Public Policy

  • July 03, 2025

    FCC Waives Lifeline Voice, Mobile Changes For 1 Year

    The Federal Communications Commission has once again postponed two changes to its Lifeline subsidy program, delaying the phase-out of support for voice-only services that were originally meant to push users toward broadband and keeping minimum broadband data standards at 4.5 gigabytes per month for at least an extra year.

  • July 03, 2025

    What To Watch In Mass. Courts In The Second Half Of 2025

    Massachusetts courts should be busy through the second half of 2025, with litigation against the Trump administration playing a starring role at both the state and federal level. Here are some of the key cases and issues that attorneys are monitoring.

  • July 03, 2025

    Cannabis Co. Nectar Sues Chicago Atty For $500K

    A Chicago attorney and his business partner are accused of defrauding Oregon-based cannabis company Nectar in a federal lawsuit that claims they promised to secure an Illinois license for the company but instead walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

    The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.

  • July 03, 2025

    Residents Urge Judge To Redo Ruling Backing Alaska Casino

    A group of Anchorage, Alaska, residents opposed to a plan to build a casino urged a federal judge to reconsider a ruling finding the Native Village of Eklutna has sovereign immunity and can't face a lawsuit seeking to block the development plan.

  • July 03, 2025

    Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.

  • July 03, 2025

    Judge Pauses DOJ's Sanctuary City Suit Against Rochester

    A New York federal judge on Thursday agreed to halt the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against the city of Rochester over its sanctuary city policies until the court rules on a request by religious groups to intervene in the case. 

  • July 03, 2025

    Capital Markets Upturn Sets Stage For Second-Half Rebound

    Deals attorneys are approaching the second half of 2025 increasingly confident that capital markets' activity will accelerate despite potential headwinds stemming from higher tariffs, interest rate uncertainties and geopolitical turmoil.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Biggest Rulings From Mass. High Court So Far In 2025

    Massachusetts' top court has tackled a controversial housing initiative, the thorny issue of qualified immunity for public employees and even a high-profile murder case in the first six months of 2025.

  • July 03, 2025

    Mid-Year M&A Deal Flow Suffers Amid Global Instability

    More than six months into a new Donald Trump administration, the mergers and acquisitions boom that many market observers anticipated has failed to materialize. In part one of this two-part M&A review, industry attorneys discussed market activity so far this year, how geopolitical factors are impacting the dealmaking environment, and their outlook for the remainder of 2025.

  • July 03, 2025

    Justices To Probe NJ Transit Cases Over Sovereign Immunity

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider whether New Jersey Transit Corp. is entitled to sovereign immunity from private lawsuits, taking an opportunity to smooth out conflicting state court rulings concerning the scope of the public transportation operator's liability for accidents.

  • July 03, 2025

    Justices Clarify Question Underlying Withdrawal Liability Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court clarified the question presented in a case it recently agreed to take up over the methodology for calculating businesses' liability for pulling out of multiemployer pension plans.

  • July 03, 2025

    Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear challenges to West Virginia and Idaho laws barring transgender athletes from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, putting yet more anti-trans legislation to the test after upholding Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors this term. 

  • July 02, 2025

    Amid DEI Uncertainty, Cos. Face Pressure From All Sides

    Attorneys have been analyzing the Trump administration's many pronouncements against diversity, equity and inclusion programs over the past several months, only to be left with questions as to what exactly "illegal DEI" is and what the government will do to police it.

  • July 02, 2025

    NCAA, NASCAR Antitrust Challenges Permeate 2025's 1st Half

    The first half of 2025 saw the dispute between NASCAR and two of its teams become supercharged and a judge give final approval to the disputed settlement for the NCAA name, image and likeness antitrust litigation.

  • July 02, 2025

    Retailers Want New NY Algorithmic Pricing Law Blocked

    The National Retail Federation on Wednesday asked a New York federal court to block a new state law that requires retailers to disclose the use of so-called "algorithmic pricing," claiming that the practice helps save customers money and the law would force retailers to use a "misleading and ominous warning."

  • July 02, 2025

    DHS Accused Of Targeting 'Individuals With Brown Skin' In LA

    Immigration rights groups and individuals who were arrested or stopped during recent federal immigration operations in Los Angeles filed a putative class action on Wednesday, accusing the federal government of targeting brown-skinned people and day laborers without warrants and keeping detainees in "dungeon-like" facilities.

  • July 02, 2025

    States Say DHS' Softer Stance On Grants Doesn't Moot Suit

    A collective of 20 states said Wednesday that only Congress can change the terms of federal grants, telling a Rhode Island federal judge that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's softening of its stance on withholding funds to states that don't cooperate with immigration enforcement cannot moot their suit against the government.

  • July 02, 2025

    Judge Says Trump Can't Curtail Asylum At The Border

    A D.C. federal judge ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump lacks the authority to sharply curtail entry at the southern border under on the basis of a purported migrant invasion, saying the president can't override the federal statutory immigration scheme.

  • July 02, 2025

    Trump Asks Justices To Pause CPSC Members' Reinstatement

    The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to stay a Maryland federal court's ruling that the president's removal of three U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission members was unlawful, while the commissioners argue they should be allowed to continue serving through the government's appeal.

  • July 02, 2025

    Avangrid Units Win Extra Time To Depose Conn. Utilities Chair

    Two Avangrid Inc. subsidiaries now have extra time to depose the chair of Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in a $62 million revenue request case because of records purportedly discovered less than a week after the agency claimed the chairperson's phone deleted text messages.

