Public Policy

  • January 09, 2026

    Squires Sets Precedent, Guidance On Discretionary Denials

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires on Friday designated four decisions on discretionary denials at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board precedential and another nine informative.

  • January 09, 2026

    NY Groups Fight To Keep ICE Courthouse Arrest Suit Alive

    Two providers of immigration services told a New York federal court this week that the Trump administration has misinterpreted prior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidance on courthouse arrests, saying extending them to immigration courthouses marks an "unprecedented expansion."

  • January 09, 2026

    OCC Floats Rule To Clarify Trust Companies' Broader Scope

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is proposing to amend its chartering regulations to make clear that national trust companies can engage in nonfiduciary activities, potentially resolving an area of contention that banking industry advocates have raised as crypto-focused firms applied for trust charters.

  • January 09, 2026

    H-1B Spouses Challenge End Of Auto Work Permit Extensions

    Seven spouses of H-1B visa holders asked a California federal judge to block the Trump administration's end of automatic work permit extensions, saying the move was based on unsupported national security grounds to fast-track the policy without public input.

  • January 09, 2026

    State Looks To Nix RealPage Case Over NY Rental Pricing Law

    The New York attorney general's office urged a federal court Friday to toss a case from property management software company RealPage Inc. challenging a new state law that prohibits building owners from using software to collude on residential rental rates.

  • January 09, 2026

    DC Judge OKs $14M Award Despite Russian Sanctions

    A D.C. federal judge has recognized approximately $14 million in arbitral awards originally issued to a Russian state-owned media company sanctioned by the United States for interfering in U.S. elections, concluding that a public policy exception to award enforcement does not apply.

  • January 09, 2026

    7th Circ. Upholds Ex-Atty's Conviction In Burke Bribery Case

    The Seventh Circuit on Friday kept in place the conviction and 32-month prison sentence of a Chicago real estate developer and former attorney for offering legal work to ex-Alderman Edward Burke as a bribe for help with a zoning permit, finding the government presented sufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict and arguments to the contrary were "unavailing."

  • January 09, 2026

    30 Dems Back Bill Limiting Officials' Prediction Market Trades

    U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., introduced his plan to ban public officials from trading in certain prediction markets on Friday with the backing of 30 House Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

  • January 09, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rehear Nev. Tribe's $208M Water Rights Suit

    The Federal Circuit has declined a Nevada tribe's petition for an en banc or panel rehearing on a decision to dismiss $208 million breach of trust allegations against the Bureau of Indian Affairs over water rights.

  • January 09, 2026

    Judge Restores Migrant Parole For Now, Decries 'Police State'

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday said she will temporarily bar the Trump administration from revoking the legal status of at least 10,000 migrants in the country under a program intended to allow family members of citizens or permanent residents to live in the United States while waiting for a green card.

  • January 09, 2026

    SpaceX Can Build Up Its Next-Gen Constellation, FCC Says

    The Federal Communications Commission gave its stamp of approval Friday for SpaceX to ramp up its second-generation Starlink satellite system.

  • January 09, 2026

    Maine Tribes Gain Economic Boost With Online Gaming Law

    Maine Gov. Janet Mills is expected to sign into law a bill that will allow the state's tribal governments to operate online gaming that will help to provide the Wabanaki Nations with essential services.

  • January 09, 2026

    USPTO Pushes Back At Tesla PTAB Policy Fight At Fed. Circ.

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the owner of three patents for self-driving vehicles urged the Federal Circuit on Friday to ignore Tesla's argument that the USPTO can't use the time before trial in patent litigation to deny patent reviews before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • January 09, 2026

    USTelecom Wants 'More Green Lights' For Broadband In '26

    A key telecom industry group says that if 2025 was marked by continual delays in broadband deployment, 2026 needs to be the year when construction crews actually break ground on federally backed projects.

  • January 09, 2026

    4th Circ. Frees Man Convicted For Speech After 9/11

    A lecturer and scholar of Islam convicted of inducing others to levy war against the U.S. after Sept. 11, 2001, was freed from serving his remaining sentence Friday, when a unanimous Fourth Circuit panel ruled that his speech was protected under the First Amendment.

  • January 09, 2026

    States Cite Ed. Dept. Outsourcing In Revamped Suit

    Democratic state attorneys general added fresh allegations Friday to an ongoing lawsuit over cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, saying the Trump administration has begun offloading some of the department's functions to other agencies.

  • January 09, 2026

    Class Action Challenges Solitary Confinement For NY Youth

    A group of children and young adults currently and formerly detained in New York's juvenile justice system are accusing state officials of subjecting children to prolonged solitary confinement in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal disability law, in a proposed class action filed in federal court.

  • January 09, 2026

    BREAKING: CFPB's Vought Backs Down, Seeks Fresh Fed Funding

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday that its acting Director Russell Vought has moved to replenish its funding from the Federal Reserve, yielding after a weekslong standoff that left the consumer agency facing potential closure with dwindling cash.

  • January 09, 2026

    Ex-CTA Bus Driver's Disability Bias Claims Will Go To Trial

    An Illinois federal judge Thursday refused to grant summary judgment to the Chicago Transit Authority on a former bus driver's disparate treatment and failure to accommodate claims, clearing the way for the dispute over her 2022 firing to go to trial in April.

  • January 09, 2026

    BREAKING: Justices To Resolve Split On SEC Disgorgement Powers

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case that could resolve a circuit split over whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has to prove investor harm in order to secure disgorgement from alleged fraudsters. 

