Public Policy

  • June 05, 2025

    Wash. County Ex-Diversity Manager Lodges Retaliation Suit

    A former equity, inclusion and belonging manager for Washington state's King County, home to Seattle, has launched a lawsuit contending she was blocked from addressing employee concerns about bias in the workplace, mistreated by white male colleagues, and ultimately pushed out amid a "challenging culture of silence and inaction."

  • June 05, 2025

    SEC Panel Backs Rules Curbing Advisers' Arbitration Power

    An investor-focused committee recommended Thursday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enact rules governing mandatory arbitration clauses between registered investment advisers and their clients, concerned that such clauses can harm investors.

  • June 05, 2025

    Multifamily REIT Hit With Housing Voucher Bias Suit

    A civil rights nonprofit has accused multifamily real estate investment trust AvalonBay Communities Inc. of discriminating against tenants who use housing vouchers by falsely advertising the bedrooms in one of its District of Columbia properties.

  • June 05, 2025

    Mich. Judge Trims Property Owners' Foreclosure Surplus Suit

    A Michigan federal judge trimmed a proposed class action filed by former property owners who accused Wayne County of wrongfully refusing to pay them surplus proceeds from tax foreclosure sales.

  • June 05, 2025

    Texas Plastics Co. Challenges IRS Over Microcaptive Rules

    A Texas plastics company sued the IRS over regulations flagging microcaptive insurance plans as potentially abusive tax avoidance schemes, telling a Texas federal court that the agency exceeded its authority by imposing broad disclosure requirements that could penalize even legitimate arrangements.

  • June 05, 2025

    DOJ Says Cross-Border Monopoly Member Deserves 11 Years

    The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking 11 years in prison and a $2 million fine for a man who pled guilty to charges tied to the running of a cross-border used-car transport business, which prosecutors say used violence to keep competition at bay.

  • June 05, 2025

    Pa. City's Receiver Asks Court To Rein In Stormwater Board

    The receiver for the bankrupt city of Chester, Pennsylvania, told a state court Thursday that the city-created stormwater authority and its board of directors violated their charter and state law by expanding the board and paying the elected officials who were on it.

  • June 05, 2025

    Tenn. To Add New Tax To CBD And Delta-8 Products

    Tennessee is set to impose a new wholesale tax structure on hemp-derived THC products, eliminating its 6% retail sales tax at the beginning of 2026, according to a notice published Thursday.

  • June 05, 2025

    Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates more than 100 times in May on issues such as making room for 5G's use of the airwaves, licensing tribal spectrum, broadband mapping, the 12.7 gigahertz band, FCC satellite rules and more.

  • June 05, 2025

    Michigan House Escalates Docs Fight With Secretary Of State

    The Michigan House of Representatives sued the state's top election official Thursday, saying she has withheld election training materials from lawmakers despite a House subpoena.

  • June 05, 2025

    Maryland Judge Halts 'Mass Closure' Of AmeriCorps Programs

    A Maryland federal judge on Thursday temporarily enjoined the Trump administration's "mass closure" of AmeriCorps programs in two dozen states and ordered more than 750 national service members be restored, but declined to vacate the firing of AmeriCorps' paid staff.

  • June 05, 2025

    'Rubio Determination' Must Be Stricken, Khalil Says

    Attorneys for Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil asked a New Jersey federal court to block Secretary of State Marco Rubio's doctrine of linking deportation with foreign policy interests, telling the court that he will suffer irreparable harm if his detention on foreign policy grounds continues.

  • June 05, 2025

    Orgs. Clash At DC Circ. Over FCC's Spectrum Revamp

    Public safety groups are clashing at the D.C. Circuit over whether the Federal Communications Commission overstepped its authority when it expanded spectrum rights in the 4.9 gigahertz band, a segment of airwaves long relied on by emergency responders.

  • June 05, 2025

    Trump Expects China Trade Talks To Resume After Xi Phone Call

    President Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over the phone Thursday about an impasse in ongoing trade talks over U.S. claims China was slow-walking the exports of rare earths, with Trump saying he expects meetings between the countries' negotiating teams to resume.

  • June 05, 2025

    Copyright Office Says Registration Delay Had No Legal Impact

    The U.S. Copyright Office said Thursday that a two-week pause on issuing registration certificates last month after its leader was fired did not adversely affect any claimant's rights.

  • June 05, 2025

    DOJ Wants Fix-It-1st Mergers, Not 'Fix-It-2nd'

    The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's top merger official walked a fine line Wednesday between avoiding "a lingering regulatory review tax" on benign transactions and over-confident prognostications that markets will "self-correct" without intervention, and between encouraging companies to address concerns upfront and "shadow" settlements with the government.

  • June 05, 2025

    Feds Must Help Venezuelans Seek Habeas Relief, Judge Says

    A D.C. federal judge said the Trump administration must help Venezuelan nationals deported from the U.S. to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center seek habeas relief to challenge their removal, finding they're likely to succeed on the merits of their due-process claim.

