Public Policy

  • May 13, 2025

    Judge Opts For 'Remedial Manager' To Reform Rikers Jail

    A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday stopped short of ordering a receiver to take control of Rikers Island in an effort to clamp down on incidents of excessive force against the jail population, instead opting for a "remediation manager" with more narrow powers to work in collaboration with city officials to reform the notorious jail complex.

  • May 13, 2025

    CFPB Floats Repeal Of Biden-Era Registry, Designation Rules

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday that it will seek to close its "repeat offender" registry and stop disclosing its decisions to tag potentially risky firms for closer oversight, stepping back from two Biden-era initiatives aimed at greater nonbank scrutiny.

  • May 13, 2025

    CFPB Calls Off Suit Over Walmart Driver Deposit Accounts

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a Minnesota federal court Tuesday that it is dropping its enforcement lawsuit that accused Walmart and fintech company Branch Messenger Inc. of forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to receive wages, months after the court put the case on hold.

  • May 13, 2025

    Feds Challenge Montana Tribes' Full Police Funding Demand

    The U.S. Department of the Interior is asking a federal court to deny two Montana tribes a summary judgment win in their challenge over inadequate police funding, arguing the agency has gone above and beyond what the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act requires for money allocations.

  • May 13, 2025

    Ga. Law Shields Pesticide Makers From Failure-To-Warn Suits

    Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed new legislation into law that will soon shield pesticide manufacturers from liability in failure-to-warn suits, coming on the heels of a $2.1 billion verdict against the makers of Roundup weed killer delivered by a state jury earlier this year.

  • May 13, 2025

    Pot Payment Co. Wants Court To Enforce $1.3M Deal

    A Boulder, Colorado, fintech company said its former business associates in a failed joint venture to create a cannabis payment system cannot be trusted to pay the $1.3 million settlement meant to end all claims of fraud, urging a Nevada federal court to step in and force them to follow through.

  • May 13, 2025

    X Says Elon Musk Can't Sit For Media Matters Deposition

    X Corp. told a Texas federal judge that left-leaning watchdog Media Matters for America cannot make billionaire CEO Elon Musk sit for a deposition in X's disparagement suit, saying Musk lacks specific knowledge about the case and is "one of the busiest men on the planet."

  • May 13, 2025

    DOJ Antitrust Deputy Says Gov't 'Out-Lawyered' Google

    The deputy head of the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division took a victory lap Tuesday after dual monopolization wins over Google's search and advertising technology businesses, citing the cases as proof that the government's attorneys can win in a "David versus Goliath" battle.

  • May 13, 2025

    Gov't To Restore Climate Webpages After Lawsuit Pressure

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reversing course and has committed to restore climate change-focused webpages that were taken offline following the January presidential inauguration, according to a court filing in a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging the removals.

  • May 13, 2025

    FTC Remains Concerned With Merger 'Underenforcement'

    A Federal Trade Commission official emphasized Tuesday that Trump administration merger enforcers are worried about taking insufficient action against tie-ups, as they stand by Biden-era guidelines meant to enshrine a more aggressive tack against corporate concentration.

  • May 13, 2025

    Google Spars With AGs Over Impact Of DOJ Ad Tech Ruling

    Google is telling a Texas federal judge that its recent ad tech trial loss to the U.S. Department of Justice in the Eastern District of Virginia should have no bearing on the similar case brought in Texas by state attorneys general because the Virginia ruling is not yet final.

  • May 13, 2025

    Ski Resort Owner Offers Alternative Fixes After Antitrust Loss

    A New York ski resort operator is offering alternative remedies for a state court to consider after it found the owner violated antitrust law by acquiring a rival ski operation and shutting it down, despite a call from enforcers for a sale of the property to another operator.

  • May 13, 2025

    Judge Won't Limit Foreign Aid Freeze Injunction

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday declined to commit to lifting part of a preliminary injunction requiring President Donald Trump's administration to release funding for foreign aid work done before Feb. 13, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision does not change the analysis of his ruling.

  • May 13, 2025

    Lawsuit Challenging Trump Energy Order May Be Premature

    States may have good reasons to fight President Donald Trump's declaration of a national energy emergency, but courts may be unwilling to evaluate the strength of a new suit from 15 states in the absence of expedited energy project approvals.

  • May 13, 2025

    Senator Asks Interior For More SD Tribal Police Funding

    Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota has asked U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for more funding to support hiring efforts by tribal police in the state, requesting in a letter that he consider establishing a permanent tribal law enforcement training center on the Great Plains.

  • May 13, 2025

    SD Tribe's $1M School Debt Challenge Dismissed

    A federal court judge dismissed a South Dakota tribe's challenge alleging the Interior Department overcollected on a $1 million school debt obligation, finding Tuesday that while the tribe's argument is creative, there is no support for it in statute or case law.

  • May 13, 2025

    2 Courts Say Fla. Drag Show Rules Likely Unconstitutional

    Two federal courts this week have determined Florida rules targeting drag shows are likely unconstitutional, with the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday upholding an injunction against enforcing a statute barring minors from "adult live performances" and a district court blocking a city's permit restriction for an outdoor event.

  • May 13, 2025

    Grocery Giants Fight Washington's 'Redundant' $32.4M Fee Bid

    Kroger and Albertsons are fighting a bid by Washington's attorney general to recover a record $32.4 million in legal fees for winning a lawsuit to block a $24.6 billion merger of the grocery giants, saying that the state's "go-it-alone" litigation was unnecessary and wasteful because of parallel antitrust action by the Federal Trade Commission.

