Public Policy

  • April 21, 2026

    Justices Look Split In 7th Amendment Feud Over FCC Fines

    Several U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed convinced Tuesday that Federal Communications Commission fines are nonbinding unless enforced and don't deprive alleged rule violators of the right to a jury trial, but some colleagues still questioned whether the parties sanctioned by the agency have a meaningful chance of facing a jury.

  • April 21, 2026

    7th Circ. Says Fed. Laws Don't Preempt Wis. Vape Sale Ban

    The Seventh Circuit declined Tuesday to revive vaping interest groups' bid to halt enforcement of a Wisconsin law banning sales of e-cigarettes that aren't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, finding federal law doesn't preempt the state's authority to regulate the marketing and sales of tobacco products. 

  • April 21, 2026

    Copyright Head Touts 6,000 Registrations Of Human-AI Works

    The U.S. Copyright Office has issued more than 6,000 registrations for works that incorporate artificial intelligence-generated materials and follow the agency's guidance for combined human-made and AI-created works, U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter said Tuesday.

  • April 21, 2026

    Fla. AG Backs Bal Harbour Shops Owner In Live Local Dispute

    Florida's Office of the Attorney General has asked a state court for permission to file an amicus brief supporting developer Bal Harbour Shops LLC's suit against a municipality that rejected the developer's application for a mixed-use project that would have included homes, a hotel and a retail area.

  • April 21, 2026

    Arkansas' Second Attempt At Age Verification Law Blocked

    Tech trade group NetChoice has won another battle in its war against age verification laws, convincing an Arkansas federal court to again block a state law that would restrict minors' ability to use social media.

  • April 21, 2026

    Congress Rallies More For Bills On Copyrights Than Patents

    There have been more intellectual property bills floated in Congress that are supportive of copyright rights than patent rights, according to a new report looking at how lawmakers treat the IP system.

  • April 21, 2026

    US Lawmakers Float Path For Fintech Fed Accounts

    Two federal lawmakers from California introduced a bipartisan bill on Tuesday that would create a path for nonbank fintechs to directly access the Federal Reserve's payment rails in the hopes of reducing bank fees and delays for consumers using payment apps.

  • April 21, 2026

    Board Says Opposition To Gangs Not Enough For Asylum

    Disapproval of criminal gangs or opposition to them is not enough to establish a protected political opinion for asylum purposes, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled on Tuesday, affirming an immigration judge's denial of an El Salvadoran woman's application.

  • April 21, 2026

    Feds Say Arctic Lease Sale For Oil Drilling Begins In June

    The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management has announced that it will hold an oil and gas lease sale on the 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying the bid opening for tracts will take place June 5.

  • April 21, 2026

    Watchdog Says Ex-Fla. Rep Used Straw Donors For Campaign

    A Washington, D.C.-based watchdog organization accused former Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of improperly funding her 2022 reelection bid to the U.S. House of Representatives, saying she orchestrated a complex straw donor scheme to funnel $725,000 in Haitian "dark money" into her campaign. 

  • April 21, 2026

    NM Couple Plead Guilty To Selling Vietnam Jewelry As Navajo

    A New Mexico husband and wife have admitted in North Carolina federal court to importing counterfeit Native American jewelry from Vietnam and marketing it to U.S. buyers as genuine handmade Navajo pieces, according to federal prosecutors and court documents.

  • April 21, 2026

    Squires Hints At New 'Holistic' Decision On PTAB Discretion

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires previewed at a conference Tuesday an imminent "comprehensive decision" that will articulate current policy on discretionary factors that inform the viability of Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges, saying he's seeking "predictability" for the PTAB.

  • April 21, 2026

    Bills Sinking 'Texas Two-Step' Ch. 11 Cases Reintroduced

    Members of Congress have reintroduced bipartisan legislation meant to deter so-called Texas two-step Chapter 11s, a controversial maneuver companies have used to address mass tort liabilities in bankruptcy.

  • April 21, 2026

    Defendant Says Rx Software Was Guide For Docs, Not Fraud

    A man accused of swindling Medicare out of nearly half a billion dollars was simply trying to make it easier for doctors to navigate labyrinthine Medicare regulations to get orthotic braces approved for their patients, his attorney told jurors in Florida federal court Tuesday.

  • April 21, 2026

    Pesticide Study Admin Says Ex-Worker's Suit Is A 'Do-Over'

    Counsel for a former administrative adviser in a national pesticide safety study organization named in an ex-worker's wrongful firing lawsuit urged a North Carolina federal court Tuesday to dismiss the matter, arguing the adviser is immune from constitutional claims that have already been litigated elsewhere.

  • April 21, 2026

    Colo. Judge Narrowly Expands ICE Subpoena Block

    A Colorado state judge narrowly expanded a June order that enjoined Colorado's governor from directing the state's Labor Department employees to respond to federal immigration enforcement subpoenas, ruling Tuesday that the order includes a March 13 subpoena by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

  • April 21, 2026

    Judge Backs Release Of Family Held After Colo. Protest Attack

    A Texas federal judge has recommended that the wife and children of an Egyptian man accused of attacking pro-Israel demonstrators be released from immigration detention, finding that their more than 10-month detention has violated the family's due process rights.

  • April 21, 2026

    Feds Say They Don't Control Immigration Center Conditions

    Immigration officials said a California federal court should toss a proposed class action from inmates alleging intolerable living conditions in a Mojave Desert processing center because the plaintiffs have sued the wrong defendants.

  • April 21, 2026

    Colo. Republicans Say Late Ruling Forces Semi-Open Primary

    The Colorado Republican Party has asked a federal judge to issue an emergency temporary restraining order allowing the party to ban unaffiliated voters from participating in its upcoming primary election after the court last month found a supermajority requirement to opt out of the primary was unconstitutional.

