Public Policy

  • April 20, 2026

    National Parks Group Seeks To Block Mojave Mine Restart

    The National Parks Conservation Association is asking a California federal district court to block a Department of the Interior decision to renew gold mining within the Mojave National Preserve, arguing the department skirted environmental laws by reversing established policy that prioritized the desert ecosystem and Indigenous cultural area's protection.

  • April 20, 2026

    Kash Patel Sues Atlantic For $250M Over 'Fabricated' Report

    FBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic magazine for $250 million in damages Monday, claiming a recent report about his alleged drinking and absences from work was "fabricated" and designed to "drive him from office."

  • April 20, 2026

    Little-Known Gambling Tax Could Upend Boom In US Betting

    After a record year for U.S. commercial gaming, a little-known tax on phantom income in last year's Republican reconciliation law has spurred bipartisan repeal efforts amid concerns it could alter betting behavior and drain state and local economies built on gambling-related tourism.

  • April 20, 2026

    High Court SEC Case Threatens FERC Fraud Clawbacks

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission efforts to claw back unjust profits from market frauds, a linchpin of the agency's enforcement work, face an uncertain future as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's disgorgement powers.

  • April 20, 2026

    E-Rate Bid Revamp Likely To Be Harmful, Advocates Tell FCC

    An organization that normally champions the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program, which subsidizes internet service for schools and libraries, has told the agency it thinks its plans to consolidate bids into a single competitive portal is a bad idea.

  • April 20, 2026

    Groups Challenge BP Offshore Project Approval At 11th Circ.

    Conservation groups petitioned the Eleventh Circuit on Monday seeking to block the Trump administration's recent approval of BP's Kaskida offshore drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico, saying Kaskida is in "riskier waters" than where the Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred.

  • April 20, 2026

    Live Nation Wants Expert, Damages Cut After Antitrust Verdict

    Live Nation is asking a New York federal court to strike the testimony of a key expert witness for the states and to wipe the damages awarded by the jury based on her work, in the antitrust case accusing the company of monopolizing the live entertainment industry.

  • April 20, 2026

    Ill. Judge Orders Five Freed Over ICE Warrantless Arrests

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday found that five individuals were arrested in violation of a consent decree prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making warrantless arrests without probable cause, but said recent guidance from the Seventh Circuit curbed his authority to provide relief to others.

  • April 20, 2026

    Trump's Labor Secretary Steps Down

    President Donald Trump's labor secretary stepped down on Monday amid fallout from an internal investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor watchdog that apparently probed a relationship she allegedly had with a subordinate, and other issues.

  • April 20, 2026

    Alaska Can't Dodge $2M Bill In Fishing Rights Row, Court Told

    Indigenous organizations say Alaska is responsible for the length of a dispute rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court over fishing rights in the Kuskokwim River, telling a district court that the state is trying to "foist responsibility" for millions in legal fees onto its Native citizens.

  • April 20, 2026

    Utah Says Kratom Law Doesn't Clash With Federal Policy

    Utah officials have urged a federal judge not to halt enforcement of a new state law reining in psychoactive products derived from the kratom leaf, saying the policy is necessary for consumer safety and public health and is not preempted by federal law.

  • April 20, 2026

    Tariff Refund Rollout Well Received, But Concerns Persist

    The first phase of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's tariff refund system has largely held up against the influx of importers' initial claims, though some businesses have already identified issues in complying with the process, according to trade lawyers.

  • April 20, 2026

    Justices To Hear Catholic Preschools' Challenge To Colo. Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to review two Catholic parishes' challenge to Colorado's universal preschool program, which requires that they accept students from LGBTQ+ families to receive state funding. 

  • April 20, 2026

    Unions Can't Sue Over Deferred Resignation, Feds Say

    The Trump administration has asked the First Circuit to uphold a decision rejecting a labor coalition's challenge to its deferred-resignation program for federal workers, arguing the coalition's bid to revive the claims falls flat.

  • April 20, 2026

    Uber Flouted Prop 22 With Lack Of Appeals Process, Suit Says

    Uber failed to provide drivers with a process for challenging deactivations under California's Proposition 22, which provided certain benefits for app-based drivers and exempted them from an independent contractor classification law, a ride-hailing driver advocacy group alleged Monday in state court.

  • April 20, 2026

    Ex-Budget Official's Plea Hearing Fizzles In 2nd Bribery Case

    A change of plea hearing scheduled Monday afternoon in the second federal corruption trial of former Connecticut budget official Konstantinos M. Diamantis never materialized, with the parties emerging from chambers and leaving a Bridgeport courthouse without a judge entering the courtroom or going on the record. 

  • April 20, 2026

    House Panel Probes Reports Of Missing, Killed Scientists

    Two Republican U.S. congressmen announced a probe Monday into reports of about a dozen scientists or government employees with ties to American nuclear and space programs who were killed or reported missing, penning letters seeking information from NASA, the Department of Energy, the FBI and the Defense Department.

  • April 20, 2026

    'Unserious Leaders Are Unsafe': RFK Jr.'s Trans Edict Voided

    An Oregon federal judge struck down Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s efforts to enforce the agency's restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, finding the restrictions unlawful and criticizing Kennedy's leadership and the policy declaration that introduced the changes. 

  • April 20, 2026

    Vt. Court Says Monsanto Must Face Trial Over PCBs At School

    A Vermont school district's lawsuit seeking roughly $135 million in damages against Monsanto entities over toxic chemicals at its now-shuttered high school campus must go to trial, a Vermont federal court ruled, denying the Monsanto defendants a quick win.

  • April 20, 2026

    Trump Orders Agencies To Fast-Track Psychedelic Therapies

    President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that his administration would instruct federal agencies to accelerate investigations into new therapies derived from psychedelic drugs and streamline patients' access to the treatments.

  • April 20, 2026

    Justices Won't Review School's Handling Of Gender Transition

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a challenge to a Massachusetts school district's decision not to inform parents when their 11-year-old child began using nonbinary pronouns and a new name.

  • April 20, 2026

    CIT Directs Commerce To Be More Specific On Korean Duty

    The U.S. Department of Commerce must be more specific in its attempt to justify its determination that a South Korean steel plate exporter was benefiting from a government subsidy on electricity, the U.S. Court of International Trade said, ordering another redetermination.

  • April 20, 2026

    CFPB's Layoff Bid Belongs Before DC Judge, Union Says

    A federal labor union pushed back Friday against a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau bid to proceed with a plan for shedding roughly half its remaining staffers, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency's request should go first to the lower-court judge who froze layoffs there.

  • April 20, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week delivered another mix of procedural rulings, fiduciary duty disputes and deal litigation, highlighting both the court's gatekeeping role and its continued focus on stockholder rights and transactional fairness.

  • April 20, 2026

    Illinois' Suit Over Trump's National Guard Deployment Tossed

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit filed by the state and the city of Chicago challenging the deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois, agreeing with the Trump administration that the case is now moot because the troops have been demobilized or withdrawn and the orders authorizing their presence "are no longer alive."

Expert Analysis

  • What Texas Anti-Boycott Ruling Means For ESG Landscape

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    A Texas federal court's recent ruling in American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar that Texas' anti-ESG law is unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds will likely embolden legal challenges to similar laws in other states that have adopted fossil fuel boycott statutes, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 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.

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