Public Policy

  • April 01, 2026

    Colo. Judge Voids Opt-Out Rule, Leaves Primary Law Intact

    A Colorado federal judge struck down an opt-out restriction in the state's semi-open primary system while leaving the broader framework in place, finding the state's requirement that political parties meet a three-fourths supermajority vote to exit the system unconstitutional.

  • April 01, 2026

    Harvard Researcher Can Get Docs On Prosecution Motives

    A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Wednesday that a Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national charged with smuggling frog embryo specimens can see emails and other documents regarding the government's decision to prosecute her, citing evidence the case was "vindictive."

  • April 01, 2026

    Mich. Says ICE Illegally Skipped Enviro Review For Warehouse

    Michigan and one of its cities asked a federal court Wednesday to temporarily block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from converting a warehouse into a detention center, arguing the federal government didn't notify local officials about the project and didn't conduct required environmental reviews.

  • April 01, 2026

    California Tribes Say Feds Skirted Casino Land Trust Rules

    Two California tribes and a nonprofit are urging a district judge to deny the Interior Department's bid for summary judgment in their challenge to a decision to place 221 acres of indigenous territory into trust for the development of a resort and casino, saying the agency blatantly violated federal law "at every turn."

  • April 01, 2026

    AGs Put $10M Price Tag On Beating Kroger-Albertsons Merger

    The nine attorneys general who successfully sued to block Kroger's failed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons requested over $10 million in attorney fees and litigation expenses Tuesday, arguing that the scale of the litigation and the more than $1 billion the grocery chains spent fighting it justified the amount.

  • April 01, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Judge Likely Overreached In No-Bond Ruling

    The Ninth Circuit has stayed a California federal judge's ruling vacating a Board of Immigration Appeals decision stripping immigration judges of authority to grant release on bond, finding the district court likely exceeded its authority in doing so.

  • April 01, 2026

    Judiciary Seeks More Security Funding Amid Threat Surge

    Court security is a top concern for the federal judiciary in its recently released budget request for fiscal 2027.

  • April 01, 2026

    Group Warns ITC Against Tariffs After Vote On Quartz Imports

    A coalition of small-business quartz fabricators claimed that the U.S. International Trade Commission vote Wednesday determining that recent quartz imports harm domestic producers may cost the industry jobs in a move that could lead to new tariffs, according to press releases.

  • April 01, 2026

    'I Don't Like Bullies': NC Committee Advances Bar Reforms  

    A North Carolina legislative committee tasked with probing the state bar's grievance process signed off on a slate of recommendations Wednesday that would slash the bar's appointment powers, as a committee co-chair recalled the "begging" that prompted the proposals and the "bullying" that followed them.

  • April 01, 2026

    Trump Seeks June 1 Bill To Fund ICE, Border Patrol

    Republican leadership in the House and Senate are on board with President Donald Trump's request Wednesday to send him a bill by June 1 to fund the entire U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.

  • April 01, 2026

    Justices' Cox Decision Fuels Debate Over DMCA's Relevance

    The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision last week shielding Cox Communications from contributory copyright liability and wiping out a massive piracy verdict against the internet service provider has sparked a debate over how much the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor provision still matters.

  • April 01, 2026

    Mass. Cannabis Businesses Say Repeal Bid Misleads Voters

    A coalition of Massachusetts cannabis business owners Wednesday challenged the constitutionality of a proposal to repeal retail marijuana legalization at the ballot box this November.

  • April 01, 2026

    Stick With Lowest Ad Rates For Candidates, FCC Warns

    The Federal Communications Commission has reminded broadcasters they must charge the lowest rate available to legally qualified political candidates and their advisory committees.

  • April 01, 2026

    Colorado, Denver Beat DOJ Challenge To Sanctuary Laws

    A federal judge has tossed the Trump administration's challenge of sanctuary laws in Colorado and Denver, holding that any ruling in the administration's favor would violate the Constitution by allowing the federal government to compel states and cities to help enforce its immigration priorities.

