Public Policy

  • August 15, 2025

    Exec Snared In Now-Dismissed Eric Adams Case Avoids Jail

    A wealthy construction executive who admitted illegally funneling over $12,000 into the 2021 campaign of New York City Mayor Eric Adams avoided prison on Friday at a sentencing that followed the government's decision not to proceed against the mayor himself.

  • August 15, 2025

    La. Eyes Pause On Suit While Congress Mulls Future Of Hemp

    Louisiana officials on Thursday asked a federal judge to pause a lawsuit challenging the state's hemp law while Congress considers the future of federal hemp policy.

  • August 15, 2025

    Thoreau Stomping Grounds Still Public, Mass. Justices Rule

    Massachusetts' highest court on Friday said the public is entitled to use a section of an 18th century road once deemed "a paradise for walkers" by Henry David Thoreau, rejecting claims by Harvard University and other adjacent property owners that the road was made private decades ago.

  • August 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Paves Way For Trump Admin To Resume CFPB Cuts

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday tentatively cleared President Donald Trump's administration to carry out mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, rejecting a lower-court hold on those efforts but giving time for groups representing consumers and agency workers to request an appeal.

  • August 15, 2025

    DC Sues Trump Over Police Takeover, Sanctuary Policies

    The District of Columbia sued President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday to halt the federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department, saying the executive branch lacks authority to exert operational control over the city's law enforcement.

  • August 14, 2025

    Ed. Dept. Effort To Bar School Diversity Programs Blocked

    A Maryland federal judge on Thursday held that the U.S. Department of Education violated the constitution and Administrative Procedure Act when it issued guidance that took aim at school diversity programs, ruling that the "law does not countenance the government's hasty and summary treatment of these significant issues."

  • August 14, 2025

    Banks Ask To Halt 'Unfair' Clock On CFPB Open Banking Rule

    Bank trade groups are asking a Kentucky federal judge to freeze looming compliance deadlines for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's contested open banking rule as the agency revamps the measure, while opposing fintech groups called on the White House to block banks from charging them fees for the kind of data-sharing the rule mandates.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Judge Won't Require Snap To Heed Teen Social Media Law

    A Florida federal judge has rejected the state attorney general's bid to force Snap Inc. to comply with a new law that would limit the ability of teens to access the platform, holding that the state's challenge was unlikely to succeed in light of his prior ruling in a related case finding the measure to likely be unconstitutional. 

  • August 14, 2025

    NYC Fires Back At Co.'s Migrant Busing Suit

    New York City is coming out swinging against a lawsuit brought by a charter company that helped Texas bus thousands of migrants into the city and leave them there, saying that Roadrunner Charters wasn't injured by the city enforcing its own laws.

  • August 14, 2025

    Fla. Judge Warns Of Split Claims In Detention Center Suit

    A Florida federal judge on Thursday warned parties in a proposed class action over attorney access for individuals confined at the Everglades immigrant detention center that some claims in the lawsuit appear to belong in a neighboring district, saying that he could issue a ruling reflecting this determination. 

  • August 14, 2025

    ATF Says Ban On Buying Handguns Out Of State Is Valid

    The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives asked a Texas federal judge to shoot down a bid from a gun store to overturn the federal ban on citizens purchasing handguns outside their state of residence, saying the law has historic backing.

  • August 14, 2025

    Colo. Sex Offender Can't Nix Registry Over Expunged Record

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel held Thursday in a matter of first impression that an expunged juvenile sex offense can be a factor in determining lifetime registration as a sex offender, rejecting a defendant's arguments that it violates the ex post facto clause and the Eighth Amendment.

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. OKs Returning Calif. Farm Wage Suit To State Court

    A California farmworker's wage and hour suit against Sunsweet Growers Inc. can proceed in state court, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, rejecting the company's argument that the suit belongs in federal court and should be dismissed.

  • August 14, 2025

    Austin Asks Justices To Toss Abortion Travel Decision

    The city of Austin, Texas, threw its weight behind San Antonio in the latter's fight against a state appeals court finding that barred San Antonio from funding out-of-state abortion travel, telling the Texas Supreme Court the ruling allows the state to thwart Texas cities' legislative process.

  • August 14, 2025

    DC Judge Halts Some USDA Climate Grant Terminations

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's termination of certain climate-focused grants awarded to five nonprofits, saying the terminations were likely arbitrary and capricious but stopping short of blocking the administration's broader grant termination policy.

  • August 14, 2025

    DOJ Says No Habeas Exception In Georgetown Scholar's Case

    The Trump administration has told the Fourth Circuit that district court orders barring the removal and ordering the release of Indian Georgetown academic Badar Khan Suri, who was detained on foreign policy grounds, flout longstanding limits on courts' authority over habeas petitions.

  • August 14, 2025

    Trump Picks Ex-Scalia, Kavanaugh Clerk For 7th Circ.

    President Donald Trump announced on Thursday evening he would be nominating Rebecca Taibleson, an assistant U.S. attorney in Wisconsin, to the Seventh Circuit.

  • August 14, 2025

    Trump's Brazil Tariffs Raise Questions About Legal Limits

    Higher tariffs imposed last week on Brazilian imports may prove especially vulnerable to legal challenges, but stakeholders expect the U.S.-Brazil trading relationship to nevertheless remain in limbo for the immediate future.

