Public Policy

  • April 29, 2025

    Feds Urge Dismissal Of Suit Over Halted Refugee Program

    The Trump administration on Monday urged a Washington state federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the government's suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, citing a recent Ninth Circuit decision that limited the scope of the judge's preliminary injunction.

  • April 29, 2025

    Judge Mulls If Google Could Still Vie To Be Default Search

    A D.C. federal judge probed potential middle grounds Tuesday for how to give Google's search engine rivals a leg up against the company's monopoly, asking how to avoid a "duopoly" with Microsoft and if Google might be permitted to continue paying browsers and phonemakers for default placement.

  • April 29, 2025

    Conn. Watchdog Urges Probe Into Avangrid Phishing Scam

    Connecticut's Office of Consumer Counsel has asked the state utilities regulator to open a probe into Avangrid Inc.'s alleged public dissemination of customer information, telling the agency in a petition that two of its natural gas subsidiaries in the state fell victim to a phishing scam.

  • April 29, 2025

    Koi Nation Can't Intervene In Casino Row, Court Told

    The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria is fighting a bid by a fellow California tribe at the crux of a dispute over the Interior Department's decision to take 70 acres into trust for the construction of a proposed hotel and casino project, arguing it lacks any justification to do so.

  • April 29, 2025

    Trump Executive Order Aims To Defend Police In Lawsuits

    President Donald Trump has issued an executive order directing the attorney general to help defend police officers from misconduct lawsuits, including arranging private-sector pro bono aid for them.

  • April 29, 2025

    Key Takeaways From Patent Office's New Denial Process FAQ

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Friday released answers to an extensive list of frequently asked questions about its new process for deciding whether to deny patent challenges for discretionary reasons. Here's a look at some of the most significant details.

  • April 29, 2025

    Watchdog Will Probe Trump Admin's Push To Shrink CFPB

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office will look into whether the Trump administration's aggressive downsizing efforts have rendered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unfit for duty, agreeing to a review sought by Democratic lawmakers.

  • April 29, 2025

    Kroger-Owned Chain Fights To Keep UFCW Suit Alive

    The Kroger-owned grocery chain King Soopers urged a Colorado federal judge Tuesday to preserve its lawsuit against a United Food and Commercial Workers local, saying the company can prove that the union is placing unlawful pressure on it to bargain with multiple locals at once.

  • April 29, 2025

    Univ. Groups Can Pursue Free-Speech Case Over Removals

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday ruled that he will allow academic organizations to pursue their "novel" First Amendment claims against the Trump administration over the deportation of noncitizen faculty and students who expressed pro-Palestinian views.

  • April 29, 2025

    2 Dozen States Say DOGE Can't 'Dismantle' AmeriCorps

    Two dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging layoffs and $400 million in funding cuts to the national volunteer agency AmeriCorps, alleging the Trump administration is trampling over Congress' authority by trying to dismantle the agency.

  • April 29, 2025

    CPB Sues Trump Admin Over Board Termination Emails

    The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its board asked a D.C. federal judge Tuesday to declare that the Trump administration had no authority to send emails purportedly terminating three of its five board members.

  • April 29, 2025

    Justices Scoff At Feds' Defenses In Mistaken FBI Raid Case

    Supreme Court justices Tuesday appeared flummoxed by the government's "ridiculous" arguments it should be immune to a Georgia resident's lawsuit over a mistaken FBI raid on her house, but seemed unlikely to issue a blanket ruling on when an officer's discretion trumps their liability for injuries caused by their actions.

  • April 29, 2025

    Chicago US Atty Focusing On Local Cases Amid DC Priorities

    Chicago's new interim U.S. attorney says he plans to keep the office's traditions and "Sunday brunch buffet" of sections alive and active in the Northern District of Illinois, even as he helps them thrive alongside his bosses' "very clear" priorities in Washington, D.C., and a personnel shortage in his office.

  • April 29, 2025

    Bessent Says EU Must Kill Digital Taxes For US Trade Deal

    The U.S. government wants European countries to repeal digital service taxes before the European Union moves forward with trade negotiations, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.

  • April 29, 2025

    Pa. Officials To Face Juvenile Prison Abuse Suit, For Now

    A federal judge ruled Tuesday that high-ranking officials from Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services must face a lawsuit filed by former inmates at a Delaware County juvenile correctional facility alleging widespread abuse, at least for now. 

  • April 29, 2025

    Trump Can't Reorganize Gov't Without Congress, Groups Say

    President Donald Trump lacks the power to reorganize the executive branch and push for mass terminations of workers when Congress hasn't given its blessing, unions and other groups told a California federal court.

  • April 29, 2025

    Judge Blocks Fla. Migrant Law, Wants Briefs On TRO Violation

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of a state law criminalizing the entry of unauthorized migrants and set a show cause hearing on whether the attorney general should be held in contempt for possibly violating the judge's temporary restraining order against the law.

  • April 29, 2025

    South Korea Asks IMF To Aid Global Response To US Tariffs

    As President Donald Trump continues to deploy tariffs, South Korea's deputy prime minister said that the International Monetary Fund should lean into its role as a "trusted policy adviser" to help address worldwide trade tensions and overall uncertainty.

