Public Policy

  • March 19, 2026

    Calif. Families Sue Rady Health Over Move To End Trans Care

    Four families have asked a state judge to prevent California's largest pediatric health system from cutting off gender-affirming care for minors, alleging the move would violate state antidiscrimination laws and leave them scrambling to find new providers, some more than 100 miles away.

  • March 19, 2026

    4th Circ. Probes Basis For Chemours River Pollution Order

    The Chemours Co. FC LLC found favor Thursday with at least one Fourth Circuit judge who appeared skeptical of why a lower court decided to render an injunction that blocks the company from continuing to discharge forever chemicals into the Ohio River.

  • March 19, 2026

    Calif. Bill Seeks Legal Aid For Residents Facing Deportation

    California residents facing federal deportation proceedings would receive legal representation under a new bill introduced by state Assemblymember Mia Bonta. 

  • March 19, 2026

    Copyright Office Seeks Fee Hikes For First Time Since 2020

    The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing its first major fee overhaul since 2020, saying in rulemaking unveiled Thursday that the changes are needed to account for inflation and a drop in cost recovery since the agency's last fee adjustment.

  • March 19, 2026

    Detroit Clinic Zones Impede Free Speech, Protesters Say

    Anti-abortion advocates sued the city of Detroit, claiming an ordinance creating speech-restriction zones around healthcare facilities unlawfully blocks peaceful counseling outside an abortion clinic on the city's west side.

  • March 19, 2026

    Minn. House Bill Seeks $4B Property Tax Refund

    Minnesota would allow eligible taxpayers to claim a refund for a portion of property taxes paid in 2026 under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives. 

  • March 19, 2026

    More Discovery Allowed On USPTO Patent Quality Program

    A Washington, D.C., federal magistrate judge has reopened discovery into whether the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covertly revived a now-defunct program for flagging "sensitive" patent applications for extra review.

  • March 19, 2026

    Sitting Judges Take Stand Over Threats Growing 'Ordinary'

    On the heels of an ethics opinion giving them wider latitude to speak publicly, sitting federal judges brought attention Thursday to the increasing threats against them and their family members, warning about the dangers of such threats becoming "ordinary."

  • March 19, 2026

    Ex-Top Cop Charged With Gambling Dept. Funds Faces Judge

    The former police chief of New Haven, Connecticut, appeared for the first time Thursday before a serious felony docket judge after being charged with embezzling $85,500 from two city funds while wagering nearly $4.5 million on the online gambling apps DraftKings and FanDuel.

  • March 19, 2026

    Judges Scrutinize DOD's Claim Of Hesai's China Military Ties

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Thursday raised serious questions about the U.S. Department of Defense's broad interpretation of a law used to designate companies as "contributors" to the Chinese military-industrial base, pressing a government attorney on the basis for finding links between Shanghai LiDAR-maker Hesai and the Chinese military.

  • March 19, 2026

    EU Trade Committee Approves US Trade Deal With Conditions

    The European Parliament's trade committee approved major tariff cuts Thursday to implement the bloc's U.S. trade deal, but made the cuts contingent on President Donald Trump respecting a 15% cap on rates, lowering steel and aluminum tariffs and not imposing tariffs over foreign policy concerns.

  • March 19, 2026

    NJ Judicial Privacy Law Suits Survive Venue Challenge

    Seven out of eight data collection companies that claimed Garden State federal courts lack jurisdiction over them in suits alleging they violated the state's judicial privacy law purposefully availed themselves of the market in New Jersey, a federal judge ruled.

  • March 19, 2026

    Civil Rights Groups Back Creek Freedmen's Citizenship Battle

    Civil rights groups are looking to back two members of the Muscogee Creek Freedmen Band in their bid to postpone a May 30 special tribal election until they're approved for citizenship, arguing that the delay in processing their applications is legally indefensible and risks invalidating the results of the election itself.

