Public Policy

  • March 04, 2026

    Ga. Property Tax Overhaul Fails To Gain House Super Majority

    A proposed Georgia constitutional amendment for placement on the November ballot that would have reduced property tax rates over time failed to get the 120 votes necessary to pass the state House of Representatives. 

  • March 04, 2026

    Workers Challenging Trump DEI Firings Seek Class Status

    Former federal workers who claimed they were illegally fired after President Donald Trump ordered the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion positions in the government urged a D.C. federal judge to award them class certification, arguing the firings impacted thousands of employees.

  • March 04, 2026

    Mass. Justices Doubt New Suit Over Hot-Button Housing Law

    Massachusetts' top court on Wednesday seemed poised to knock down a challenge to a controversial law requiring multifamily housing near Boston-area transit facilities, hinting that a town challenging the new measure had made compliance more difficult and expensive than it needed to be.

  • March 04, 2026

    Justices Limit Courts' Purview Over Persecution Findings

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained federal courts' ability to review determinations from the Board of Immigration Appeals over whether the past mistreatment of asylum seekers constitutes persecution, saying courts must apply a deferential substantial evidence review to the board's judgment.

  • March 04, 2026

    Supreme Court Rejects NJ Immunity Defense In NY, Pa. Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that New Jersey cannot shield its public transit system from personal injury lawsuits by out-of-state plaintiffs under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

  • March 03, 2026

    OCC Clears Faster Merger, Licensing Path For Smaller Banks

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday expanded fast-track merger review and licensing pathways for banks under $30 billion in assets, its latest move to advance the Trump administration's deregulatory push for so-called community banks.

  • March 03, 2026

    Trump Plan To Reopen Coal Plant Is Illegal, Wash. AG Says

    Washington state's attorney general and five environmental watchdogs are challenging the Trump administration's effort to reopen a decommissioned coal power plant in Chehalis, Washington, arguing that the U.S. Department of Energy lacks the authority to force the plant back into operation.

  • March 03, 2026

    Squires' Restrictions On Conflicts May Have Little Effect

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has barred patent examiners from evaluating ​applications for companies where they have any financial interest, rather than a former $15,000 cap, but attorneys raised concerns that the scope of his changes is small, and there are no consequences for not complying.

  • March 03, 2026

    EPA Fights Fluoridated Water IQ Risk Finding At 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reverse a ruling that the EPA's current "optimal" level of fluoride in drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ, arguing that the trial judge improperly held his ruling in abeyance for years to await more scientific evidence.

  • March 03, 2026

    FCC Asks If Int'l Regulatory Barriers To Space Biz Are Fair

    The Federal Communications Commission is wondering if other countries are treating U.S. satellite companies with the same equality that the United States has shown to satellite entrants from other nations and whether the agency ought to do something to level the playing field.

  • March 03, 2026

    Split 9th Circ. Tells EPA To Review Cadmium's Species Impact

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must analyze how its revised water quality standards for cadmium would affect endangered species, a split Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, upholding a conservation organization's victory in a lawsuit over the agency's guidance tripling the levels of the heavy metal allowed in U.S. waters.

  • March 03, 2026

    Tunnel Funding Freeze Fight Is In Wrong Court, 2nd Circ. Told

    New York and New Jersey's federal lawsuit challenging a freeze on Gateway Tunnel funding must be dismissed because it falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Department of Transportation argued to the Second Circuit on Tuesday.

  • March 03, 2026

    New Whistleblower Program Adds 'Bit More Stick,' DOJ Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's new whistleblower rewards program partnership with the U.S. Postal Service doesn't displace the leniency program by which companies disclose potential price-fixing and other antitrust violations, a DOJ official said Tuesday in Washington, D.C., but it is an important complement.

  • March 03, 2026

    7th Circ. Expedites Bank Appeal Of Ill. Swipe-Fee Law

    The Seventh Circuit granted banking and credit union trade groups' bid to fast-track their appeal over the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act after they asked to schedule the case for a decision before the law banning swipe fees on tax and tip payments takes effect July 1.

  • March 03, 2026

    Dems Want Investigation Into DHS Location Data Buys

    Dozens of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday asked a federal watchdog to investigate whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security restarted a program to buy location data on Americans without warrants.

  • March 03, 2026

    XAI Presses Judge To Block California's AI Disclosure Law

    XAI has told a California federal judge that the state had fallen short of its obligations to inform the court and the company if it planned to institute any enforcement actions when responding to a court order, with xAI reiterating its request for the court to block a law that would require data used to train artificial intelligence be disclosed.

  • March 03, 2026

    Judge Says Accounts Of DOJ And FEMA 'Completely Different'

    A California federal judge overseeing a lawsuit by federal worker unions, local governments and nonprofits challenging Trump administration layoffs expressed deep frustration Tuesday after a U.S. Department of Justice attorney contradicted a senior Federal Emergency Management Agency official's sworn declaration in the case.

  • March 03, 2026

    Iran War Has Oil & Gas Dealmakers Holding Their Breath

    Oil and gas dealmakers are cautiously optimistic they can ride out any immediate energy market volatility caused by the U.S. and Israel-Iran war, but the potential for disrupted transactions will grow if the conflict drags on, or continues to provoke Middle East neighbors.

  • March 03, 2026

    Iridium Challenges 'Spectrum Hoarder' Ligado's SkyTerra Plan

    Iridium has urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject Ligado Networks' push for a carveout from licensing rules to allow AST to build a new satellite constellation in the L-band airwaves, saying it could interfere with other users.

