Public Policy

  • February 19, 2026

    Feds Look To Revive Sex Abuse Ruling Over Native Status

    The U.S. is asking the Tenth Circuit for an en banc rehearing on its decision to vacate the 30-year prison sentence of a New Mexico man convicted of sexually abusing an Indigenous girl, telling the court that its error is one of exceptional importance.

  • February 19, 2026

    Property Co. Denies Connection To Hawaii Temple Access Suit

    A property management company is looking to escape a challenge by a group of Native Hawaiians over access to an ancient Indigenous temple, arguing its alleged wrongful conduct is not called out with any specificity in the complaint.

  • February 19, 2026

    Commerce Orders Duties On Paper Folders From Cambodia

    Paper file folders imported into the U.S. from Cambodia will be subject to a countervailing duty order following affirmative determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce that these imports are benefiting from harmful subsidies and damaging U.S. domestic industry, Commerce said Thursday.

  • February 19, 2026

    Warren Seeks Treasury, Fed Pledge Of No Bitcoin Bailout

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is asking the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to provide a written pledge not to bail out cryptocurrency markets in the face of sliding bitcoin prices, saying such a move would disproportionately benefit billionaires.

  • February 19, 2026

    Electronics Cos. Fight 'Heavy-Handed' Next-Gen TV Mandate

    As the Federal Communications Commission looks to coax the broadcast industry into adopting next-generation TV on a wider scale, a key electronics industry group has re-upped concerns that officials might move too fast.

  • February 19, 2026

    DOJ Ends Oversight Of Cleveland Police After 11 Years

    The U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Cleveland provided notice on Thursday to an Ohio federal judge that the two agencies intend to end a binding agreement signed over a decade ago to provide federal oversight to the city's police department.

  • February 19, 2026

    Ex-LA Atty Faces Possible Suspension Over Billing Scandal

    A California Bar Court said that former Los Angeles chief deputy city attorney James Patrick Clark should be suspended from practicing law for at least two years due to his role in a high-profile customer billing scandal.

  • February 19, 2026

    NY Judge Rejects 1st Amendment Challenge In FARA Case

    A New York federal court refused to toss an indictment accusing an ex-Central Intelligence Agency analyst of aiding the South Korean government without proper registration, rejecting her position that criminal enforcement under the Foreign Agents Registration Act chills protected speech.

  • February 19, 2026

    8th Circ. Pick Joins List Of Personal Attys Elevated By Trump

    President Donald Trump's latest appellate pick has served as the president's personal attorney and bills himself as "an attorney and strategist who fights for conservative values" on his LinkedIn profile.

  • February 19, 2026

    Disqualification Bids Mount For Trio Leading NJ US Atty Office

    A New Jersey criminal defendant who previously challenged the legality of former interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's appointment has now moved to disqualify the three assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing the office, aligning himself with a growing bloc of defendants saying the leadership structure violates federal appointment laws.

  • February 19, 2026

    Harvard Docs Get Censored Articles Permanently Restored

    The Trump administration agreed to maintain the court-ordered restoration of articles penned by Harvard Medical School researchers that contained references to the LGBTQ+ community after they had previously been scrubbed from a government-hosted website.

  • February 19, 2026

    Md. Senate OKs Service Station Conversion Tax Break

    Maryland's political jurisdictions would be allowed to grant property tax credits for service stations converting to other uses under a bill passed unanimously by the state Senate.

  • February 19, 2026

    NM Lawmakers OK Longer Redevelopment Property Tax Break

    New Mexico would extend a property tax exemption period for eligible redevelopment projects under a bill approved by state lawmakers and headed to the governor.

  • February 19, 2026

    Barnes & Thornburg Adds 35 Ballard Spahr Attys, 3 Offices

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP announced Thursday that it has added all 35 public finance lawyers from Ballard Spahr LLP to its government services and finance department in multiple locations around the country, including three new markets in Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix.

  • February 18, 2026

    Duke Energy's $17M Fuel Cost Recovery Improper, Panel Says

    The North Carolina Utilities Commission was wrong to let Duke Energy recover over $17 million in fuel costs two years after they were incurred, a North Carolina appeals court panel ruled Wednesday, finding that a statute permits utilities to recover only the fuel costs incurred during a one-year "lookback period."

  • February 18, 2026

    Blue Shield Of Calif. Says 'Ghost Network' Action Falls Flat

    Trouble finding a mental health care therapist is unfortunate but not something that an entire class action can be based on, argued Blue Shield of California, urging a federal judge to dismiss a suit accusing the company of maintaining a "ghost network" directory of providers who don't exist or don't accept new patients.

  • February 18, 2026

    Robinhood Clears Fla. AG Probe Of Crypto Platform Marketing

    Robinhood Markets Inc. told investors on Wednesday that Florida's attorney general has closed an investigation into the marketing practices of its crypto trading arm, ending a probe that had scrutinized whether the company misled customers about trading costs.

  • February 18, 2026

    Government Drops Case Over Referrals-For-Kickback Scheme

    A Texas federal judge tossed an indictment accusing about a dozen physicians and pharmacists of running a sprawling patient referral scheme, ending allegations that the pharmacists gave the doctors kickbacks in exchange for expensive prescriptions fillable at specific pharmacies.

  • February 18, 2026

    Live Nation Antitrust Claims Heading To Trial

    A New York federal judge on Wednesday refused a bid from Live Nation Entertainment Inc. to avoid a looming trial in a case from the U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers accusing it of monopolizing the live entertainment industry.