  • March 19, 2026

    Insurance Execs Ask 11th Circ. To Review Coverage Suit Toss

    Insurance executives accused of sabotaging their former company as they prepared to start a rival firm will ask the Eleventh Circuit to review a lower court ruling that Berkley Assurance Co. did not have to pay for their defense in now-dismissed litigation filed by their ex-employer.

  • March 19, 2026

    Live Nation CEO Says He Can't Recall 'Market Power' Remark

    Live Nation's longtime CEO sparred Thursday with states that say the $36 billion entertainment giant engages in monopolization, telling a Manhattan federal jury the business is a "better mousetrap" than rivals and saying he couldn't recall telling investors the company has "incredible market power."  

  • March 19, 2026

    Dem. Rep. Raskin Questions USPTO's 'Board Of Peace' Filings

    The ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is demanding answers from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over its trademark applications for President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace," questioning their legality and warning that they may help conceal foreign funding connected to the newly formed entity.

  • March 19, 2026

    Judge Tosses Bias Suit Over Boston School Admissions

    Three elite public schools in Boston dodged a challenge to their competitive admissions process Thursday, with a federal judge saying white students' theory of discrimination has been rejected by the courts before.

  • March 19, 2026

    EU Official Says Tax Simplification Requires Trade-Offs

    A top tax official in the European Union's executive body said Thursday that EU countries must be prepared to make some trade-offs, for instance on information exchange and information technology investment, if they want to achieve tax simplification.

  • March 19, 2026

    Commerce Investigating Chinese, Indian Graphite Electrodes

    The U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday said it will open probes into imported Chinese and Indian electrodes used for smelting to determine whether those goods have been subsidized or sold at less than fair value, joining an ongoing U.S. International Trade Commission investigation.

  • March 19, 2026

    Nomination For New DOJ Fraud Chief Heads To Senate Floor

    The nomination of Colin McDonald for the new position of assistant attorney general for fraud was sent to the full Senate on Thursday, after the Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to advance his nomination.

  • March 19, 2026

    Feds' Capital Rule Overhaul Would Give Break To Banks

    Federal regulators moved Thursday to launch a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. bank capital rules, rolling out a long-awaited package of proposed changes that are expected to shave billions off the aggregate amount of capital required for banks of all size ranges.

  • March 19, 2026

    Mullin's Nomination To Be DHS Secretary Goes To Full Senate

    Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was sent to the full Senate on Thursday.

  • March 18, 2026

    Senator Unveils Draft AI Bill Intended To Wipe Out State Regs

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Wednesday released a draft of proposed legislation that would override a "patchwork" of state artificial intelligence regulations, touting the proposal as protecting "children, creators, conservatives and communities" and slamming the state regulations as hindering "AI innovation."

  • March 18, 2026

    Meta Smart Glasses Pose Mass Surveillance Risk, Sens. Warn

    Three U.S. senators Wednesday warned in a letter to Meta that the tech giant's plans to integrate facial recognition technology into its smart glasses risk "normalizing mass surveillance" at a time the federal government is using similar tech to "intimidate protesters and chill speech."

  • March 18, 2026

    Immigrants' Suit Over Courthouse Arrests Proceeds, For Now

    A D.C. federal judge largely allowed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's practice of fast-tracking deportations and arresting immigrants at immigration courthouses to proceed, tossing only individual immigrants' claims objecting to alleged government policies allowing oral motions to dismiss removal proceedings.

Expert Analysis

  • FDA's Biosimilarity Guidance Holds Uncertain Implications

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new draft guidance aimed at simplifying the biosimilarity demonstration process may not be enough to overcome the barriers that have historically constrained biosimilar competition, and could affect biosimilar access in unexpected ways, say analysts at Analysis Group.

  • Unpacking Key Themes From NY's New Healthcare Strategy

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    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2026 State of the State agenda, read together with the state's fiscal year 2027 executive budget, reflect a clear framework to utilize Medicaid as the state's operating platform for healthcare reform, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • A Single DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy Raises Questions

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's soon-to-be-released uniform corporate criminal enforcement policy could address the challenges raised by the current decentralized approach, but it will need to answer a number of potential questions amid scant details, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • WTO Most‑Favored‑Nation Reform May Hold Promise

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    When the World Trade Organization meets this month, it is expected to debate changing the most-favored-nation rule, a carefully calibrated loosening of which may be justified if it enables deeper liberalization and regulatory cooperation, says Alan Yanovich at Akin.

