Public Policy

  • June 23, 2026

    USPTO Shortens Time Period When Delays Need Justification

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says delays of more than a year in filing certain documents tied to patents need to come with an explanation, shortening the period of time that had been two years.

  • June 23, 2026

    Customs Announces Second Phase Of Tariff Refund System

    The second phase of a system for importers to claim refunds for tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court will become available June 29 for certain entries that have been subject to the reconciliation process, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday.

  • June 23, 2026

    Judge Flags Flaws In Rule Capping Health Student Loans

    A D.C. federal judge appeared to agree with health worker organizations challenging new federal student loan caps that there were problems with how the U.S. Department of Education defined "professional degrees" in a recent rulemaking, but suggested that "taking over the job" of the department would be inappropriate.

  • June 23, 2026

    Colo. Justices Say Courts Can Order Condemnation Discovery

    The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that trial courts have discretion to order discovery before immediate possession hearings in condemnation proceedings, finding a lower court erred in concluding it lacked that authority.

  • June 23, 2026

    Judicial Noms Still Say Biden Won In 2020 — Technically

    A group of judicial nominees, who earlier this month were the first of the Trump administration's nominees to say President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, reiterated in follow-up statements that Biden won the election "as a matter of law" — doubling down on what critics say is an equivocation on the election's outcome.

  • June 23, 2026

    New Mexico Tribe Says Land Suit Targets Survey, Not Title

    A New Mexico tribe is fighting attempts to dismiss its bid to block the federal government from altering the boundaries of a Lincoln-era 34,700-acre land patent, telling the court that the defendants can't frame the litigation as a quiet title action.

  • June 23, 2026

    SSA Says Court Has No Jurisdiction Over FOIA Fee Dispute

    The Social Security Administration told the D.C. federal court that the Freedom of Information Act does not authorize the court to override the fee determinations the agency made when producing public records related to its involvement with technology company Palantir.

  • June 23, 2026

    Pa. Town Wants Out Of 'Forever' Sewer Deals With Neighbor

    A Pittsburgh-area township is suing a neighboring borough and sewer authority, asking a Pennsylvania state court to declare that the township has authority to update or terminate decades-old sewer service agreements that locked in rates that no longer reflect the cost of maintaining the system.

  • June 23, 2026

    BioNTech Accused Of Firing Nurse Over Drug Trial Concerns

    A former senior clinical trial manager at BioNTech US Inc. told a North Carolina federal court Monday that she was wrongfully fired after complaining to higher-ups about an "epidemic of safety issues and protocol deviations" in clinical trials.

  • June 23, 2026

    Green Groups Drop Pipeline Permit Appeal After Stay Is Refused

    Environmental groups' challenge to a discharge permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work on a natural gas pipeline stretching across several Eastern states was voluntarily dismissed Monday at the Fourth Circuit.

  • June 23, 2026

    Feds Tout AI's Role In $6.5B Healthcare Fraud Crackdown

    Federal authorities said Tuesday that artificial intelligence and sophisticated data analysis helped them detect and prosecute healthcare fraud as part of a national crackdown that resulted in charges against 455 defendants.

  • June 23, 2026

    Judge Who Denied Goldstein Retrial Says It Wasn't Close Case

    A Maryland federal judge has elaborated on her decision to deny SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein's bid for an acquittal or new trial, saying that the evidence presented at trial either supersedes or invalidates his claims of issues with jury instructions and insufficient or excluded evidence.

  • June 23, 2026

    Telecom Biz Sees Robust Competition, Think Tank Says

    As the Federal Communications Commission evaluates competition in the telecom sector, a think tank urged the agency not to adopt regulatory policies that treat the market as unfairly skewed toward a few large players.

  • June 23, 2026

    NC Becomes First State To Ban Outside Funding Of Civil Suits

    North Carolina has become the first state in the country to ban outside investors from funding civil litigation, after Democratic Gov. Josh Stein signed into law a bill that outlaws third parties from footing the bill for civil suits in exchange for a cut of the payout at the finish line.

  • June 23, 2026

    DC Judge Pulls Plug On Feds' Voter Citizenship Database

    A D.C. federal judge blocked the Trump administration's expansion of a database that allows states to screen voters, saying it "haphazardly combined and repurposed" information on millions of Americans, including unreliable citizenship information, and violated multiple laws.

  • June 23, 2026

    NY Rule Rewrite Drops 30-Day Pause For Atty Soliciting

    New York's Appellate Division has adopted new rules of professional conduct on attorney advertising and solicitation, deleting a ban on soliciting clients less than 30 days after an incident.

  • June 23, 2026

    FCC Spectrum Auction Pulls In More Than $3.5B

    The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday it had raised more than $3.5 billion in gross winning bids in its recent spectrum auction, the first sale of wireless licenses by the federal government in years.

  • June 23, 2026

    Several Democrats Challenge FCC Political Ad Guidance

    Democratic candidates and officeholders, including former Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. Jon Ossoff, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, have asked the Fourth Circuit to strike down Federal Communications Commission guidance they say unlawfully expands discounted political advertising rates to party committees and joint fundraising groups.

  • June 23, 2026

    New York Mask Ban For Federal Agents Sparks Dueling Lawsuits

    New York state and the U.S. Department of Justice have filed dueling lawsuits over the state's new laws banning federal law enforcement officers from wearing face masks and seeking to rein in immigration enforcement in the Empire State.

  • June 23, 2026

    US Bars Jordan Cos.' Imports Over Forced Labor Concerns

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday announced it would bar shipments of any garments produced by a pair of Jordanian companies due to indications that they are being produced with forced labor.

