Public Policy

  • September 08, 2025

    GAO Flags Barriers In Tribal Energy Loan Program

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said a federal agency program designed to support Indigenous nations in developing energy projects through loans is limiting its accessibility and effectiveness through high, unpredictable costs; unclear guidance; and a lack of tribal expertise.

  • September 08, 2025

    New Orleans' Short-Term Rental Crackdown Largely Upheld

    A Louisiana federal judge mostly sided with New Orleans in a lawsuit filed by Airbnb Inc. and multiple property owners challenging the city's 2023 and 2024 short-term rental restrictions, tossing most of the plaintiffs' 11-count suit.

  • September 08, 2025

    FCC To Examine Impact Of State, Local Wireline Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to take a closer look at federal preemption of state and local rules that could impede the deployment of wireline telecom and broadband service.

  • September 08, 2025

    Dem Sens., AGs Increase Pressure On DOJ's HPE Merger Deal

    The controversial Justice Department settlement clearing Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks drew further pushback from Democratic senators and state attorneys general who respectively sought answers from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and told a California federal judge to reject the deal.

  • September 08, 2025

    Class Actions May Be The New Injunction Bid, And Next Target

    In the two months since the Supreme Court hobbled universal injunctions, lawyers and trial judges have pivoted to adjust to a new litigation landscape, with class actions playing a larger role in lawsuits seeking to stop presidential policies. That, in turn, could put the tactic in the administration's crosshairs.

  • September 08, 2025

    Senior Int'l Tax Official At IRS To Join Baker McKenzie

    A 15-year veteran of the Internal Revenue Service, who recently served as acting commissioner of the Large Business & International Division, will join Baker McKenzie's tax practice in Washington, D.C., later this month, the firm said Monday.

  • September 08, 2025

    Bessent Says US Will Refund Revenue If Justices Nix Tariffs

    If the U.S. Supreme Court decides President Donald Trump lacked authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the U.S. government will refund revenue it has collected with tariffs under that law, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

  • September 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Trump Donor's Tax, Foreign Agent Convictions

    A venture capitalist whose 12-year prison term for evading taxes and making illegal campaign contributions through foreign clients was commuted by President Donald Trump did not plead guilty to the crimes involuntarily, the Ninth Circuit found in affirming his convictions, rejecting his claim that his attorney hid information from him.

  • September 08, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Last week at the Delaware Court of Chancery, a bankruptcy administrator for a generic drugmaker formerly known as Teligent was told he can proceed with duty of oversight claims against most former officers and directors of the company, who the administrator said was complicit in the company's collapse. In an opinion, the Court of Chancery cites its 1996 decision In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation, which refined director duties of care and oversight.

  • September 08, 2025

    Most Criminal Summonses In NYC Get Tossed, Study Finds

    The vast majority of criminal summonses issued in New York City get dismissed in court, usually due to insufficiency of the information police officers provide in them, and they are issued disproportionately more to Black and Hispanic people, according to a study of official data released Monday.

  • September 08, 2025

    Conn. Tax Atty Wants Full Appeals Court To Rethink Her Firing

    Connecticut's former tax legal director has asked the full Connecticut Appellate Court to reconsider an appellate panel's ruling that found her firing was proper after she used her work computer to send unauthorized draft legislation to a lobbyist, arguing that as a case of first impression it is important for the full court to weigh in.

  • September 08, 2025

    Appeal Limited To NJ US Atty DQ Ruling, 3rd Circ. Told

    The federal government and defense counsel have agreed that the scope of a Third Circuit appeal is limited to the disqualification of New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from overseeing two cases.

  • September 08, 2025

    Dems Again Ask NY Ethics Body To Investigate Bove

    Two Democratic senators filed an updated ethics complaint with the New York State Courts' attorney ethics body against recently confirmed Third Circuit Judge Emil Bove, citing what they called his "quid pro quo deal" to drop criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other alleged ethical violations.

  • September 08, 2025

    NC High Court Snapshot: Pot Smell Test, Atty's Divorce Feud

    North Carolina's top court will return from its summer hiatus in September to address whether law enforcement can rely on the smell of marijuana alone in the age of legalized hemp to justify a warrantless search. Here are some highlights of the high court's September lineup.

  • September 08, 2025

    Idaho Developer Looks To Defend $2B Gold Mine Project

    The developer of a proposed $2 billion Idaho gold mine wants to intervene in a tribe's challenge that looks to block the project, saying it has already invested more than $400 million in the endeavor and has an interest in developing and moving the effort forward without delay.

  • September 08, 2025

    Tracking The Copyright Fights Between Creators And AI Cos.

    In the three years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, artificial intelligence developers like OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic have faced dozens of lawsuits accusing them of infringing the intellectual property of authors, artists, news organizations and the like.

  • September 08, 2025

    FCC Ready To Kick Off Review Of Cox, Charter Deal

    The Federal Communications Commission has set into motion its public interest review of the $34.5 billion deal to combine Charter Communications Inc. and Cox Communications into a powerhouse offering broadband, video and mobile services.

