging and a good personal fit, says Daniel Borneman at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • How PBMs Can Adapt To Plan Sponsors' Disclosure Demands

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    As federal reforms, growing state regulation and litigation threats push plan sponsors to expect visibility into revenue streams, pharmacy benefit managers should leverage transparency strategically, including by simplifying how they get paid, offering clients audit-ready data and co-designing contracts that are easy for fiduciaries to explain and defend, says Kristie Blase at Frazer + Blase.

  • Section 122 Tariffs Show Shift In Strategy, Not Trade Policy

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    By imposing temporary tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act as a stopgap measure while it pivots to less transitory statutory authorities, the Trump administration sent a clear message that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources v. Trump, invalidating duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, will not precipitate a change in policy direction, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • What New Animal Welfare Enforcement Push Means For Cos.

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    The Trump administration's recently announced multiagency focus on violations of the Animal Welfare Act and related laws will likely lead to broader enforcement actions across industries, heightened scrutiny of compliance standards and a need for businesses to adopt effective risk management practices, says Shennie Patel at Crowell & Moring.

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