  • March 03, 2026

    Fla. House Passes Land Use Bill With Local Preemptions

    The Florida House on Tuesday passed a bill weakening local government control over land use law with steps that its sponsor said are necessary to address a housing affordability crisis but that critics decried as a handout to developers.

  • March 03, 2026

    House OKs Effort To Ease Broadband Builds On Federal Land

    The U.S. House voted Tuesday to direct land management agencies to study how they can ease the process for allowing broadband infrastructure to run through public lands.

  • March 03, 2026

    Apple Asks 9th Circ. To Rethink Part Of App Store Injunction

    Apple asked the Ninth Circuit to reconsider part of a panel decision that largely affirmed an injunction in the case being brought by Epic Games Inc. that blocked the tech giant from charging developers "prohibitive" commissions on iPhone app purchases made outside its payment systems.

  • March 03, 2026

    Mass. Sheriff Must Face Pot Extortion Charges

    A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by a Massachusetts sheriff to toss charges that he used his position to obtain pre-initial public offering shares in a cannabis dispensary and a refund when their value dropped.

  • March 03, 2026

    Ex-FDA Leaders Rebut Contraception Rollbacks At 3rd Circ.

    Former FDA commissioners argued that Trump-era religious exemptions for birth control coverage jeopardize public health and distort medical science, in an animus brief filed Monday with the Third Circuit.

  • March 03, 2026

    NC Town Must Face Firefighter's Retaliation, Free Speech Suit

    A former part-time fire chief who accused a North Carolina town of terminating him after he sought to improve firefighter pay and benefits can proceed with his retaliation lawsuit, as a North Carolina federal court said it's too early to know if his ex-employer is immune from the suit.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down Expense Allocation In Mixed-Use Properties

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    Rapid increases in condominium fees and special assessments, driven by multiple factors such as rising insurance costs and expanded safety requirements, are contributing to increased litigation, so equitable expense allocation in mixed-use properties requires adherence to the governing documents, says Mike Walden at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    Minn. Can Still Bring State Charges In Absence Of Fed Action

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    After two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota's role isn't waiting to see if the federal government brings criminal charges, but independently weighing state homicide charges and allowing the judiciary to decide whether the subject conduct falls within the narrow protections of supremacy clause immunity, says Sheila Tendy at Tendy Law.

  • 4 Lessons From FTC's Successful Bid To Block Edwards Deal

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent victory in blocking Edwards Lifesciences' acquisition of JenaValve offers key insights for deals in life sciences and beyond, including considerations around nonprice dimensions and clear skies provisions, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Limiting Worker Surveillance Risks Amid AI Regulatory Shifts

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    With workplace surveillance tools becoming increasingly common and a recent executive order aiming to preempt state-level artificial intelligence enforcement, companies may feel encouraged to expand AI monitoring, but the legal exposure associated with these tools remains, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Can OCC State Banking Law Preemption Survive The Courts?

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    While two December proposals from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seek to foreclose pending consumer litigation against national banks related to residential mortgage lending, it's unclear whether this aggressive approach will withstand judicial scrutiny under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 rulings in Cantero and Loper Bright, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • How Selig May Approach CFTC Agricultural Enforcement

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    As the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission begins a new chapter under recently confirmed Chairman Michael Selig's leadership, a look back at the agency's actions in agricultural markets over the past six years sheds light on what may lie ahead for enforcement in the area, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Assessing Factors Behind Biosimilar Uptake And Competition

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    As biosimilar uptake remains uneven and questions linger over whether the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act can deliver robust competition between biologics and biosimilars, a case study of Humira and its biosimilars illustrates how many factors, including payor reimbursement and formulary strategy, collectively shape competitive dynamics, say analysts at Analysis Group.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Illinois

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    In 2025's last quarter, Illinois’ appellate courts weighed in on overlapping homeowners coverages for water-related damages, contractual suit limitation provisions in uninsured motorist policies, and protections for genetic health information in life insurance underwriting, while the Department of Insurance sought nationwide homeowners' insurance data from State Farm, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • How 3 CFTC Letters Overhauled Digital Asset Guidance

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently issued three letters providing guidance for the use of digital assets in derivatives markets, clarifying the applicability of CFTC regulations across numerous areas of digital asset activities and leading to the development of standards to allow market participants to post digital assets as collateral, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Ruling Helps Clarify FERC's Post-Jarkesy Enforcement Power

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    A North Carolina federal court's recent ruling in American Efficient v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may be a step in providing clarity on FERC's enforcement authority under the Federal Power Act in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • Aerospace And Defense Law: Trends To Follow In 2026

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    Some of the key 2026 developments to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law stem from provisions of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, a push to reform procurement, executive orders that announced Trump administration priorities, the upcoming Artemis space mission and continuing efforts to deploy artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Aviation Watch: Busy Skies, Tough Market For Airlines In 2026

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    After a turbulent year in the U.S. commercial aviation sector, demand for air travel and premium service shows no signs of slackening in 2026, with airlines facing the need to compete in a saturated market, while seeking opportunities for consolidation and pursuing other avenues to profitability, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Viewing The Merger Landscape Through An HPE-Juniper Lens

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    If considerations beyond antitrust law were taken into account to determine whether Section 7 of the Clayton Act was violated in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise-Juniper Networks deal, then legal practitioners advocating deal clearance may now have to argue that deals should be justified by considerations not set forth in the merger guidelines, says Matthew Cantor of Shinder Cantor.

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