Public Policy

  • September 16, 2026

    1st Circ. Hints Trump Admin Sought To Skirt Review Of Cuts

    The First Circuit on Wednesday repeatedly suggested that the Trump administration had sought to evade court review by intentionally failing to issue written guidance before it began shuttering federal programs targeted by the president in an executive order last year.

  • September 16, 2026

    BofA Settles Suit Over Maryland Pandemic Benefits Cards

    Bank of America on Wednesday agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging it mismanaged Maryland's unemployment benefits debit cards during the pandemic.

  • September 16, 2026

    Del. Defends Absentee Voting Law At State High Court

    Two Delaware Senate candidates urged the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday to strike down the state's permanent absentee voting system as unconstitutional, while state election officials defended the law as a valid way to administer absentee voting for people who remain eligible over multiple elections.

  • September 16, 2026

    SEC Floats Eliminating Shareholder Proposal Rule

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday proposed a number of changes to the way publicly traded companies seek shareholder input, including by promising to eliminate one of the pathways shareholders can use to place their own proposals on corporate ballots. 

  • September 16, 2026

    FTC Deal Bars Gunmakers From Overlapping Board Members

    Beretta Holding SA is swearing off putting any of its own executives on fellow gunmaker Ruger's board under a Federal Trade Commission settlement announced Wednesday addressing competitive overlap concerns from a more than $100 million deal that will increase Beretta's stake in the company from 9.95% to up to 25%.

  • September 16, 2026

    Va. DOT Warns FCC Deadlines For Permits May Be Too Short

    The Virginia Department of Transportation has warned the Federal Communications Commission that a plan to limit state and local telecom permit reviews to 120 days might not offer enough time, especially if service providers' applications are faulty.

  • September 16, 2026

    ICE Blocked From Threatening Critic Who Sent Scathing Email

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from threatening to prosecute a critic who sent a scathing email comparing then-acting Director Todd Lyons to a Nazi, saying the "warning notice" ICE agents issued on the Rochester man's doorstep likely violates his free speech rights. 

  • September 16, 2026

    80 Hospitals End Suit Over Now Vacated HHS Payment Rule

    A group of 80 hospitals has voluntarily ended a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over denied Medicare payment appeals after a D.C. federal court vacated a 2023 rule affecting how those payments were calculated.

  • September 16, 2026

    States Say DOJ's RealPage Deal Doesn't Affect Their Claims

    A group of states told a North Carolina federal court to reject property management software company RealPage Inc.'s argument that its rent price-fixing settlement with the federal government moots the states' antitrust claims.

  • September 16, 2026

    DOJ Says Groups Can't Halt Rule Skipping Asylum Interviews

    The Trump administration told a D.C. federal judge that immigrant legal service providers lack standing to challenge a rule permitting asylum officers to skip interviews if someone is ineligible for asylum and send those cases straight to immigration court.

  • September 16, 2026

    10th Circ. Clears The Way To Fill Denver's Expanded Reservoir

    The Tenth Circuit has cleared the way for Denver Water to begin filling an expanded reservoir that holds the city's water supply, finding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not err when approving a permit for the project.

  • September 16, 2026

    Pa. Justices Ask When Canes, Hot Dogs Become Crime Tools

    Pennsylvania's justices contemplated pummeling one another with canes, gavels and hot dogs as they grappled with what transforms a mundane object into an "instrument of crime" during arguments Wednesday.

  • September 16, 2026

    Conn. Judge Trims Claims In 3M Firefighter PFAS Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge has dismissed some "forever chemicals" allegations lodged against 3M Co. by state firefighter unions and firefighters in a Minnesota multidistrict litigation concerning municipalities that purchased firefighting turnout gear, ruling that the unions lack associational standing over certain claims in the case.

  • September 16, 2026

    6th Circ. Ruling Puts Cannabis Deals In Question

    The Sixth Circuit's decision reversing a $31.8 million jury judgment against cannabis giant Curaleaf on the grounds that marijuana is federally illegal is bound to have ramifications for industry players who seek redress in federal courts, attorneys told Law360.

  • September 16, 2026

    EU Eyes Canada As First Associate Member Amid Rift With US

    The European Union may take steps to include Canada as its first associate member in the wake of growing U.S. trade uncertainty, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

  • September 16, 2026

    Cannabis Venture Says Township Caved To Public Pressure

    A pair of companies alleged in a federal lawsuit Tuesday that the planning board of a New Jersey township unlawfully torpedoed their plan to open a marijuana cultivation facility because of community hostility to the plan.

  • September 16, 2026

    Underdog Sues To Stop Conn. Crackdown On Event Contracts

    The prediction market operator Underdog has joined a growing legal fracas with Connecticut officials who are trying to shut down alleged online sports betting in the state, arguing in a new federal lawsuit that only the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has jurisdiction over such companies.

  • September 16, 2026

    Trade Court OKs Korean Pipe Duties In Decade-Long Dispute

    The U.S. Court of International Trade backed the latest U.S. Department of Commerce determination in a long-running challenge to antidumping duties on imports of South Korean pipes that first started in 2016, finding the department properly used a new pricing test.

  • September 16, 2026

    Minn. Court Drops $22M From Wells Fargo Tower's Tax Value

    A Wells Fargo office tower in Minneapolis was overvalued by $22 million by the local assessor, the Minnesota Tax Court said, looking at the sales prices of the building itself and applying calculations that it called for in a previous order.