  • April 29, 2025

    DC Judge Gives Due Process Pop Quiz In F-1 Visa Record Suit

    A D.C. federal judge gave a surprise pop quiz on the Fifth Amendment's due process clause Tuesday over the Trump administration's termination of an Indian student's visa record, while excoriating the government's "non-process" in throwing the student's academic life into chaos.

  • April 29, 2025

    GenBioPro Can Defend FDA Approval In Mifepristone Suit

    A Texas federal judge has allowed drugmaker GenBioPro to join a legal fight over access to the abortion drug mifepristone, finding that the company has a distinct interest in defending federal approval of the generic version of the medication.

  • April 29, 2025

    Pa. Attorney Gets 1 Year In Prison For Bankruptcy Fraud

    A suspended attorney in the Philadelphia suburbs has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison after being convicted by a federal jury of participating in fraudulent schemes that involved stealing a house from a deceased couple's family.

  • April 29, 2025

    Dem Reps. Introduce Bill To Repeal Ban On Fed. Pot Studies

    The co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus on Tuesday introduced a bill to eliminate a portion of federal law blocking the Office of National Drug Control Policy from researching use of substances on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

  • April 29, 2025

    Mexico Put On Latest USTR Priority IP Watch List

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday issued its annual global intellectual property report that has placed close trading partner Mexico on its list of countries to keep the closest eye on.

  • April 29, 2025

    Union Pension Fund Wins $132M Bailout Suit At 2nd Circ.

    A union pension fund won its multimillion-dollar dispute with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. on appeal Tuesday, with the Second Circuit reversing a New York federal judge's 2023 decision that the PBGC was within its rights to reject the fund's 2022 application for $132 million in financial assistance.

  • April 29, 2025

    FERC Wrongly Greenlighted Kan. Grid Projects, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unlawfully approved a Kansas electric co-operative's transmission development projects despite rejecting a regional grid operator's plan to divide the costs of such projects, the D.C. Circuit heard Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • Avoiding Pitfalls Around New Calif. Commercial Lease Law

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    A California law that became effective this year requires commercial landlords to extend certain protections previously afforded to residential tenancies, and a few key provisions of the law especially warrant reexamination of leasing and operational processes, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Filial Consortium Claims' Future After Conn. High Court Ruling

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    While the Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled for defendants in rejecting parents’ attempt to recover loss of companionship damages in a severe child injury case, there is still potential for the plaintiffs bar to lobby for a law that would allow filial consortium claims, Glenn Coffin at Gordon Rees.

  • 5 Tools To Help Existing Gov't Contracts Manage Tariff Costs

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    Five pointers can help government contractors scrutinize their existing contracts for protections like equitable adjustment and duty-free entry clauses, which may help insulate them from tariff-related cost increases, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 4th Circ. Health Data Ruling Opens Door To State Law Claims

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    In Real Time Medical v. PointClickCare, the Fourth Circuit recently clarified that state law claims can rest in part on violations of a federal law that prohibits electronic health information blocking, expanding legal risks for health IT companies and potentially creating exposure to a range of competitive implications, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • 2 Del. Rulings Reinforce Proof Needed For Records Demands

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    Two recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions involving Amazon and Paramount Global illustrate the significance of the credible basis standard on books and records requests, underscoring that stockholders seeking to investigate wrongdoing must come forward with actual evidence of misconduct — not mere allegations, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

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    Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 3 Action Items For Innovators Amid Fintech Regulatory Pivot

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    As the federal banking agencies seek to smooth the way for banks to engage in crypto-related activities, banks and technology companies should take note of this new chapter in payments services, especially as leadership in digital financial technology becomes a national priority, says Jess Cheng at Wilson Sonsini.

  • What PFAS-Treated Clothing Tariff Bill Would Mean For Cos.

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    In keeping with a nationwide trend of greater restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would remove tariff advantages for PFAS-treated clothing — so businesses would be wise to proactively adapt their supply chains and review contracts to mitigate liability, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How Tariffs May Affect Proxy Contests This Season

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    While global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will certainly chill at least some activity this proxy season, and make defending contests significantly easier, there will likely be many new activist investments once there is more economic certainty, meaning more proxy fights this fall, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Running A Compliant DEI Program After EEOC, DOJ Guidance

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    Following recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that operationalized the Trump administration's focus on ending so-called illegal DEI, employers don't need to eliminate DEI programs, but they must ensure that protected characteristics are not considered in employment decisions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • A Closer Look At New NYSE, Nasdaq Listing Rule Changes

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently approved changes to the New York Stock Exchange's and the Nasdaq's listing rules on reverse stock splits, minimum share price requirements and required liquidity for initial listings, meaning listed companies facing delisting will have fewer means to regain compliance, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Opinion

    GENIUS Act Can Bring Harmony To Crypto-Banking Discord

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    ​​​​​​​By embracing crypto innovation while establishing appropriate guardrails, the so-called GENIUS Act charts a path forward that promotes financial inclusion and technological advancement without compromising stability or constitutional rights, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School.

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