  • January 09, 2026

    BREAKING: Justices Will Weigh FCC's Monetary Penalty Powers

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to take a look at the Federal Communications Commission's authority to issue fines by announcing it would review both a Fifth Circuit ruling in AT&T's favor curtailing the agency's ability to issue fines using its own in-house legal process and a case that Verizon lost in the Second Circuit.

  • January 09, 2026

    Gov't Tells 4th Circ. SC Residents Can't Challenge Marsh Plan

    The federal government has urged the Fourth Circuit to uphold the dismissal of a suit filed by South Carolina property owners challenging the approval of a local marsh mitigation bank plan, arguing the property owners lack Article III standing and their claims are "speculative."

  • January 09, 2026

    Judge Blocks Edwards' $945M Heart Valve Deal

    A D.C. federal judge issued an order on Friday preventing Edwards Lifesciences Corp. from moving ahead with its planned $945 million deal for JenaValve Technology Inc. while the Federal Trade Commission challenges the merger.

  • January 09, 2026

    DC Circ. Won't Rethink MSPB Firing Ruling

    The D.C. Circuit's decision to permit the president's removal of Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris despite her statutory job protections will stand after the full court declined to rehear her firing challenge Friday.

  • January 09, 2026

    New Trade Group Joins Litigation Finance Lobbying Fight

    A new trade group for litigation funders has launched with the aim of enlisting personal injury and mass tort attorneys in a fight against proposed federal laws that it says could threaten the $16 billion litigation finance industry.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    DHS' Parole Termination Violates APA And Due Process

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    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s abrupt termination of family reunification parole programs violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the due process rights of vetted beneficiaries who relied on the government's explicit invitation to wait in the U.S. for an immigrant visa to become available, says Abdoul Konare at Konare Law.

  • 2025's Most Notable State AG Activity By The Numbers

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    State attorneys general were active in 2025, working across party lines to address federal regulatory gaps in artificial intelligence, take action on consumer protection issues, continue antitrust enforcement, and announce large settlements on behalf of their citizens, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Opinion

    The Case For Emulating, Not Dividing, The Ninth Circuit

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    Champions for improved judicial administration should reject the unfounded criticisms driving recent Senate proposals to divide the Ninth Circuit and instead seek to replicate the court's unique strengths and successes, says Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

  • Montana Ruling Reaffirms Record-Based Enviro Analyses

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    A Montana federal court's recent decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Forest Service, vacating permits for logging near Yellowstone National Park, is a reminder that, despite attempts to pare back National Environmental Policy Act reviews, agencies must still properly complete such reviews before projects are approved, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Banking M&A Outlook Reflects Favorable Regulatory Climate

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    The banking mergers and acquisitions environment is starting 2026 with a rare alignment of favorable market conditions and a more permissive regulatory atmosphere, creating a clear window for banks to pursue transformative combinations and shape the competitive landscape, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • How Rule 16.1 Streamlines And Validates Mass Tort Litigation

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    The new Rule 16.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure not only serves a practical purpose by endorsing early, structured case management and dispositive motion practice in multidistrict litigation, but also explicitly affirms the importance of MDL practice in the justice system, says Rocco Strangio at Milestone.

  • ERISA Litigation Trends To Watch With 2025 In The Rearview

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    There were significant developments in Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation in 2025, including plaintiffs pushing the bounds of sponsor and fiduciary liability and defendants scoring district court wins, and although the types of claims might change, ERISA litigation will likely be just as active in 2026, say attorneys at Groom Law.

  • 2025's Defining AI Securities Litigation

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    Three securities litigation decisions from 2025 — involving General Motors, GitLab and Tesla — offer a preview of how courts will assess artificial intelligence-related disclosures, as themes such as heightened regulatory scrutiny and risk surrounding technical claims are already taking shape for the coming year, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • How 11th Circ.'s Zafirov Decision Could Upend Qui Tam Cases

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    Oral argument before the Eleventh Circuit last month in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates suggests that the court may affirm a lower court's opinion that the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act are unconstitutional — which could wreak havoc on pending and future qui tam cases, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Key Trends For Life Sciences Cos. To Watch In 2026

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    Following a year of drastic change at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, two themes are likely to drive the coming year — a commitment to lowering the cost of drugs and an inherent tension between the priorities of the health agencies and the broader administration, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What To Know About NY's Drastic 3rd-Party Practice Changes

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    Last month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law establishing new time limits for the commencement of third-party actions, which will have dramatic effects on insurance defense practice, particularly cases involving construction site accidents or claims of premises liability, says Shawn Schatzle at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Series

    Mass. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    Among the most significant developments on the banking regulation front in Massachusetts last quarter, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced her bid for reelection, and the state Division of Banks continued its fintech focus by finalizing rules implementing a new money transmitter law, say attorneys at Nutter.

  • 3 DC Circ. Rulings Signal Shift In Search And Seizure Doctrine

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    A trio of decisions from courts in the District of Columbia Circuit, including a recent order compelling prosecutors to return materials seized from James Comey’s former attorney, makes clear that continued government possession of digital evidence may implicate the Fourth Amendment, says Gregory Rosen at RJO.

  • Series

    Muay Thai Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Muay Thai kickboxing has taught me that in order to win, one must stick to one's game plan and adapt under pressure, just as when facing challenges by opposing counsel or judges, says Mark Schork at Feldman Shepherd.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Intentional Career-Building

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    A successful legal career is built through intention: understanding expectations, assessing strengths honestly and proactively seeking opportunities to grow and cultivating relationships that support your development, say Erika Drous and Hillary Mann at Morrison Foerster.

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