  • September 16, 2026

    DOJ Fights Acquittal Motion Following Okla. Bid-Fixing Verdict

    The U.S. Department of Justice is urging an Oklahoma federal court to reject an acquittal bid from a man convicted of participating in an erosion control company's bid-rigging conspiracy that allegedly affected over $100 million in publicly funded transportation construction contracts.

  • September 16, 2026

    5th Circ. Says EPA Went Too Far With Chemical Ban

    The Fifth Circuit has sided with a group of chemical companies and vacated a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that banned nearly all uses of methylene chloride, saying the agency went too far in evaluating the substance as a whole instead of its uses.

  • September 16, 2026

    Senate Panel Weighs 6 Trump Judicial Picks From Red States

    Six nominees for U.S. district judge appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for their nomination hearing.

  • September 16, 2026

    NGOs Petition Burnham For Wealth Tax Ahead Of Budget

    Prime Minister Andy Burnham should introduce a tax to target "extreme wealth" in the upcoming autumn budget, a coalition said Wednesday.

  • September 15, 2026

    DOJ Says Fed Law Preempt Colo., Denver Efficiency Mandates

    The Trump administration told a Colorado federal court Tuesday that federal law preempts Colorado and the city of Denver's regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, backing a magistrate judge who recommended that a lawsuit challenging the regulations proceed.

  • September 15, 2026

    DOJ Says States Could Owe Bond In Paramount Merger Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that a coalition of state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America could indeed be required to put up a bond as they challenge Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, but only if the order they secured truly constitutes an injunction.

Expert Analysis

  • The Deep Split Over Mandatory Detention, And What's Next

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    The government’s mandatory detention policy for noncitizens who entered the U.S. without inspection has led to a spate of decisions this year, with nine circuits rejecting the government's reading of the Immigration and Nationality Act against two that have accepted it, making the issue ripe for U.S. Supreme Court review, says attorney Kemal Hepsen.

  • Intersecting Investigation Risks Loom In Next Congress

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    Taken together, two July D.C. Circuit decisions and a recent U.S. Department of Justice opinion on executive privilege may affect the procedural defenses and privilege protections available to targets of oversight in the upcoming Congress, and companies should begin preparing now, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • FTC Focus: A Shift In The Pricing Disclosure Terrain

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    Recent state and Federal Trade Commission developments spotlight materially different ways in which personalized pricing might be addressed, which could result in an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape in which businesses face differing disclosure obligations and substantive restrictions depending upon the jurisdiction, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

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    The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Compliance Lessons From Agriculture Co. Mexican Bribe DPA

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    Agricultural company Scoular’s recently announced deferred prosecution agreement over alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations at the U.S.-Mexico border reinforces the U.S. Department of Justice’s focus on cartels, and companies must accordingly ensure they address risks associated with the use of customs brokers, says Adam Safwat at Foley Hoag.

  • OpenAI Deal Highlights AI Hiring Risks In PERM Process

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement of allegations that OpenAI discriminated against U.S. applicants for positions connected to the permanent labor certification process underscores that employers providing or using artificial intelligence must align their recruitment practices with their overlapping compliance obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • 5 Practice Tips After DOJ's Healthcare Fraud Declination

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to not prosecute Campus Eye Management under the agency's new corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy, healthcare companies should keep several considerations in mind when weighing their risk and self-disclosure strategy, including the distinctions between reporting to the DOJ versus other government agencies, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • What Bulk-Power Gear Import EO Means For US Energy Cos.

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    Though President Donald Trump's recent executive order restricting imports of foreign-produced bulk-power system electrical equipment imposes no immediate obligations on private parties, stakeholders can take near-term steps to mitigate supply chain and contractual risks, as much of the order's ultimate impact will depend on implementing regulations, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Assessing The Early Days Of Woodcock's SEC Tenure

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    Since David Woodcock took over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement four months ago, the division has pursued a scaled-back caseload centered on fraud and manipulative conduct, largely following the enforcement outlook that emerged under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • AI And AML: Rulemakings Lean Into Responsible Innovation

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    Recent federal rulemaking increasingly supports deployment of artificial intelligence tools for anti-money laundering compliance purposes, and institutions that build clear use and governance frameworks will be best positioned to defend programs when AI systems err, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Series

    Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

  • Unpacking Texas' New Grid Reliability Rules For Data Centers

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    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ recently effective technical and compliance obligations, designed to prevent data centers and other large energy customers from causing cascading outages when they go offline, will challenge facilities to develop equipment and protocols to help protect the grid, says Casey Bell at Balch & Bingham.

  • Opinion

    Md. Court Got Ad Tax Similarity Analysis Wrong

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    Decisions striking Maryland’s digital advertising tax are fundamentally flawed because the Maryland Tax Court found similarity between digital ads and other ads without considering deep market distinctions, says Darien Shanske at UC Davis School of Law.

  • Opinion

    NC Litigation Funding Ban Sets Model For Other States

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    States worried about rising liability costs and the commercialization of their courts should treat North Carolina's recently enacted litigation funding ban as a model because a prohibition adequately addresses the distortion that disclosure only documents, say attorneys at McAngus Goudelock.

  • The Future Of DOL Judge Removal Challenges After Slaughter

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. Slaughter calls into question whether U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judges exercising significant governmental authority remain insulated from presidential removal, but the answer depends on the governing statute, its severability provisions and other factors, says Mark Ishu at Conn Maciel.

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