Public Policy

  • January 30, 2026

    Labor Dept. Recovered $1.4B For Benefit Plans In Fiscal '25

    The U.S. Department of Labor reported $1.4 billion in recoveries for employee benefit plans in its latest enforcement report on Friday, an amount equal to what the agency has reported for the previous three fiscal years, although it had a significant uptick in funds recovered from abandoned plans.

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-Mass. Pol Gets Extra Month In Prison For Obstruction

    A former Massachusetts state senator who was two weeks from being released from prison on unemployment and tax fraud charges will spend an additional month in custody for misleading investigators, a federal judge ordered on Friday with "some misgivings."

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-NC City Council Member Cops To COVID Fraud In Plea Deal

    A former Charlotte City Council member reached a plea deal Friday in her North Carolina federal wire fraud case in which she admits to stealing COVID-19 business relief funds by submitting bogus applications to obtain money she later used to throw herself a birthday party.

  • January 30, 2026

    FCC Urges Cos. To Tamp Down Ransomware Risks

    The Federal Communications Commission called on companies to take tough measures against ransomware attacks and report data breaches and outages from cybersecurity incidents.

  • January 30, 2026

    Bill Regulating Attorney AI Use Passes California Senate

    A proposed California law that would regulate attorneys and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence statewide has headed to the Assembly after the state Senate unanimously approved the measure.

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-Fla. Rep. Says Prosecutor Has 'Personal Animus' In DQ Bid

    A former Florida congressman and a lobbyist charged with failing to register as foreign agents for Venezuela urged a federal court to disqualify an assistant U.S. attorney in the case, saying Friday that the prosecutor has a conflict of interest and "personal animus" toward defense counsel.

  • January 30, 2026

    US Rebukes WTO Siding With China On Energy Tax Credits

    The U.S. Trade Representative condemned the World Trade Organization's decision to side with China in a dispute over energy tax credits passed during former President Joe Biden's term Friday, calling the global body's dispute resolution mechanism inadequate.

  • January 30, 2026

    Undersea Cable Cos. Seek Slash In FCC License Paperwork

    Submarine cable providers want the Federal Communications Commission to replace its current "ad hoc" procedure for approving license applications with one that's more streamlined and clearly spelled out in FCC rules.

  • January 30, 2026

    FTC Requires Facility Sales For $835M Healthcare Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement Friday allowing Sevita Health to move ahead with an $835 million deal for BrightSpring Health Services Inc.'s community living business, conditioned on the sale of more than 100 facilities.

  • January 30, 2026

    House To Vote On Reform Of Court Nondisclosure Orders

    Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., fumed at the House on Friday for trying to undo a provision that allows him and other senators investigated by special counsel Jack Smith to sue for damages and held up the government funding vote as a result. But a bill the House is poised to take up next week could alleviate some of his concerns.

  • January 30, 2026

    Feds Say Alleged $100K H-1B Fee Harm Only Speculative

    The Trump administration asked a California federal judge to dismiss a suit challenging President Donald Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, arguing it rests upon multiple what-ifs that deprive the groups that challenged the fee of standing.

  • January 30, 2026

    Attys Rip Judge-Shopping Sanctions As Bid To 'Rewrite' Rules

    Two Alabama attorneys who were sanctioned for allegedly judge shopping in a civil rights case urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss the sanctions Friday, arguing the judges accusing them were seeking to "rewrite" the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

  • January 30, 2026

    FTC Warns 42 Law Firms Of DEI 'Anticompetitive Collusion'

    The Federal Trade Commission announced Friday that it has sent warning letters to 42 major law firms for their purported participation in an outside diversity, equity and inclusion program, alleging their participation could constitute anticompetitive collusion.

  • January 30, 2026

    Virginia Senators Ask DHS IG To Investigate Surveillance Tech

    Virginia's Democratic senators have urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's inspector general to investigate the agency's technology procurement amid the Trump administration's immigration enforcement push, warning that DHS' various information collection tools put Americans' privacy rights under threat.

  • January 30, 2026

    Commerce Outlines USMCA Truck Tariff Discount Reporting

    The federal government Friday outlined criteria to meet and information that importers must provide on imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks to qualify for preferential tariff treatment under the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement.

  • January 30, 2026

    DOJ Requires Divestitures For Reddy Ice-Arctic Glacier Tie-Up

    The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division is forcing Reddy Ice to divest assets in five geographic areas in order to win approval for a $126 million acquisition of competitor Arctic Glacier.

  • January 30, 2026

    Amazon Says Shoppers' Labeling Suit Is Corrupted By AI Errors

    In customers' latest filing in their proposed class action accusing Amazon of failing to make required disclosures on dietary supplement product pages, the e-commerce giant alleges that the plaintiffs have submitted a document riddled with errors derived from the use of generative text.

  • January 30, 2026

    Trade Court Slams Gov't Bid To Dismiss Wood Shutter Case

    A U.S. Court of International Trade judge rejected the government's argument that a wood shutter company obscured the "true nature" of its challenge of the Department of Commerce's refusal to review duties on its products, saying the government didn't adequately explain how to make that determination.

