Public Policy

  • March 12, 2026

    1st Circ. Temporarily Pauses Third-Country Removal Ruling

    A panel of the First Circuit has paused a district court order holding that a class of noncitizens facing removal to countries to which they have no ties must receive meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise fears about being deported to those countries.

  • March 12, 2026

    Trump Admin Escapes Suit Over Deleted EPA Webpages

    Five federal agencies have won their bid to throw out a D.C. court lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club and other environmental and science groups over the Trump administration's decision to remove U.S. government webpages that shared educational information about the environment.

  • March 12, 2026

    Steep Senate Majority Passes Landmark Housing Bill

    The U.S. Senate has passed landmark legislation aimed at boosting housing supply and cutting housing costs across the country, with steep bipartisan support despite concerns over a provision that stakeholders claim could undermine the "build-to-rent" sector.

  • March 12, 2026

    USPTO Clarifies Design Patent Eligibility For Computer Icons

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued guidance Thursday saying computer-generated digital designs depicted in holograms, virtual reality and the like are eligible for design patents, noting that displaying images on a screen is no longer strictly necessary for patent protection.

  • March 12, 2026

    EPA Adds Michigan Dioxane Plume To Superfund List

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday added a decades-old plume of contaminated groundwater under Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a neighboring township to its Superfund National Priorities List, as Great Lakes State officials requested.

  • March 12, 2026

    Mich. Justices Weigh City Manager's Sway In Pot Retail Case

    The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday over whether a city manager violated the state's Open Meetings Act when he evaluated and ranked applicants for limited recreational marijuana licenses behind closed doors.

  • March 12, 2026

    Lack Of 'Wages Due' Vexes Pa. Justices In Damages Bid

    Members of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court on Thursday seemed to doubt the ability of a debt collection firm's former CEO to sue his employer solely for punitive damages over bonuses the company eventually paid, albeit belatedly, pointing to state law that says claims can be made for "wages due" in the present tense.

  • March 12, 2026

    Gov'ts Push Back On US Probe Of Alleged Trade Distortions

    Governments pushed back Thursday on allegations by the U.S. trade representative that they promote structural excess capacity in manufacturing, the premise of an investigation that could lead to new, long-lasting tariffs once the Trump administration's temporary global tariff regime expires in late July.

  • March 12, 2026

    Ill. Says Trump's 'Forced Retreat' Can't End Nat'l Guard Suit

    The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are pushing back on the Trump administration's bid to dismiss their lawsuit challenging National Guard deployment to the state because all the troops have since been demobilized or withdrawn, with no plans to return, telling an Illinois federal judge that the president's social media posts and public statements tell a different story.

  • March 12, 2026

    Mass. Sheriffs Sued For Records On Ties To ICE

    An immigrant advocacy group says several Massachusetts sheriffs' departments are improperly relying on a federal regulation to withhold records documenting their relationships with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents.

  • March 12, 2026

    Town, Officials Seek Toss Of Ex-Officer's Employment Suit

    A Connecticut town, its police chief and former director of human resources are asking a state court to throw out a suit from a former police officer who alleges he was denied disability benefits and an administrative position because of his race, a prior workers' compensation claim and his medical cannabis use.

  • March 12, 2026

    Democrats Seek Review Of Bondi's Role In Brother's Cases

    Two Democratic lawmakers have asked the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general to review whether Attorney General Pam Bondi "adequately recused herself" from cases involving clients represented by her brother Brad Bondi, who is a partner at Paul Hastings LLP.

  • March 12, 2026

    Calif. Bar Says Internal Docs Bolster Claims Against Exam Co.

    The State Bar of California has bulked up its breach of contract and fraud suit against the administrator of its "disastrous" February 2025 bar exam, filing an amended complaint in light of information it says it learned from internal communications unearthed amid discovery.

  • March 12, 2026

    EU Antitrust Officials Targeting 'Entire AI Stack'

    The European Union's top antitrust official said Thursday that bloc enforcers are casting a wide net as they look at the ways artificial intelligence companies may try to anticompetitively boost themselves over rivals, including underlying training models and needed power and cloud computing infrastructure.

  • March 12, 2026

    Reeves Says Energy Windfall Tax May Not Apply By Late 2027

    The U.K.'s energy profits levy is expected to no longer apply to oil and gas operations in the North Sea in the last quarter of 2027, especially if the current Middle East crisis de-escalates and energy prices stabilize, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves told an H&M Treasury committee.

  • March 12, 2026

    Holyoak's US Attorney Nomination Advances

    The nomination of Melissa Holyoak, former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, to be U.S. attorney for the District of Utah was sent to the full Senate on Thursday.

  • March 12, 2026

    Congestion Pricing Fight In 2nd Circ. Turns On Jurisdiction

    The Second Circuit asked Thursday whether New York City congestion pricing is a tax or a toll, with one judge suggesting that a challenge to the program from two Empire State counties could land in state court if it's deemed a tax.

  • March 12, 2026

    Maryland Sues ICE For Records On Detention Conditions

    Maryland accused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement of unlawfully refusing to provide records for a civil rights investigation into an immigrant holding facility in Baltimore where people commonly complain of being "treated like animals."

  • March 12, 2026

    NM Bars Local Gov'ts From Levying Tax On Child Care Homes

    New Mexico barred local governments from imposing certain taxes on registered child care homes under a bill signed by the governor.

  • March 12, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs $42M Abu Ghraib Verdict, Likens CACI To Pirates

    A $42 million judgment against defense contractor CACI Premier Technology Inc. for conspiring with the U.S. military to torture Abu Ghraib prison detainees was upheld by a split Fourth Circuit panel Thursday, with the majority holding that the military prison was effectively within U.S. territorial jurisdiction during the war in Iraq.