  • July 02, 2025

    Miami Faces Lawsuit Over Postponed Municipal Elections

    A Miami resident has sued the city over an ordinance that postponed municipal elections by one year, alleging the law is unconstitutional and was passed despite warnings from the Florida attorney general not to do so.

  • July 02, 2025

    ACA Changes Will Result In Mass Coverage Loss, Suit Claims

    Doctors for America, the Main Street Alliance and a trio of cities urged a Maryland federal court to vacate recently finalized changes to Affordable Care Act regulations, arguing they will cause at least 1.8 million people to lose their healthcare coverage.

  • July 02, 2025

    Amazon Judge Presses FTC On Bid For 'Bad Faith' Finding

    As the Federal Trade Commission insisted Wednesday that Amazon should be punished with a bad faith finding for mislabeling documents as privileged in a case over the company's Prime subscription practices, a Washington federal judge questioned why the agency wasn't "made whole" when the court granted its sanctions bid.

  • July 02, 2025

    Fla. Man Gets $1.7M For 34-Yr Wrongful Incarceration

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday that will provide $1.7 million in compensation to a man wrongfully convicted of armed robbery who served 34 years in prison before his release in 2023.

Expert Analysis

  • Proposed State AI Rule Ban Could Alter Employer Compliance

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    A proposal in the congressional budget bill that would ban state and local enforcement of laws and regulations governing artificial intelligence may offer near-term clarity by freezing conflicting rules, but long-term planning would remain difficult for employers seeking safe, lawful AI deployment strategies, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.

  • Operating Via Bank Charter Offers Perks Amid Industry Shift

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    As bank regulators become more receptive to streamlining barriers that have historically stood in the way of de novo bank formation, and as fintechs show more interest in chartering, attorneys at Goodwin outline the types of charters available and their benefits.

  • How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity

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    As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.

  • 5 Takeaways From DOJ's Media Compulsory Process Rules

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new rules, making it easier for law enforcement investigating leaks to compel members of the media and third parties to disclose information, could have wide-ranging impacts, from reduced protections for journalists and organizations, to an expanded focus on nonclassified material, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Public Cos. Must Heed Disclosure Risks Amid Trade Chaos

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    Ongoing uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump's shifting stances on tariffs and trade restrictions have exponentially escalated financial reporting pressures on public companies, so businesses must ensure that their operations and accounting practices align with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's standards, say Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block and Edward Westerman at Secretariat Advisors.

  • Seven County Ruling Should Trim Agency Enviro Analysis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County provides needed clarity for infrastructure projects by expressly directing agencies to narrow environmental reviews, and reducing the threat of litigation if even tangential issues are not exhaustively evaluated, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • CMS Guidance May Complicate Drug Pricing, Trigger Lawsuits

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    Recent draft guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposes to expand the scope of what counts as the same qualifying single-source drug, which would significantly alter the timeline for modified drugs facing price controls and would likely draw legal challenges from innovator drug companies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Digital Equity Act Grant Terminations Raise Key Legal Issues

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    The Trump administration's move to cancel grant programs created under the Digital Equity Act yields key legal and policy questions facing the executive branch, Congress and the courts, including how the administration plans to implement the cancellation of the Digital Equity Act's appropriations in the first place, say attorneys at Akin.

  • GAO Report Reveals How Banks And Regulators Are Using AI

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    A U.S. Government Accountability Office report published last month makes clear that while both federal regulators and regulated entities like banks and credit unions are employing artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, they're maintaining some skepticism, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Robinson-Patman Enforcement May Fizzle Out After PepsiCo

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    After securing an early Robinson-Patman Act victory against the largest wine and spirits distributor in the U.S., the Federal Trade commission's voluntary dismissal of its own enforcement action against PepsiCo throws into doubt the future of the federal statute that prohibits price discrimination and other anticompetitive practices, say attorneys at V&E.

  • Series

    Running Marathons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After almost five years of running marathons, I’ve learned that both the race itself and the training process sharpen skills that directly translate to the practice of law, including discipline, dedication, endurance, problem-solving and mental toughness, says Lauren Meadows at Swift Currie.

  • High Court Ruling Bucks Trend Of Narrowing Fraud Theories

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Kousisis v. U.S. decision, holding that economic loss is not required to establish prosecutors’ fraudulent inducement theory of fraud, is at odds with its decadeslong narrowing of federal fraud statutes’ reach, and may lead to convictions for a wide variety of contractual misrepresentations, say attorneys at Keker Van Nest.

  • Calif. Air Board Offers Early Hints On Climate Reporting

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    As initial reporting deadlines for California's new climate reporting laws approach, guidance provided by the California Air Resources Board in a virtual public workshop sheds some light on rulemaking to come, and how to prepare for compliance during this period of uncertainty, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Parsing The SEC's No-Action Letter On Rule 192 Compliance

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    Brandon Figg at Morgan Lewis discusses the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent no-action letter, which greenlights information barriers as an alternative approach to Rule 192 compliance and includes likely relief for existing policies and procedures.

  • 5 Ways In-House Counsel Can Stay Ahead Of New HSR Rules

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    Now that the Trump administration’s new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules have been in effect for several months, in-house counsel should consider several practice pointers that can help spearhead management of M&A-related antitrust risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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