Public Policy

  • January 30, 2026

    Calif. Senator Floats Bill To Expand Data Deletion Rights

    A California senator is pushing to update the state's landmark data privacy law to expand the type of personal information that consumers can ask businesses to delete and to require companies to provide residents with more ways to submit data deletion, access and correction requests. 

  • January 30, 2026

    Irish Luge Team Says Russians Iced Athlete Out Of Olympics

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport said the Irish Luge Federation has appealed a decision to award athletes from Russia places in the women's singles competition for the upcoming Winter Olympics, claiming it ices an Irish athlete out of the games.

  • January 30, 2026

    Senate Passes Gov't Funding Package; House Must Vote Next

    The Senate voted 71-29 on Friday to pass five of the remaining government funding bills for fiscal 2026 and a short tenure extension for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security bill to give lawmakers and the White House time to work on possible immigration enforcement changes.

  • January 30, 2026

    Baltimore Sues Payday Lender Dave Over 'Usurious' Loans

    The city of Baltimore sued Los Angeles-based lender Dave Inc. in state circuit court Friday, alleging that the financial technology company disguises high-interest payday loans as "overdraft services," while charging "astounding, usurious" annual percentage rates exceeding 2,500%, which is far above Maryland's 33% legal limit.

  • January 30, 2026

    FTC Taps Goodwin Atty For Consumer Protection Deputy Role

    A veteran of Goodwin Procter LLP has been tapped to serve as deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the regulator announced.

  • January 30, 2026

    Real Estate Attys 'Not Going In Blind' Amid Data Center Boom

    The explosion of artificial intelligence has created a sharp demand for new data centers with no signs of slowing down, posing challenges that have some real estate attorneys turning to well-worn playbooks from other industries.

  • January 30, 2026

    'I Will Not Stop Now': Don Lemon Defiant After Arrest

    A Los Angeles federal judge released journalist Don Lemon from custody Friday afternoon, rejecting a prosecutor's request that his travel be restricted after he was arrested Thursday on charges related to his coverage of a protest inside a Minnesota church. 

  • January 30, 2026

    Live Nation Plaintiff States Fight Plan To Stay Antitrust Claims

    Nearly three dozen states accusing Live Nation of stifling competition in the live entertainment industry urged a New York federal judge not to pause their state-law claims in order to focus on federal law, arguing that handling all claims at once "will be the most efficient approach."

  • January 30, 2026

    SEC Appoints New PCAOB Chair, Board Members

    A new chairman and three new board members have been appointed to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, according to an announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

  • January 30, 2026

    CBD Cos. Say They're Wrong Defendants In Kratom Suit

    Shaman Botanicals LLC and CBD American Shaman LLC are urging a California federal judge to throw out claims that they mislead consumers by failing to warn them that Soma Kratom products are dangerous and addictive, saying they're not affiliated with Soma Kratom in the first place.

  • January 30, 2026

    Planned Parenthood Drops Medicaid Fight After 1st Circ. Loss

    Planned Parenthood abandoned a legal challenge to a ban on Medicaid reimbursements for its clinics Friday, following a loss at the First Circuit, which upheld the ban in December.

  • January 30, 2026

    UP, Norfolk Southern Rip Rival BNSF's Merger Docs Demands

    Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have accused rival railroad BNSF Railway of trying to delay the regulatory review for their proposed $85 billion mega-merger by demanding that they share thousands more documents, emails and other operational details in what they called a "fishing expedition."

  • January 30, 2026

    Trump Says Court Can't Review Rule Delay For Chemical Cos.

    The Trump administration has urged a D.C. federal judge to nix a lawsuit by green groups that claim it violated the Clean Air Act by postponing emission standard compliance deadlines for 50 chemical manufacturing facilities, arguing they lack standing since they fail to sufficiently allege injury from all facilities that received exemption.

  • January 30, 2026

    Russian Skier's Appeal For Olympic Berth Too Late, CAS Says

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday that it could not entertain Russian cross-country skier Alexander Bolshunov's bid to compete in the Winter Olympic Games as an individual neutral athlete.

  • January 30, 2026

    Mich. Can't Shake Residents' Water Suit Based On Timeliness

    A Michigan appellate court has allowed lead contamination claims from Benton Harbor residents to proceed, affirming that state officials did not make clear the level of danger in the city's water system for purposes of starting the clock on the statute of limitations.

  • January 30, 2026

    7th Circ. Grills Trump Admin Atty Over Definition Of Illegal DEI

    Seventh Circuit judges on Friday pushed an attorney for the Trump administration to define what kind of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives it deems illegal in requiring grant recipients to certify they don't promote DEI programs that violate anti-discrimination law, with one judge saying the unanswered question has caused "frustration" in litigation over the requirement.

  • January 30, 2026

    The Message From Delaware Courts: Change Is Coming

    Delaware's Supreme Court delivered a reminder to the state's corporation law ecosystem recently with a reversal of a Court of Chancery decision invalidating a 7-year-old stockholder agreement that granted broad corporate powers to investment bank Moelis & Co.'s founder.

  • January 30, 2026

    Okla. Gov. Challenges AG's Tribal Hunting Policy Opinion

    Oklahoma's governor and wildlife department have urged the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give them control over hunting and fishing rights on tribal reservation lands so they can issue state-managed permits, arguing that an opinion by the state's attorney general wrongly says federal law prohibits such permitting.