  • March 12, 2026

    Mass. Co. Fights Debarment Over Prevailing Wages Dispute

    A Massachusetts water tank inspection company should not have to face a one-year debarment for prevailing wage violations, the company told a state court, arguing that it already paid the citations and being prevented from entering into contracts would be "fatal" to its business.

  • March 12, 2026

    CFTC Takes 1st Steps Toward Prediction Market Regulations

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened the door Thursday to promised prediction market regulation, calling for public feedback on what such rules might look like while laying out the staff's view on the current rules that the platforms should follow in order to offer betting on sports and other events.

  • March 12, 2026

    Feds Sue To Stop California's 'Illegal' EV Regulations

    The Trump administration sued California on Thursday, alleging the Golden State over a decade ago adopted "illegal" requirements for automakers to sell more low- or zero-emission cars and trucks, saying the mandates trample on the federal government's authority to regulate vehicle fuel economy.

  • March 11, 2026

    4th Circ. Expands Online Data Privacy For Child Sex Material

    The Fourth Circuit has ruled that law enforcement officers are barred under the Fourth Amendment from opening and viewing private files stored on an online cloud database without a warrant, applying existing case law from physical files to electronically stored documents.

  • March 11, 2026

    Judge Eyes Halkbank's No-Fine Deal To Nix Sanctions Case

    A Manhattan federal judge Wednesday let prosecutors and Turkey's Halkbank move forward with a no-fine deal that will likely resolve criminal charges alleging the state-backed lender conspired to launder billions of dollars in sanctioned Iranian oil proceeds.

Expert Analysis

  • Elections Mean Time For Political Law Compliance Checkups

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    An active election year is the perfect time for in-house counsel to conduct a health check on their company's corporate political law compliance program to ensure it’s prepared to minimize risks related to electoral engagement, lobbying, pay-to-play laws and government ethics rules, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Next Steps For Fair Housing Enforcement As HUD Backs Out

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    A soon-to-be-finalized U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule, which would hand responsibility for determining disparate impact liability under the Fair Housing Act to the courts, reinforces the Trump administration’s wider rollback of fair lending enforcement, yet there are reasons to expect litigation challenging this change, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • As Federal Enviro Justice Policy Goes Dormant, All Is Not Lost

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    Environmental justice is enduring a federal dormancy brought on by executive branch reversals and agency directives over the past year that have swept long-standing federal frameworks from the formal policy ledger, but the legal underpinnings of EJ have not vanished and remain important, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • What Clarity Act Delay Reveals About US Crypto Regulation

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    The Senate Banking Committee's decision to delay markup of the Clarity Act, which would establish a comprehensive federal framework for digital assets, illuminates the political and structural obstacles that shape U.S. crypto regulation, despite years of bipartisan calls for regulatory clarity, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Courts' Rare Quash Of DOJ Subpoenas Has Lessons For Cos.

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    In a rare move, three federal courts recently quashed or partially quashed expansive U.S. Department of Justice administrative subpoenas issued to providers of gender-affirming care, demonstrating that courts will scrutinize purpose, cabin statutory authority and acknowledge the profound privacy burdens of overbroad government demands for sensitive records, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • The Little Tucker Act's Big Class Action Moment

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    The Little Tucker Act, which allows claims against the government for illegally exacted fees, is transforming from a niche procedural mechanism into a powerful vehicle for class action litigation, with more than $500 billion in such fees — including President Donald Trump's tariffs — now ripe for challenge, says Dinis Cheian at Susman Godfrey.

  • Venezuela Legal Shifts May Create Investment Opportunities

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    Since the removal of President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has shown signs of economic liberalization, particularly in the oil and mining sectors, presenting unique — but still high-risk — investment opportunities for U.S. companies, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Unpacking Dormant Commerce Clause Cannabis Circuit Split

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    Federal courts have reached differing conclusions as to whether state-legal cannabis is subject to the dormant commerce clause, with four opinions across three circuit courts in the last year demonstrating the continued salience of the dormant commerce clause debate to the nation's cannabis industry, regulators and policymakers, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Remote Patient Monitoring Is At Regulatory Inflection Point

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    With remote patient monitoring at the center of new federal pilot programs and a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General examining Medicare billing for those services, it is clear that balancing innovation and risk will be a central challenge ahead for digital health stakeholders, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How Latest Nasdaq Proposals Stand To Raise Listings Quality

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    Nasdaq's recent proposals stand to heighten both quantitative and qualitative standards for issuers, which, if approved, may bring investors stronger market integrity and access but also raise the listings bar, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    CFIUS Must Adapt To Current Foreign Investment Realities

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    To continue protecting the U.S.’ long-term strategic and economic interests, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States should implement practical enhancements that leverage technology, expertise and clear communication, and enable it to keep pace with evolving demands, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

  • Texas AG Wields Consumer Protection Law Against Tech Cos.

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted technology companies using the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a broadly worded statute that gives the attorney general wide latitude to pursue claims beyond traditional consumer protection, creating unique litigation risks, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • When Bankruptcy Collides With Product Recalls

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    The recent bankruptcy filing by Rad Power Bikes on the heels of a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warning about dangerously defective batteries sold by the company highlights how CPSC enforcement clashes with bankruptcy protections, leaving both regulators and consumer litigants with limited options, says Michael Avanesian at Avian Law Group.

  • Protecting Sensitive Data During Congressional Inquiries

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    With the 2026 midterm elections potentially set to shift control of one or both houses of Congress, entities must proactively plan for the prospect of new congressional investigations, and adopt strategic, effective and practical measures to mitigate risks related to disclosure of sensitive information, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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