Public Policy

  • May 20, 2026

    Bad AI Citation Sanction Slashed Amid 7th Circ. Guidance

    An Indiana federal judge Wednesday rejected a magistrate judge's recommendation that an attorney be sanctioned $7,500 for including faulty, artificial intelligence-generated legal citations in a discovery brief, pointing to recent Seventh Circuit guidance and sanctioning him $2,000 instead.

  • May 20, 2026

    House Passes Broad Housing Bill, But Senate Accord Unclear

    The U.S. House of Representatives voted 396-13 to pass a landmark housing bill on Wednesday, but questions remain about how the Senate will react to the latest version, particularly its handling of institutional investors in the single-family housing market.

  • May 20, 2026

    DOJ, Drugmakers Spar After Justices Snub 6 Negotiation Suits

    The U.S. Department of Justice is trying to have it both ways in drug pricing litigation, telling the U.S. Supreme Court not to intervene before additional circuits decide pending challenges and then using this week's nonintervention as ammunition against those challenges, drugmakers are arguing at appeals courts.

  • May 20, 2026

    Bayer Curbs Seed Loyalty Program Amid DOJ Antitrust Inquiry

    Bayer CropScience has agreed to back off, for the next seven years, from implementing requirements in its loyalty program where it was accused of tying discounts to sales targets that independent seed companies had to meet, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's announcement made Wednesday.

  • May 20, 2026

    Top 4 Most Surprising Moments In Musk-OpenAI Trial

    The high-profile trial over Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion wrapped Monday with a quick jury verdict in favor of OpenAI and its executives, but the three-week trial drew some surprising moments for those in the courtroom who had front row seats to the fight between billionaires.

  • May 20, 2026

    Bank Ratings Would Focus More On Financial Risk Under Plan

    Federal regulators have unveiled a proposal to revamp a key ratings system used for grading the condition of banks, outlining changes that could make it harder to penalize banks on exams for governance and compliance issues unless they pose a clear financial threat.

  • May 20, 2026

    States Push FDIC To Include Them In Stablecoin Reviews

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. faces calls to coordinate with fellow federal agencies and include state banking regulators in its coming application process for stablecoin issuers under its supervision.

  • May 20, 2026

    Social Media Not Proven To Harm Mental Health, Judge Told

    A statistics expert for Meta sought Wednesday to undermine the claim that social media has driven a rise in mental health conditions among teens, saying the New Mexico attorney general's key witness on the topic didn't consider alternative factors like widening access to mental health care.

  • May 20, 2026

    Fed Pitches Formal Plan To Offer Fintechs 'Payment Accounts'

    The Federal Reserve on Wednesday moved closer to giving financial technology firms a new route to accessing its payment rails, advancing a formal proposal to create a special type of "payment account" while calling for a pause on some pending full-account decisions.

  • May 20, 2026

    Binance Libel Suit Doesn't Show Actual Malice, Dow Jones Says

    Dow Jones urged a New York federal judge to toss a defamation suit brought by Binance over a Wall Street Journal article saying the cryptocurrency exchange fired internal investigators who uncovered transactions that purportedly went to sanctioned Iranian-backed entities, arguing that Binance hadn't shown the article was published with actual malice.

  • May 20, 2026

    Texas AG Sues ISS Over ESG Considerations

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. on Wednesday for allegedly advising shareholders based on environmental, social and governance considerations rather than the objective advice it advertises, in violation of a Texas consumer law.

  • May 20, 2026

    Baltimore Bridge Wreck Civil Trial Will Stay The Course

    A Maryland federal judge on Wednesday refused an eleventh-hour request from the Dali cargo ship's owner and manager to delay a trial that's starting in less than two weeks to determine the scope of liability and damages over Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster, according to an attorney for certain claimants.

  • May 20, 2026

    4th Circ. OKs Pipeline Work During Green Groups' Permit Suit

    A Fourth Circuit panel refused to order Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC to halt construction on an interstate pipeline, saying in an order Monday that environmental groups failed to persuade the judges that a recently issued discharge permit was arbitrary and capricious.