  • January 30, 2026

    DOL Adds More H-2B Visas For Imperiled Employers

    The U.S. Department of Labor issued a temporary rule Friday making another 64,716 H-2B visas for seasonal, non-agricultural workers available for fiscal year 2026, but only to employers facing severe financial hardship.

  • January 30, 2026

    Labor Dept. Recovered $1.4B For Benefit Plans In Fiscal '25

    The U.S. Department of Labor reported $1.4 billion in recoveries for employee benefit plans in its latest enforcement report on Friday, an amount equal to what the agency has reported for the previous three fiscal years, although it had a significant uptick in funds recovered from abandoned plans.

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-Mass. Pol Gets Extra Month In Prison For Obstruction

    A former Massachusetts state senator who was two weeks from being released from prison on unemployment and tax fraud charges will spend an additional month in custody for misleading investigators, a federal judge ordered on Friday with "some misgivings."

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-NC City Council Member Cops To COVID Fraud In Plea Deal

    A former Charlotte City Council member reached a plea deal Friday in her North Carolina federal wire fraud case in which she admits to stealing COVID-19 business relief funds by submitting bogus applications to obtain money she later used to throw herself a birthday party.

  • January 30, 2026

    FCC Urges Cos. To Tamp Down Ransomware Risks

    The Federal Communications Commission called on companies to take tough measures against ransomware attacks and report data breaches and outages from cybersecurity incidents.

  • January 30, 2026

    Bill Regulating Attorney AI Use Passes California Senate

    A proposed California law that would regulate attorneys and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence statewide has headed to the Assembly after the state Senate unanimously approved the measure.

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-Fla. Rep. Says Prosecutor Has 'Personal Animus' In DQ Bid

    A former Florida congressman and a lobbyist charged with failing to register as foreign agents for Venezuela urged a federal court to disqualify an assistant U.S. attorney in the case, saying Friday that the prosecutor has a conflict of interest and "personal animus" toward defense counsel.

Expert Analysis

  • NBA, MLB Betting Indictments: Slam Dunks Or Strikeouts?

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    Recent fraud charges against bettors, NBA players and MLB pitchers raise questions about what the government will need to prove to prosecute individuals involved in placing bets based on nonpublic information, and it could be a tough sell to juries, say attorneys at Ford O'Brien.

  • Tracking The Evolution Of AI Insurance Regulation In 2025

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    As artificial intelligence continues to transform the insurance industry, including underwriting, pricing, claims processing and customer engagement, state regulators, led by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, are increasing oversight to ensure that innovation does not outpace consumer protections, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Series

    Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.

  • How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

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    On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

  • Prepping For 2026 Shifts In Calif. Workplace Safety Rules

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    California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health is preparing for significant shifts and increased enforcement in 2026, so key safety programs — including injury and illness prevention plans, workplace violence plans, and heat illness prevention procedures — must remain a focus for employers, says Rachel Conn at Conn Maciel.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

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    After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • How AI Exec Order May Tee Up Legal Fights With States

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    The Trump administration's draft executive order would allow it to challenge and withhold federal dollars from states with artificial intelligence laws, but until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation, states may have to defend their regulatory frameworks in extended litigation, says Charles Mills, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

  • Recent Proposals May Spell Supervision Overhaul For Banks

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    A slew of rules recently proposed by the federal banking agencies with approaching comment deadlines would rewrite supervision standards to be further tailored to banks' size and activities, while prioritizing financial risks over process, documentation and other nonfinancial risks, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Where DEI Stands After The Federal Crackdown In 2025

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    The federal government's actions this year have marked a fundamental shift in the enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, indicating that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that perpetuate allegedly unlawful discrimination will face vigorous scrutiny in 2026, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Rule Update May Mean Simpler PFAS Reports, Faster Timeline

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently proposed revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act's per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances reporting rule would substantially narrow reporting obligations, but if the rule is finalized, companies will need to prepare for a significantly accelerated timeline for data submissions, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What US Can Learn From Brazil's Securities Arbitration Model

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    To allay investor concerns about its recent approval of mandatory arbitration clauses in public company registration statements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should look to Brazil's securities arbitration model, which shows that clear rules and strong institutions can complement the goals of securities regulation, say arbiters at the B3 Arbitration Chamber.

  • Navigating The New Patchwork Of Foreign-Influence Laws

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    On top of existing federal regulations, an expanding wave of state legislation — placing new limits on foreign-funded political spending and new registration requirements for foreign agents — creates a confusing compliance backdrop for corporations that demands careful preplanning, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

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    Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Where Things Stand At The CFPB As Funding Dries Up

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on pace to run out of funding in the new year, threatening current and future rulemaking efforts, but a rapid series of recent actions still carries significant implications for regulated entities and warrants careful monitoring in the remaining weeks of the year, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Terrorist Label For Maduro Poses New Risks For US Firms

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    The State Department's recent designation of President Nicolás Maduro, and other Venezuelan government and military officials, as members of a foreign terrorist organization drastically increases the level of caution companies must exercise when doing business in the region to mitigate potential civil, criminal and regulatory risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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