  • August 14, 2025

    Bid To Block Alabama's Anti-DEI Law Rejected

    An Alabama federal judge has rejected a bid to block a state law banning certain diversity, equity and inclusion-related activities at state schools and college campuses, finding the Alabama NAACP and the students and professors who filed suit didn't show that the law is unconstitutionally vague.

  • August 14, 2025

    Calif. Justices Say No Arb. For Nursing Home Death Claim

    The California Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a decision sending to arbitration a wrongful death claim by parents who allege their son was neglected at the 24-hour skilled nursing facility he was admitted to.

  • August 14, 2025

    SpaceX Calls Va. Broadband Funding Plan 'Wasteful'

    SpaceX criticized Virginia over its spending plan for the $1.48 billion in broadband funding it's set to receive from the BEAD program, saying the state "has put its heavy thumb on the scale in favor of expensive, slow-to-build fiber bias" over satellite.

  • August 14, 2025

    Red States Back Feds' Push To End Trump Energy Orders Suit

    Republican-led states on Thursday threw their support behind the federal government's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by youths alleging that President Donald Trump's energy policy directives harm their future by exacerbating climate change, saying there are no grounds to sustain the suit.

  • August 14, 2025

    AGs Urge Meta To 'Prioritize Safety' With Location Feature

    A bipartisan coalition of more than three dozen state attorneys general is calling on Meta Platforms Inc. to strengthen the privacy and security safeguards for a new location tracking feature that recently debuted on Instagram, arguing that the social media giant has a duty "to prioritize user safety over product novelty."

  • August 14, 2025

    Okla. City Fights Creek Nation Over Tribal Court Authority

    An Oklahoma city is looking to dismiss a challenge by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation that looks to block the municipality from prosecuting Native Americans for crimes committed on tribal lands, arguing that a 2022 Supreme Court ruling gives it concurrent jurisdiction with the federally recognized tribe.

  • August 14, 2025

    PTAB Petitions To Get More Scrutiny Under New Policy

    A new Patent Trial and Appeal Board policy limiting the ability of the challengers to argue that "general knowledge" indicates that a patent is invalid will heighten scrutiny of petitions and could lead to more of them being denied if they don't comply with the rule, attorneys say.

Expert Analysis

  • Clean Energy Tax Changes Cut Timelines, Add Red Tape

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    With its dramatic changes to energy tax credits, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will reshape project financing and investment planning — and wind and solar developers, especially those in the early stages of projects, face stricter timelines and heightened compliance challenges, says Dan Ruth at Balch & Bingham.

  • 5 Consumer Protection Compliance Issues In NY State Budget

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    Companies that engage with New York consumers should promptly familiarize themselves with new state budget provisions that require finance and retail companies to make certain business practices more transparent and easier for customers to execute, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Balancing The Promises And Perils Of Tokenizing Securities

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    Tokenizing listed securities offers the promise of greater efficiency, accessibility and innovation, but a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission statement makes clear that the federal securities laws continue to apply to tokenized securities, so financial institutions and technology developers must work together to create clear rules, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • How To Increase 3rd-Party Preissuance Patent Submissions

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    Attorneys Marian Underweiser and Marc Ehrlich, who helped draft the America Invents Act, discuss changes that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could potentially implement to facilitate its hopes for increased participation in front-end patent challenges.

  • How Cos. In China Can Tailor Compliance Amid FCPA Shifts

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement guidelines create a fluid business environment for companies operating in China that will require a customized compliance approach to navigate both countries’ corporate and legal systems, say attorneys at Dickinson Wright.

  • 7 Ways Employers Can Avoid Labor Friction Over AI

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    As artificial intelligence use in the workplace emerges as a key labor relations topic in the U.S. and Europe, employers looking to reduce reputational risk and prevent costly disputes should consider proactive strategies to engage with unions, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Open Banking Is On Ice As CFPB Seeks To Toss Its Own Rule

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    Even as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's efforts to toss its open banking rule play out in Kentucky federal court, it remains statutorily required to effectuate consumer access to data, raising questions about how it would replace the previously finalized standard, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • SEC, FINRA Obligations In Changing AI Regulatory Landscape

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    Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent withdrawal of its proposed artificial intelligence conflict rules, financial regulators remain focused on firms developing the correct AI compliance framework, as well as continuously testing and supervising them to ensure they're fit for purpose, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Trump Air Emissions Carveouts Cloud The Regulatory Picture

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    President Donald Trump's new proclamations temporarily exempting key U.S. industries from air toxics standards, issued under a narrow, rarely-used provision of the Clean Air Act, will likely lead to legal challenges and tighter standards in some states, contributing to further regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement Will Help US Compete

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    The U.S. Department of Justice settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise clears the purchase of Juniper Networks in a deal that positions the U.S. as a leader in secure, scalable networking and critical digital infrastructure by requiring the divestiture of a WiFi network business geared toward small firms, says John Shu at Taipei Medical University.

  • How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

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    Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Assessing Impact Of USPTO's New Patent Policies

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    Recent data shows how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new patent policies are affecting America Invents Act trial institution rates, including spurring an uptick in discretionary denials, say attorneys at Armond Wilson.

  • What US Medicine Onshoring Means For Indian Life Sciences

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    Despite the Trump administration's latest moves to onshore essential medicine manufacturing, India will likely remain an indispensable component of the U.S. drug supply chain, but Indian manufacturers should prepare for stricter compliance checks, says Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

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