  • Navigating Exclusion Decisions After SEC's No-Action Change

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    Following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's November changes to the Rule 14a-8 no-action letter process, shareholder proponents have turned to litigation if companies excluded their proposals under the new framework, with three recent cases offering useful lessons for companies navigating exclusion decisions this proxy season, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • 5 Different AI Systems Raise Distinct Privilege Issues

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    A New York federal court’s recent U.S. v. Heppner decision, holding that a defendant’s use of Claude was not privileged, only addressed one narrow artificial intelligence system, but lawyers must recognize that the spectrum of AI tools raises different confidentiality and privilege questions, says Heidi Nadel at HP.

  • Fed's Abbreviated Supervisory Statement Packs A Big Punch

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    Language used in a recent three-page statement from the Federal Reserve Board charts a very clear shift in the supervision of banks and bank holding companies, departing from traditional "Fed speak" and emphasizing material financial risks in exams, says Joseph Silvia at Duane Morris.

  • After Learning Resources: A Practical Guide For US Importers

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Feb. 20 decision in Learning Resources v. Trump, U.S. importers and consumers on whom tariffs were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act can seek relief through existing administrative procedures or a yet-to-be-determined bespoke refund mechanism, and should plan for more changes in the tariff landscape, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • State, Federal Policies Complicate Fuel And Carbon Markets

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    As federal and state regulators advance a complex web of mandatory and voluntary programs and incentives that shape how transportation fuels are produced, traded and valued, new compliance obligations present both risks and opportunities for fuel market and carbon market participants alike, says Sarah Grey at Arnold & Porter.

  • Opinion

    AI-Assisted Arbitration Needs Safeguards To Ensure Fairness

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    As tribunals and arbitral institutions increasingly use artificial intelligence tools in their decision-making processes, ​​​​​​​clear disclosure standards and procedural safeguards are necessary to ensure that efficiency gains do not erode the fairness principles on which arbitration depends, says Alexander Lima at Wesco International.

  • Paramount-WBD Deal Would Widen Net For Antitrust Scrutiny

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    The fresh likelihood of a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery raises the prospect of added intervention from the U.S. Department of Justice due to the companies' overlaps in key markets, and may signal expanded DOJ scrutiny of potential anticompetitive effects on supply chains, says Shubha Ghosh at the Syracuse University College of Law.

  • Logistics Update: What Immigrant Driver Rule Means For Cos.

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    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new final rule restricting issuance of commerical driver's licenses for nondomiciled drivers will have immediate operational implications for motor carriers, but the broader effects will ripple through relationships between service providers and their sources of freight, including brokers and shippers, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Trans Care Enforcement Landscape Is Evolving Quickly

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    The recent coordinated federal effort to reshape pediatric gender-affirming care through enforcement and funding pressure has created a rapidly evolving regulatory environment marked by shifting risk assessments and potential downstream market effects for healthcare institutions and life sciences companies, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.

  • How Del. High Court's Moelis Reversal Fits Into DExit Debate

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    By declining to decide the facial validity of the provisions at issue in Moelis & Co. v. West Palm Beach Firefighters Pension Fund, the Delaware Supreme Court's recent reversal of the Court of Chancery's 2024 ruling highlights broader implications for the ongoing debate over whether companies should incorporate elsewhere, say attorneys at Akin.

  • Planning For M&A Complexity After New State 'Mini-HSR' Laws

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    After the recent enactment of California's mini-HSR law, and with Indiana poised to pass its own, requiring the submission of Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notifications to state attorneys general, practitioners should expand their deal planning to include state-by-state reportability as more states adopt similar mandatory merger-notification requirements, say attorneys at McDermott.

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