  • June 05, 2025

    Dems, GOP Question Contempt Section Of Reconciliation Bill

    Senate Democrats have vowed to do whatever they can to defeat a provision in the budget reconciliation that would limit federal courts' ability to hold federal officials in contempt, and some Republicans are wary of it as well. 

  • June 05, 2025

    Feds Invest Millions To Revitalize Former Coal Mine Sites

    The U.S. Department of the Interior is doling out $130 million to help states and tribes redevelop former coal mine sites.

  • June 05, 2025

    Mich. AG Asks Judge To Block Abortion Coercion Screening

    Michigan's attorney general has asked a judge to strike down a state-law requirement that abortion patients be evaluated for coercion, after the judge upheld the screening while permanently blocking other abortion regulations last month.

  • June 05, 2025

    Conn. Bill Boosts Atty Presence On Judge Selection Panel

    Both houses of the Connecticut Legislature this week passed a bill that would alter the Constitution State's Judicial Selection Commission, replacing two nonattorney seats with positions held by lawyers and heightening job requirements for lawyers selected to vet applications for appointment to the bench.  

  • June 05, 2025

    Ex-Bush Admin Atty To Lead HHS Civil Rights Office

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has appointed an attorney to lead its civil rights office who brings more than 30 years of experience across the public sector and private practice, including as counsel for HHS during the George W. Bush administration.

  • June 05, 2025

    Convicted Fla. Atty Urges 11th Circ. To Reexamine Sentence

    A Florida lawyer sentenced to 75 months in prison over a COVID-19 loan fraud scheme has asked the Eleventh Circuit to rehear her sentencing en banc, arguing the appellate court should reexamine the district court's so-called Keane statement allegedly disregarding sentencing guidelines.

  • June 05, 2025

    Feds 'May Not Arrest' Columbia Student, Judge Says

    A Manhattan federal judge declined Thursday to dismiss a Columbia University undergraduate's suit claiming the Trump administration is unlawfully seeking her arrest and removal because she expressed pro-Palestinian views at a rally, sharply criticizing the feds' approach.

  • June 05, 2025

    Ill. Judge Tosses Dredged Waste Suit After Feds Pull Site Plan

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit challenging a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to expand a disposal site that stores sediments dredged from Chicago waterways, citing the agency's withdrawal of its decision over the Lake Michigan shoreline facility.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Slater Heralds Return To US Antitrust Norms, Innovation

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    Under recently confirmed Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice can fulfill President Donald Trump's objective to reestablish American economic dominance on the global stage while remaining faithful to antitrust's core principles, says Ediberto Roman at the Florida International University College of Law.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • How Latin American Finance Markets May Shift Under Trump

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    Changes in the federal government are bringing profound implications for Latin American financial institutions and cross-border financing, including increased competition from U.S. banks, volatility in equity markets and stable green investor demand despite deregulation in the U.S., says David Contreiras Tyler at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • TikTok Bias Suit Ruling Reflects New Landscape Under EFAA

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    In Puris v. Tiktok, a New York federal court found an arbitration agreement unenforceable in a former executive's bias suit, underscoring an evolving trend of broad, but inconsistent, interpretation of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • Avoiding Pitfalls Around New Calif. Commercial Lease Law

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    A California law that became effective this year requires commercial landlords to extend certain protections previously afforded to residential tenancies, and a few key provisions of the law especially warrant reexamination of leasing and operational processes, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Filial Consortium Claims' Future After Conn. High Court Ruling

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    While the Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled for defendants in rejecting parents’ attempt to recover loss of companionship damages in a severe child injury case, there is still potential for the plaintiffs bar to lobby for a law that would allow filial consortium claims, Glenn Coffin at Gordon Rees.

  • 5 Tools To Help Existing Gov't Contracts Manage Tariff Costs

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    Five pointers can help government contractors scrutinize their existing contracts for protections like equitable adjustment and duty-free entry clauses, which may help insulate them from tariff-related cost increases, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 4th Circ. Health Data Ruling Opens Door To State Law Claims

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    In Real Time Medical v. PointClickCare, the Fourth Circuit recently clarified that state law claims can rest in part on violations of a federal law that prohibits electronic health information blocking, expanding legal risks for health IT companies and potentially creating exposure to a range of competitive implications, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • 2 Del. Rulings Reinforce Proof Needed For Records Demands

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    Two recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions involving Amazon and Paramount Global illustrate the significance of the credible basis standard on books and records requests, underscoring that stockholders seeking to investigate wrongdoing must come forward with actual evidence of misconduct — not mere allegations, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

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    Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 3 Action Items For Innovators Amid Fintech Regulatory Pivot

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    As the federal banking agencies seek to smooth the way for banks to engage in crypto-related activities, banks and technology companies should take note of this new chapter in payments services, especially as leadership in digital financial technology becomes a national priority, says Jess Cheng at Wilson Sonsini.

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