  • June 23, 2026

    US Blocks WTO Appellate Body Selection Process Again

    The World Trade Organization failed again to begin the process of selecting members to the appellate body designed to settle disputes over WTO decisions, marking the 98th time that the initiative has been blocked by U.S.-led efforts, according to a news release Tuesday.

  • June 23, 2026

    Ill. Feds Drop More Charges For Grand Jury 'Irregularities'

    A third federal prosecution has unraveled over "serious irregularities" in grand jury proceedings at Chicago's federal courthouse, with U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros personally moving Monday to permanently dismiss arson charges against four defendants after improper communications between a prosecutor and grand jurors came to light.

  • June 23, 2026

    UK Aims To Modernize Tax Framework For Distributions

    The United Kingdom is aiming to modernize its tax system on distributions, including by aligning the treatment of dividends from foreign companies with domestic companies, the government said Tuesday.

  • June 23, 2026

    EU Parliament Panels Advance Mexico Trade Agreement

    Two European Parliament committees signed off Tuesday on a reworked trade deal with Mexico that would remove nearly all tariffs on European agricultural goods imported into the country, setting up a full vote by Parliament.

  • June 23, 2026

    Texas, DOJ Get Judge To End Biden Immigration Rule In 1 Day

    A Texas federal court has approved a deal between Texas and the Trump administration to vacate a Biden-era rule allowing immigration courts to temporarily close cases, the same day Texas filed a lawsuit alleging the policy had created a "de facto amnesty program."

Expert Analysis

  • Your Next Litigation Hold Should Cover AI Chat Logs

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Fortis Advisors v. Krafton to treat a CEO’s artificial intelligence chats as substantive evidence is being read as a discovery warning to litigators, but there is a second duty-to-preserve lesson that is especially pertinent to in-house counsel, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • FERC Order May Alter PJM's Framework, Spur $1B In Refunds

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    A recent order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stands to reform how grid operator PJM Interconnection assigns transmission upgrade costs, with potentially sweeping implications for transmission owners, merchant transmission facilities and load-serving entities, including an estimated $1 billion in refunds and surcharges, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • New Connecticut Law On Employers' AI Use Is Inventive

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    A recently passed Connecticut law regulating the use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions innovates by using third-party risk assessments to vet and certify AI models, and by recognizing a division of responsibility between developers and deployers, potentially influencing pending legislation in other states, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Opinion

    High Court's Abortion Pill Stay Reinforces Appellate Principles

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent order in Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana, staying a Fifth Circuit ruling that reinstated an in-person requirement for dispensing the abortion medicine mifepristone, should be seen not as a definitive ruling on reproductive rights, but as an affirmation of a more disciplined jurisdictional reality, says Daniel Nardo at Nardo & Associates.

  • Opinion

    International Patent Licensing System Must Be Maintained

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    As foreign approaches to patent enforcement threaten to distort the licensing markets that underpin modern technology, courts and policymakers must take action to ensure that the standard essential patent framework is preserved, says Brian O'Shaughnessy at Dinsmore.

  • Tax Highlights From Georgia's 2026 Legislative Session

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    Georgia's two-year legislative cycle recently concluded with the enactment of several significant tax bills that reflect efforts to modernize tax policy in response to evolving economic priorities, and a broader trend toward increased scrutiny of administrative agency interpretations, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • How SEC, CFTC Proposal Would Ease Private Fund Reporting

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s recent proposal to streamline and lighten certain confidential reporting requirements could bring welcome changes for many private fund advisers, sponsors should consider important nuances of its potential impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Series

    Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Highlights Split On Labor Cost Depreciation

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Schoening Investment v. Cincinnati Casualty throws into relief the fine lines of courts' varying interpretations of whether a commercial property insurer may justifiably depreciate labor costs to determine the actual cash value of damage, says Nabila Rahim at Zelle.

  • Sold Inventory May Drive Tax Treatment Of Tariff Refunds

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    Companies determining the tax treatment of refunds expected following the U.S. Supreme Court's February decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act should consider whether the tariff costs have already reduced their income considering the cost of goods sold, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • NCUA Proposal Could Streamline Credit-Union-Bank Mergers

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    While the National Credit Union Administration's recently proposed merger overhaul may reduce procedural barriers to combinations involving banks and credit unions and signals a willingness to revisit long-settled regulations, parties should still ensure careful planning and regulator engagement throughout complex transactions, say attorneys at Fox Rothschild.

  • Operational AI Washing: Fortifying The Disclosure Record

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    The same artificial intelligence-driven workforce narratives that once appeared in earnings calls and Form 8-Ks can easily become raw material for future operational AI washing claims, so companies must be careful when drafting public disclosures because winning a federal motion to dismiss starts months before a lawsuit is ever filed, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • How The High Court Expanded Freight Broker Liability

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that freight brokers may be liable for selecting unsafe motor carriers, the key question will be whether brokers used reasonable care in selecting a given motor carrier, with the concurring opinion offering some clues as to what reasonable care might look like, says Marc Blubaugh at Benesch.

  • Treasury Proposal Maps Compliance Road For Stablecoins

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    Stablecoin issuers should prepare for bank-style anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations under, and consider submitting comments on, the Treasury Department's proposed Genius Act rules, which are reshaping compliance expectations for digital asset businesses and affiliated financial institutions alike, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Adapting To AI-Driven Scrutiny Of Foreign Asset Disclosures

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    As the government expands AI-driven, cross-agency fraud detection, foreign asset disclosure should be viewed as part of a broader, data‑driven enforcement ecosystem that prioritizes consistency, documentation and proactive governance, says Logan Koehring at FBT Gibbons.

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