  • May 20, 2026

    Women Fencers Can't Advance Bias Suit Over Trans Eligibility

    A Missouri federal judge ruled on Wednesday that three women fencers did not prove that they were discriminated against by the organizers of a tournament that permitted transgender women to compete, throwing out their proposed class action.

  • May 20, 2026

    La. Defends Challenged LNG Project Air Permit At 5th Circ.

    A Louisiana regulator told the Fifth Circuit environmental groups have no ground to support their challenge of a preconstruction permit approved for a major liquefied natural gas export terminal in Cameron Parish.

  • May 20, 2026

    DOJ Looks To Nix Dish's Requirement To Operate 5G Network

    Now that it's sold off all its spectrum, Dish isn't going to be able to build the nationwide 5G network that it promised the U.S. Department of Justice it would as part of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, so the DOJ is asking a D.C. federal court to nix that part of their agreement.

  • May 20, 2026

    1st Circ. Allows Transfer Of RI Youth Care Info To Texas Court

    The First Circuit declined to halt a Texas federal court's order requiring a Rhode Island hospital to hand over records detailing its provision of gender-affirming care to minors, finding a Rhode Island agency failed to demonstrate that doing so would cause children in the state irreparable harm.

  • May 20, 2026

    White House Told To Obey Records Law, Not Trump's Policy

    A D.C. federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Presidential Records Act is likely constitutional and ordered White House staff to comply with it, while rejecting the Trump administration's new recordkeeping policy as insufficient.

  • May 20, 2026

    FTC Targets AI 'Nudify' Apps Under Revenge Porn Law

    The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sent warning letters to a dozen companies that offer artificial intelligence tools that allow people to "nudify" images, marking some of its first regulatory actions under a revenge porn law that went into force the day prior.

  • May 20, 2026

    FTC Looks For Ways To Avoid 'Litigating The Fix'

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson said Wednesday that last-minute settlement proposals in merger cases put enforcers in a tough spot and ultimately hurt the merger review process, as the agency considers ways to avoid litigating the offers in court.

  • May 20, 2026

    DC Circ. Orders FCC Response In News Distortion Dispute

    The D.C. Circuit ordered the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday to respond to a call from several former agency leaders for court action that would compel the FCC into rethinking its controversial policy against "news distortion."

  • May 20, 2026

    Antivax Health Workers Fight Uphill At 9th Circ. Over Firings

    Two Ninth Circuit panelists cast doubt Wednesday on an attempt by a group of former University of Washington employees to revive claims that they were wrongfully fired after they refused COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds, with one judge remarking that unvaccinated workers "make the risk worse" in a healthcare setting.

  • May 20, 2026

    DOT Taps Vornado Team For Penn Station Rebuild

    The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday selected a master developer team to lead a major renovation of New York City's Penn Station, a team that includes Vornado Realty Trust, which controls a significant commercial footprint across adjacent blocks.

  • May 20, 2026

    Connecticut Challenges Tribal Recognition Repetitioning Rule

    Connecticut is asking a federal court to block the Interior Department from accepting any requests from Indigenous nations seeking to reapply for federal recognition under a revised rule finalized last year, claiming it's the product of an unlawful procedure and is arbitrary and capricious in its substance and application.

  • May 20, 2026

    9th Circ. Tough On HP 401(k) Forfeiture Suit Revival Bid

    The Ninth Circuit appeared reluctant Wednesday to revive a suit alleging that HP Inc. violated federal benefits law by using forfeited 401(k) funds to defray employer-side contribution obligations, with judges questioning whether plan participants backed up allegations that the tech company hadn't been sufficiently loyal or prudent.