  • April 01, 2026

    High Court Appears Skeptical Of Trump's Birthright Order

    The U.S. Supreme Court seemed dubious Wednesday of President Donald Trump's attempt to limit birthright citizenship, with the majority of justices struggling to see how the administration's argument was supported by the constitutional text. 

  • April 01, 2026

    ABA Suit Over Trump's Crackdown On Firms Moves Forward

    A D.C. federal judge has ruled the American Bar Association may pursue a challenge to the Trump administration's series of executive orders targeting law firms, finding the organization plausibly alleged the orders posed a "realistic threat" to its members.

  • April 01, 2026

    Chinese Chemical Exporter Faces 174% Duty On Refrigerant

    A Chinese chemical compound exporter will be subject to an almost 174% antidumping duty rate for imports of a refrigerant that entered the U.S. in 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Wednesday.

  • March 31, 2026

    State Privacy Enforcers Broadening Work As Resources Grow

    Privacy regulators from California, Connecticut and two other states said Tuesday that their behind-the-scenes enforcement work will soon yield public actions that focus not only on established topics such as consumer opt-outs and transparency, but also fresh issues like harms stemming from artificial intelligence and ensuring fines are more than just "a cost of doing business."

  • March 31, 2026

    CFTC Enforcement Chief Touts Self-Reporting Policy

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement chief said Tuesday that the agency plans to give entities a "clear path" to avoiding cases if they self-report issues early, but warned that the agency plans to staff up to pursue fraud and manipulation, including in burgeoning prediction markets.

  • March 31, 2026

    'Best Judicial System In The World': Alsup Reflects On Career

    Before taking inactive status late last year, U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup presided over historic litigation in California's Northern District for 26 years, arriving at his San Francisco chambers every weekday before dawn to prepare for the day's work.

  • March 31, 2026

    Ga. Lawmakers OK Opening Damages To Fraud Victims

    Georgia lawmakers gave final approval to legislation that would allow state securities regulators within the secretary of state's office to force fraudsters to repay damages directly to investor victims.

  • March 31, 2026

    Chubb Investor Can't Add Climate Proposal In Proxy Material

    A D.C. federal judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction to a shareholder advocacy group suing Chubb for excluding its climate-related proposal from Chubb's yearly proxy materials, ruling Tuesday it hasn't shown the proposal falls outside U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations exempting proposals involving issues related to a company's ordinary business operations.

  • March 31, 2026

    Fed Will Take Fresh Look At Insider Loan Rules, Bowman Says

    Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman signaled Tuesday that changes could be on the horizon for a set of longstanding rules that limit banks' lending to their own executives and other insiders, identifying them as an upcoming target for reconsideration.

  • March 31, 2026

    Students Can Become Aid Fixing Class, With New Lead Attys

    Students pursuing financial aid fixing claims against Cornell University and several other elite schools can proceed as a class if they tap different lead counsel, since misrepresentations regarding one firm's purportedly contingent casework caused a significant trust impairment, an Illinois federal judge said Tuesday.

  • March 31, 2026

    Wash. Creates Electric Transmission Authority With New Law

    Washington passed a law on Monday forming a state electric transmission authority to supercharge efforts to build out the Evergreen State's power grid through public-private partnerships and other initiatives, with a focus on shifting to renewable energy sources to meet the state's decarbonization goals. 

Expert Analysis

  • Monetizing EV Charging Stations For Long-Term Success

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    An electric vehicle charging station's longevity hinges on monetizing operations through diverse revenue streams, contractual documentation of charge point operators' and site hosts' rights and responsibilities, and ensuring reliability and security of facilities, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Calif.'s Civility Push Shows Why Professionalism Is Vital

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    The California Bar’s campaign against discourteous behavior by attorneys, including a newly required annual civility oath, reflects a growing concern among states that professionalism in law needs shoring up — and recognizes that maintaining composure even when stressed is key to both succeeding professionally and maintaining faith in the legal system, says Lucy Wang at Hinshaw.