  • May 13, 2025

    Pa. Court Debates RGGI Membership Without Lawmakers' Nod

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed if a law empowering the state's environmental regulator equated to securing legislative approval to join a multistate Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, with the state justices noting Pennsylvania is the only member to join without lawmakers' blessing.

  • May 13, 2025

    Texas Investigates Gen­er­al Mills Over Food Coloring In Cereal

    Texas launched an investigation against General Mills Inc. over allegedly illegal misrepresentations the company made about its cereals such as Trix and Lucky Charms, saying in a Tuesday announcement the cereals contain artificial dyes that pose severe health risks for children.

  • May 13, 2025

    FTC Says It Won't Enforce 'Click To Cancel' Until July

    The Federal Trade Commission, currently only staffed with Republicans following President Donald Trump's firing of the remaining two Democratic commissioners, has decided to pump the brakes on its plan to start enforcing the agency's new "click to cancel" rule this month.

  • May 13, 2025

    Planned Parenthood Wants Teen Program Fund Rule Blocked

    Planned Parenthood on Monday urged a D.C. federal judge to vacate the U.S. government's "unlawful" requirements to "align" with President Donald Trump's executive orders lest risk losing Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program funding, arguing its facilities will suffer staff cuts and loss of medically accurate, age-appropriate education services absent an injunction.

  • May 13, 2025

    Senators Grill Allstate, State Farm Heads On Disaster Claims

    Officials from Allstate and State Farm defended their claims-handling procedures for natural disasters before a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday amid testimony that the two major homeowners insurers routinely altered estimates and underpaid policyholders to protect their profits.

  • May 13, 2025

    House Panel Clears $3.8T Extension of 2017 Tax Overhaul Law

    The House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines early Wednesday to approve a $3.8 trillion tax bill that would make permanent many of the tax cuts for businesses and individuals enacted in President Donald Trump's first term.

  • May 13, 2025

    Pa. Justices Question Ruling Over Verizon's Utility Pole Rents

    Some justices on Pennsylvania's Supreme Court questioned Tuesday whether the state's Public Utility Commission skipped steps in declaring that electrical utility FirstEnergy was charging Verizon "unjust and unreasonable" rates to rent space on utility poles, since the decision appeared to rest mainly on federal price limits the state had adopted.

Expert Analysis

  • What Trump's Order Means For The Legal Status Of IVF

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    An executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month signals the administration's potential intention to increase protections for in vitro fertilization services, though more concrete actions would be needed to resolve the current uncertainty around IVF access or bring about a binding legal change, says Jeanne Vance at Weintraub Tobin.

  • During Financial Regulatory Uncertainty, Slow Down And Wait

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    Amid the upheaval at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the slowdown in activity at the prudential agencies, banks must exercise patience before adopting strategic and tactical plans, as well as closely monitor legal and regulatory developments concerning all the federal financial regulators, say attorneys at Dorsey.

  • 1st Circ. IMessage Ruling Illustrates Wire Fraud Circuit Split

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    The First Circuit’s recent decision that text messages exchanged wholly within Massachusetts but transmitted by the internet count as interstate commerce spotlights a split in how circuits interpret intrastate actions under the federal wire fraud statute, perhaps prompting U.S. Supreme Court review, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Fix The SEC's Pay-To-Play Rule

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    Nearly 15 years after its adoption, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play rule is not working as intended — a notion recently echoed by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — and the commission should reconsider the strict liability standard, raise the campaign contribution limits and remove the look-back provision, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

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    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • Navigating The Growing Thicket Of 'Right To Repair' Laws

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    An emerging patchwork of state laws on the right to repair creates tensions with traditional intellectual property and competition principles, so manufacturers should plan proactively for legal disputes and minimize potential for rival third-party repairs to weaponize state laws, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • Implementation, Constitutional Issues With Birthright Order

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    President Donald Trump's executive order reinterpreting the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship clause presents unavoidable administrative problems and raises serious constitutional concerns about the validity of many existing federal laws and regulations, says Eric Schnapper at the University of Washington School of Law.

  • A Closer Look At Money Laundering Sentencing Issues

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    Federal money laundering cases are on the rise, often involving lengthy prison sentences for defendants who have little to no criminal history, but a closer look at the statistics and case law reveal some potentially valuable arguments that defense attorneys should keep in their arsenal, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • What Advisory On Alcohol And Cancer May Mean For Cos.

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    While the federal government has yet to take concrete steps in response to a January advisory from the outgoing U.S. surgeon general on links between alcohol consumption and cancer, the statement has opened the door to potential regulatory, legislative and litigation challenges for the alcoholic beverage industry, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Why NY May Want To Reconsider Its LLC Transparency Law

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    Against the backdrop of the myriad challenges to the federal Corporate Transparency Act, it may be prudent for New York to reconsider its adoption of the LLC Transparency Act, since it's unclear whether the Empire State's "baby-CTA" statute is still necessary or was passed prematurely, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Expectations For SEC Exams As Private Credit Market Grows

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may rely heavily on its Division of Examinations for regulating private credit markets amid their expansion into the retail investor space, so investment advisers should be prepared to address several likely areas of focus when confronted with an exam, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • AG Watch: Texas Is Entering New Privacy Enforcement Era

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    The state of Texas' recent suit against Allstate is the culmination of a long-standing commitment to vigorously enforcing privacy laws in the state, and while still in the early stages, it offers several important insights for companies and privacy practitioners, says Paul Singer at Kelley Drye.

  • IRS Scrutiny May Underlie Move Away From NIL Collectives

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    The University of Colorado's January announcement that it was severing its partnership with a name, image and likeness collective is part of universities' recent push to move NIL activities in-house, seemingly motivated by tax implications and increased scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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