  • January 30, 2026

    US Athlete Claims Rigged Qualifier Kept Her From Olympics

    Just a week before the Winter Olympics, American skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender is fighting to reclaim her spot in the competition, telling the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday that Canada sabotaged her in a qualifying race.

  • January 30, 2026

    Feds Say Suit To Block Trump From Painting Building Is Moot

    The federal government asked a D.C. federal court to toss a lawsuit seeking to stop President Donald Trump from painting a historic building white, saying the president has already agreed to pause his plan until environmental reviews are completed.

  • January 30, 2026

    Trump Orders Open Tariff Threat Over Oil Sales To Cuba

    President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imports from countries that sell oil to Cuba, according to an executive order published Thursday evening.

  • January 30, 2026

    NC Bar Urges Panel To OK Atty Discipline For Account Misuse

    The North Carolina State Bar is urging the state's appeals court to uphold the suspension of a Nash County lawyer over the alleged mishandling of his attorney trust account, arguing he admitted to the misconduct and did not show the state's ethics watchdog had abused its discretion.

  • January 30, 2026

    USTR Signs Trade Agreements With El Salvador, Guatemala

    The U.S. signed framework trade agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala, according to announcements from the U.S. Trade Representative's Office.

  • January 30, 2026

    Tribe's Cannabis Raid Claims Largely Survive Dismissal

    A California federal judge has denied the bulk of two motions to dismiss a suit from the Round Valley Indian Tribes and three of its members alleging that their properties were illegally raided for growing cannabis, dismissing only the claims that law enforcement officers didn't have jurisdiction over the properties.

  • January 30, 2026

    Former CMS Deputy Moves To Baker Donelson

    The Trump administration's former Medicaid leader has affiliated himself with Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC as a strategic adviser, where the firm said he'll collaborate with its health and government solutions team across 12 states and the nation's capital.

Expert Analysis

  • NBA, MLB Betting Indictments: Slam Dunks Or Strikeouts?

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    Recent fraud charges against bettors, NBA players and MLB pitchers raise questions about what the government will need to prove to prosecute individuals involved in placing bets based on nonpublic information, and it could be a tough sell to juries, say attorneys at Ford O'Brien.

  • Tracking The Evolution Of AI Insurance Regulation In 2025

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    As artificial intelligence continues to transform the insurance industry, including underwriting, pricing, claims processing and customer engagement, state regulators, led by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, are increasing oversight to ensure that innovation does not outpace consumer protections, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Series

    Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.

  • How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

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    On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

  • Prepping For 2026 Shifts In Calif. Workplace Safety Rules

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    California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health is preparing for significant shifts and increased enforcement in 2026, so key safety programs — including injury and illness prevention plans, workplace violence plans, and heat illness prevention procedures — must remain a focus for employers, says Rachel Conn at Conn Maciel.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

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    After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • How AI Exec Order May Tee Up Legal Fights With States

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    The Trump administration's draft executive order would allow it to challenge and withhold federal dollars from states with artificial intelligence laws, but until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation, states may have to defend their regulatory frameworks in extended litigation, says Charles Mills, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

  • Recent Proposals May Spell Supervision Overhaul For Banks

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    A slew of rules recently proposed by the federal banking agencies with approaching comment deadlines would rewrite supervision standards to be further tailored to banks' size and activities, while prioritizing financial risks over process, documentation and other nonfinancial risks, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Where DEI Stands After The Federal Crackdown In 2025

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    The federal government's actions this year have marked a fundamental shift in the enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, indicating that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that perpetuate allegedly unlawful discrimination will face vigorous scrutiny in 2026, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Rule Update May Mean Simpler PFAS Reports, Faster Timeline

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently proposed revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act's per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances reporting rule would substantially narrow reporting obligations, but if the rule is finalized, companies will need to prepare for a significantly accelerated timeline for data submissions, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What US Can Learn From Brazil's Securities Arbitration Model

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    To allay investor concerns about its recent approval of mandatory arbitration clauses in public company registration statements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should look to Brazil's securities arbitration model, which shows that clear rules and strong institutions can complement the goals of securities regulation, say arbiters at the B3 Arbitration Chamber.

  • Navigating The New Patchwork Of Foreign-Influence Laws

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    On top of existing federal regulations, an expanding wave of state legislation — placing new limits on foreign-funded political spending and new registration requirements for foreign agents — creates a confusing compliance backdrop for corporations that demands careful preplanning, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

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    Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Where Things Stand At The CFPB As Funding Dries Up

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on pace to run out of funding in the new year, threatening current and future rulemaking efforts, but a rapid series of recent actions still carries significant implications for regulated entities and warrants careful monitoring in the remaining weeks of the year, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Terrorist Label For Maduro Poses New Risks For US Firms

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    The State Department's recent designation of President Nicolás Maduro, and other Venezuelan government and military officials, as members of a foreign terrorist organization drastically increases the level of caution companies must exercise when doing business in the region to mitigate potential civil, criminal and regulatory risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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