Expert Analysis

  • A Core Weakness In The Challenge To Birthright Citizenship

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    The government’s recent oral arguments against birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara would have the Supreme Court use modern immigration classifications as markers for a constitutional boundary that is not expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment, making the theory easier to administer but weaker as a matter of text and history, says attorney Tara Kennedy.

  • Bet On Prediction Market Regulation To Accelerate

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    Watershed developments concerning prediction markets — such as the first insider trading charges, major speeches from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission leadership, and the introduction of rulemaking and legislation — dominated the first quarter of 2026, a trend that will likely continue throughout the rest of the year, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Opinion

    Financial Meltdown Fears Don't Warrant Private Credit Regs

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    Recent withdrawals from business development companies have resurfaced theories that private credit growth poses a crisis-level risk to the financial system, but arguments that more regulation is needed should be viewed with beady and careful eyes, says James Deeken at Akin.

  • New Risks Emerge As States Push Proxy Voting Legislation

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    Recent state proxy voting laws have increasingly emphasized financial returns while intensifying scrutiny of proxy advisory firms and stewardship practices, creating new compliance challenges and risks, according to attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Suit's Dismissal Would Not Settle Gold Card Visa's Legality

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    The government’s recent assertion that the plaintiffs in American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security lack standing to challenge the Trump administration’s pay-to-play immigration program does not address whether an agency can deem a million-dollar gift evidence of eligibility for immigration benefits carefully defined by Congress, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • Enviro Ruling And A New Law Signal Shift In La. Legacy Cases

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    Together, a Louisiana state court decision in WMH Farms v. Apache Corp. and an incoming statutory regime signal a sea change for legacy litigation in Louisiana, as courts make it harder to establish proof of contamination, and lawmakers narrow available remedies once contamination is proven, says Philip Wood at Jones Walker.

  • DOJ's Stance On Antitrust And Patent Law Reflects Balance

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    Recent statements of interest in patent litigation and a speech from a key U.S. Department of Justice official communicate the view that strong patent rights and competition policy are complementary, and offer important guidance for intellectual property practitioners and businesses navigating patent enforcement, standard‑setting and licensing, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Ruling Shows How Texas Law Altered Derivative Suit Outlook

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    In the first test of S.B. 29's new ownership threshold requirement for shareholder actions, a Texas federal court recently dismissed Gusinsky v. Reynolds, a derivative action brought by a minority Southwest Airlines shareholder, offering key guidance for navigating the new Texas corporate litigation landscape, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • NY Opioid Antagonist Mandate Leaves Employers Guessing

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    A recently enacted New York law will require employers that are federally mandated to maintain first-aid supplies to now include an opioid antagonist, but being that it is subject to a complicated Occupational Safety and Health Administration analysis, employers face several unanswered compliance questions, say attorneys at Conn Maciel.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Repair USPTO's Inter Partes Review Process

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    To challenge recent changes to the inter partes review process issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Congress must establish clear statutory guardrails, transparency and meaningful judicial review so that questionable patents receive proper scrutiny, say Sean Tu at the University of Alabama, Arti Rai at Duke University and Aaron Kesselheim at Harvard.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

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    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Previewing FDA Preapproval Access In Psychedelics EO

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    The second of two pathways for psychedelic drug access outlined in President Donald Trump's recent executive order constitutes an unprecedented expansion of the Right to Try Act, which could fundamentally alter the psychedelic access landscape while presenting significant regulatory, operational and legal challenges, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Data Center Accounting May Draw Enforcement Scrutiny

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    As public and media scrutiny of the data center industry intensifies, regulators, enforcement authorities and Congress will likely focus on accounting judgments that rely on aggressive assumptions, opaque financing structures or rapidly evolving collateral classes, heightening the risk of investigations and inquiries, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • NY's Growing Enviro Reg Framework Will Transform Projects

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    Three closely connected environmental rulemakings in New York state — concerning greenhouse gas reporting, remediation standards and amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act — have reached critical stages, and taken together, they will have major impacts on business operations, construction project timelines and transactional risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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