  • A Potential Shift In FDA's Approach To Drug Trial Design

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    Recent guidance released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration clarifying how Bayesian approaches — which combine prior knowledge with new data — may be used in clinical trials reflects the agency's continued interest in innovative trial designs that may accelerate drug approvals, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • US-Ukraine Reconstruction Fund Tax Exemptions Uncertain

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    Tax provisions in the bilateral agreement to establish the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which recently announced it is accepting applications, are so broad and imprecise as to leave uncertainty regarding whether and when tax exemptions will apply to investors' income, say attorneys at Avellum and Debevoise.

  • Opinion

    SNAP Rule Confusion Risks A Compliance Crisis

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    Recent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food restriction waivers pose a compliance crisis for legal practitioners advising food retailers, amid higher costs and lack of a coherent national standard, says Tyson-Lord Gray at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

  • Locations, Permits And Power Are Key In EV Charger Projects

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    To ensure the success of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects, developers, funders, site hosts and charge point operators must consider a range of factors, including location selection, distribution grid requirements and costs, and permitting and timeline impacts, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Should Prediction Markets Allow Trading On Nonpublic Info?

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    Recent trading activity, such as the Polymarket wager on the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has raised questions about whether some participants may be engaging in trading that is based on material nonpublic information, and highlights ongoing uncertainty about how existing derivatives and anti-fraud rules apply to event-based contracts, say economic consultants at the Brattle Group.

  • NLRB May Not See Employer-Friendly Changes Anytime Soon

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    Despite the long-awaited confirmation of a new National Labor Relations Board general counsel and two new board members, slower case processing, the NLRB's changing priorities and an unofficial rule about a three-member majority may prevent NLRB precedent from swinging in businesses' favor this year, says Jesse Dill at Ogletree.

  • FCC Satellite Co. Action Starts New Chapter For Team Telecom

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    The Federal Communications Commission's recent settlement with satellite company Marlink marks a modest but meaningful step forward in how the U.S. regulates foreign involvement in its telecommunications sector, proving "Team Telecom" conditions are not limited to companies with substantial foreign ownership, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

  • Series

    Trivia Competition Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing trivia taught me to quickly absorb information and recognize when I've learned what I'm expected to know, training me in the crucial skills needed to be a good attorney, and reminding me to be gracious in defeat, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

  • What FDA Guidance Means For Future Of Health Software

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    Two significant final guidance documents released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month reflect a targeted effort to ease innovation friction around specific areas, including singular clinical decision support recommendations and sensor-based wearables, while maintaining established regulatory boundaries, say attorneys at Covington.

  • An Instructive Reminder On Appealing ITC Determinations

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    A recent Federal Circuit decision, partially dismissing Crocs' appeal of a U.S. International Trade Commission verdict as untimely, offers a powerful reminder that the ITC is a creature of statute and that practitioners would do well to interpret those statutes conservatively, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Ruling Puts Guardrails On FTC Merger Filing Rule Expansion

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    A Texas federal court recently vacated the Federal Trade Commission's overhaul of the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification form, in a significant setback for the antitrust agencies, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    Bridging The Bench And Bars To Uphold The Rule Of Law

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    In a moment when the judiciary faces unprecedented partisan attacks and public trust in our courts is fragile, and with the stakes being especially high for mass tort cases, attorneys on both sides of the bench have a responsibility to restore confidence in our justice system, say Bryan Aylstock at Aylstock Witkin and Kiley Grombacher at Bradley/Grombacher.

  • State And Int'l Standards May Supplant EPA's GHG Rule

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection agency's recent repeal of its 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health will likely increase regulatory uncertainty, as states attempt to fill the breach with their own regulatory regimes and some companies shift focus to international climate benchmarks instead, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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