  • February 18, 2026

    Wash. Bill Reclassifying Insurance Fraud Clears State Senate

    The Washington State Senate unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would broaden the definition of insurance fraud and elevate the offense to a Class B felony, while also expanding the Office of the Insurance Commissioner's ability to go after perpetrators for related crimes.

  • February 18, 2026

    Trump Taps Atty In Carroll Case For 8th Circ.

    President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he's nominating for the Eighth Circuit a co-owner of James Otis Law Group, where the attorney has been part of the legal team representing Trump in writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation suit against the president.

  • February 18, 2026

    Jury To Get Goldstein Case After Clashing Closing Statements

    The jury in SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's tax evasion trial will finally begin to deliberate on a 16-count verdict form, after federal prosecutors on Wednesday recounted lies they said he admitted to, and the defense slammed what it described as a shoddy investigation into the charges.

  • February 18, 2026

    2nd Circ. Won't Stay Judge's Halt Of Syria TPS Termination

    A Second Circuit panel has denied the Trump administration's request to stay a district court order postponing the termination of temporary protected status for Syria, holding that the federal government isn't likely to win on appeal.

  • February 18, 2026

    Trump Admin Illegally Cut Billions In Energy Funds, AGs Say

    The attorneys general of 13 states sued the Trump administration in California federal court Wednesday, alleging it unlawfully terminated billions of dollars in funding for energy and infrastructure programs nationwide.

  • February 18, 2026

    Hudson Tunnel Agency Blasts 'Threadbare' Union-Limits Suit

    The Gateway Development Commission has urged a New Jersey federal judge to dismiss nearly all claims brought by a Garden State construction company over the use of a project labor agreement on a major segment of the Hudson Tunnel Project, arguing the suit rests on "conclusory and threadbare allegations."

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

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    Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.

  • Crypto In 2025: From Federal Deregulation To State Action

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    The cryptocurrency enforcement landscape evolved in 2025, marked by federal deregulatory trends and active state attorney general enforcement, creating both opportunity and risk for businesses navigating the digital asset market, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • How CFTC Enforcement Shifted In 2025 And What's Next

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pivoted sharply under acting Chairman Caroline Pham in 2025, resulting in a pared-back enforcement docket, sweeping policy changes intended to provide greater transparency, and a renewed focus on fraud prevention and maintaining market integrity for the CFTC's core markets, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Learning From 2025 FCA Trends Targeting PE In Healthcare

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    False Claims Act enforcement trends and legislative developments from this year signal intensifying state and federal scrutiny of private equity's growing footprint in healthcare, and the urgency of compliance, says Lisa Re at Arnold & Porter.

  • Reviewing 2025's State And Federal AI Regulations

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    In light of increasing state and federal action to oversee the use of artificial intelligence, companies that develop or deploy the technology should keep abreast of current and forthcoming AI laws and consider their applicability to their business activities, says Jessica Brigman at Spencer Fane.

  • Software Patents May Face New Eligibility Scrutiny

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    November guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, along with recent litigation trends from the Federal Circuit, may encourage new challenges in the USPTO and district courts to artificial intelligence and software patents that rely on generic computing functions without concrete details, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What Trump Order Limiting State AI Regs Means For Insurers

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    Last week's executive order seeking to preclude states from regulating artificial intelligence will likely have minimal impact on insurers, but the order and related congressional activities may portend a federal expectation of consistent state oversight of insurers' AI use, says Kathleen Birrane at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

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    To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • Investment Advisers Should Stay Apprised Of New AI Risks

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently issued annual examination priorities reiterate a host of regulatory implications for investment advisers using artificial intelligence tools, highlighting that meaningful ongoing due diligence can help mitigate both operational and regulatory surprises amid AI's rapid evolution, says Christopher Mills at Sidley.

  • New Rule Shows NRC Willing To Move Fast To Reform Regs

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    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to forgo public comment and immediately rescind certain rules governing adjudicatory procedures, federal tort claims and disclosure of licensee information signals the agency's intent to accelerate the regulatory streamlining efforts ordered by the president this spring, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • AG Watch: Texas Junk Fee Deal Shows Enforcement Priorities

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent $9.5 million settlement with online travel agency website Booking Holdings for so-called junk fee practices follows a larger trend of state attorneys general who have taken similar action and demonstrates the significant penalties that can follow such allegations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • 10th Circ. Dissent May Light Path For Master Account Access

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    While the Tenth Circuit's majority in Custodia Bank v. Federal Reserve Board recently affirmed Federal Reserve banks' control over master account access, the dissent raised constitutional questions that could support banks seeking master accounts in future litigation, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Calif. AG's No-Poach Case Reflects Tougher Antitrust Stance

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    This month, California’s attorney general resolved the latest enforcement action barring the use of no-poach agreements, underscoring an aggressive antitrust enforcement trend with significant increases in criminal and civil penalties, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • A Look At The Wave Of 2025 Email Marketing Suits In Wash.

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    Since the Washington Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy in April, more than 30 lawsuits have alleged that a broad range of retailers across industries sent emails that violate the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act, but retailers are unlikely to find clear answers yet, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • 3 Defense Strategies For Sporadically Prosecuted Conduct

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    Not to be confused with selective prosecutions, sporadic prosecutions — charging someone for conduct many others do without consequences — can be challenging to defend, but focusing on materiality, prosecutorial motivations and public opinion can be a winning strategy, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

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