  • April 21, 2026

    11th Circ. Says Builders Can't Block Biden-Era Labor Mandate

    An association of builders failed to show it would succeed on its claims challenging a Biden-era executive order requiring labor agreements for all federal contracts exceeding $35 million, the Eleventh Circuit ruled, affirming a federal court's decision rejecting the group's request for an injunction.

  • April 21, 2026

    House Panel Votes To Gut Corporate Transparency Act

    A House finance committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would defang the Corporate Transparency Act by exempting all domestically owned companies from compliance, codifying a limitation already implemented by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

  • April 21, 2026

    Feds Say Pot Foes Lack Standing To Stop CMS Hemp Program

    Federal health regulators have told a D.C. federal judge that anti-pot advocates' attempt to block a program to ease access for Medicare beneficiaries to federally legal hemp products that have small amounts of THC was not bolstered by the addition of a pharmaceutical company as a co-plaintiff.

  • April 21, 2026

    Calif. Says City Skirted Duties After Tribal Remains Found At Site

    California has accused a southern city in the state of failing to conduct further environmental review after Native American remains were discovered at a luxury home development site, saying the city improperly let certain construction activities continue.

  • April 21, 2026

    Suit Says DOJ Voter Data Checks Could Trigger Purges

    Voting rights advocates sued the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday over its bid to acquire states' unredacted voter information to cross-check voter rolls against immigration databases, warning that the effort could enable purges of naturalized citizens who are eligible to vote.

  • April 21, 2026

    11th Circ. Mulls Septic Permit Ban In Fla. Manatee Dispute

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday considered vacating an injunction requiring Florida environmental regulators to temporarily stop issuing new septic tank permits over concerns for the well-being of manatees, with one judge appearing concerned that the ban didn't do enough to address pollution.

Expert Analysis

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

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    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • Regulators' Basel Pitch May Bring Banks Capital Relief

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    The prudential banking agencies' new proposals to implement the so-called Basel III endgame rules — which would modify the approach to risk-based capital, among other notable changes — represent a fundamental directional shift in bank capital requirements aimed at increasing lending capacity, says Chen Xu at Debevoise.

  • How SEC And CFTC Are Attempting To End Their 'Turf War'

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    Through coordinated examinations and a shared aim to end duplicative regulation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent memorandum of understanding could represent a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for market participants subject to the jurisdiction of both agencies, say attorneys at Jenner.

  • FTC Focus: Growing Emphasis On Competition In AI

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    The Federal Trade Commission's leadership has continued to highlight that competitive risks in artificial intelligence markets may arise at multiple levels simultaneously, considering not only who controls the resources necessary to build AI systems, but also how those systems function and yield outputs, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • What's Missing From Latest Gov't Claims Against Harvard

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    The most interesting thing about the Trump administration’s recent civil rights enforcement efforts targeting Harvard University is its decision not to assert violations of the False Claims Act when given the opportunity, despite signals that its enforcement efforts will include use of the federal FCA, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • How Cos. Can Prepare For 'Made In America' Ad Scrutiny

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    The Trump administration's executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in consumer-facing advertising, along with actions by the Federal Trade Commission, suggest a potential increased focus on consumer protection and pricing-related matters, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Opinion

    FTC Case Risks Redefining Price Discrimination

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    Federal Trade Commission v. Southern Glazer puts a spotlight on the blurry line between illegal price discrimination and ordinary competition, and could potentially set a precedent that puts nearly any manufacturer at risk of Robinson-Patman Act enforcement, says Jeremy Sandford at Econic Partners.

  • Parsing Rule 12(c) Motion Overuse In Securities Class Actions

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    Defendants in securities class actions have more frequently been filing motions for judgment on the pleadings following the denial of motions to dismiss, but courts have recently demonstrated an increasing willingness to reject these previously rare motions, finding them transparent attempts to relitigate already-decided issues, say attorneys at Labaton Keller.

  • Preparing For New Calif. Pay Data Reporting Requirements

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    California's S.B. 464 overhauls the state's pay data reporting framework by requiring employers to use job categories that are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, increasing both the potential visibility of pay disparities and the complexity of compliance, say attorneys at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Series

    Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Michigan's financial services sector saw several significant developments in 2026's first quarter, including the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services' issuance of a bulletin on the use of artificial intelligence and the Michigan House's introduction of a bill based on the Model Money Transmission Modernization Act, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • Justices' Ruling Stresses Quick Action Against Absconders

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in Rico v. U.S. that a supervised release term is not automatically extended when a defendant absconds, probation officers and prosecutors risk being unable to address later violations if they don't act promptly to secure warrants, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • New DOD Framework Offers Key Guidance On PFAS Disposal

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    The U.S. Department of Defense's recently updated guidance on disposal of materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ends its moratorium on incineration of PFAS-containing waste, but contractors must be ready to demonstrate stringent compliance with the department's new permitting system, operational controls and data practices, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How Cos. Can Navigate The Patchwork Of AI Safety Bills

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    In the first few months of 2026, state and federal lawmakers introduced hundreds of bills to address the perceived safety risks of artificial intelligence, so companies should assess whether existing or planned services could be scoped into AI safety legislation across jurisdictions, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Unpacking FCC's Proposed Rules For Offshore Call Centers

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    The Federal Communications Commission recently proposed rules that would restrict the use of offshore customer service operations, citing consumer frustration, data security risks and fraud as core reasons for the sweeping regulatory move, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    As usual, California remained a hub for financial services activity in the first quarter of 2026, with key developments including the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation's eye on consumer issues, a bill targeting "pig butchering" schemes, and jam-packed courts, say attorneys at Joseph Cohen.

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