  • September 08, 2025

    Lawmakers Push To Finalize Tribal Water Rights Settlements

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging congressional leaders to make a move on several tribal water rights settlement bills that are pending before the U.S. Senate, saying that doing so will prevent costly litigation and ensure tribes and others have access to water.

  • September 08, 2025

    Ex-Judge Says Wash. DA, Court Sabotaged Election Bid

    A Washington state attorney and former pro tem judge in Seattle has filed a lawsuit alleging she was racially discriminated against when a county prosecutor's office had her disqualified from hearing cases due to rulings she made from the bench.

  • September 08, 2025

    Pa. Bill Aims To Stop Reassessments For Small Improvements

    Pennsylvania would allow small property improvements without the trigger of a reassessment under a bill introduced in the state Senate. 

  • September 08, 2025

    Justices Let ICE Raids Continue In LA Without Restrictions

    A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a temporary injunction on indiscriminate immigration stops in Los Angeles, after a lower court ruled in July that racial traits alone such as appearance and accent are not enough to question individuals.

  • September 08, 2025

    Chief Justice Pauses FTC Commissioner's Reinstatement

    Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order Monday temporarily staying the reinstatement of Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter while the Trump administration fights to bring a case challenging her removal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • September 08, 2025

    Trump Loses 2nd Circ. Appeal Of $83M Carroll Verdict

    A Second Circuit panel on Monday upheld an $83.3 million award against President Donald Trump for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in 2019 in the wake of her sexual assault allegations, rejecting his claims of presidential immunity.

  • September 07, 2025

    Stewart Says New Patent Policies Aim To Bring Stability

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart said Sunday that new patent review policies the office has implemented are aimed at making the patent system more stable, saying that in her view, repeated patent challenges can result in "the antithesis of stability."

  • September 05, 2025

    SEC Lost Year's Worth Of Gary Gensler Texts, Watchdog Says

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made "avoidable errors" that caused the agency to lose all text messages sent and received by former chair Gary Gensler for nearly a year of his tenure, some of which haven't been recovered, according to a report from the SEC's Office of Inspector General.

Expert Analysis

  • A Foreign Currency Breach Won't Always Sink EB-5 Cases

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    Recent court decisions show that, while EB-5 investors must be able to show the lawfulness of their funds and methods of transfer, a third-party currency exchanger's violation of another country’s currency export control law does not, by itself, taint the funds for purposes of U.S. investment, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • How The 5th, D.C. Circuits Agreed On FCC Forfeiture Orders

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    The Fifth and D.C. Circuits split this year on the Federal Communications Commission's process for adjudicating enforcement actions, but both implicitly recognized the problem with penalizing a party based on a forfeiture order that has not yet been challenged in any way in court, says Jared Marx at HWG.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

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    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • 'Solicit' Ruling Offers Proxy Advisers Compliance Relief

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    The D.C. Circuit recently found that proxy voting advice does not fall under the legal definition of "solicitation," significantly narrowing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory power over such advisers, offering stability to the proxy advisory industry and providing temporary relief from new compliance burdens, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • SAM Update May Ease Tricky Timing Technicalities

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent rule update, clarifying the System for Award Management's registration requirement, may reduce the number of disqualifications and bid protests resulting from minor lapses, but government contractors should still implement​ procedures t​o ensure early submission​ of registration renewals, say attorneys at Butzel Long.

  • Evaluating The SEC's Rising Whistleblower Denial Rate

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    The rising trend of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower award claim denials represents a departure from the SEC's previous track record and may reflect a more conservative approach to whistleblower award determinations under the current administration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • State Crypto Regs Diverge As Federal Framework Dawns

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    Following the Genius Act's passage, states like California, New York and Wyoming are racing to set new standards for crypto governance, creating both opportunity and risk for digital asset firms as innovation flourishes in some jurisdictions while costly friction emerges in others, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How 2nd Circ. Cannabis Ruling Upends NY Licensing

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    A recent Second Circuit decision in Variscite NY Four v. New York, holding that New York's extra-priority cannabis licensing preference for applicants with in-state marijuana convictions violates the dormant commerce clause, underscores that state-legal cannabis markets remain subject to the same constitutional constraints as other economic markets, say attorneys at Harris Beach.

  • Key Insurance Coverage Considerations For AI Data Centers

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    The burgeoning artificial intelligence industry has sparked a surge in data center projects — a trend likely to be accelerated by the White House's AI Action Plan — but with these complex facilities come equally complex risks, engendering important insurance coverage considerations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

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    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Unpacking The New Opportunity Zone Tax Incentive Program

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    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act brought several improvements to the opportunity zone tax incentive program that should boost investments in qualified funds, including making it permanent, increasing federal income tax benefits in rural areas, redesignating the qualified zones, and requiring more in-depth reporting, says Marc Schultz at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • What New CFPB Oversight Limits Would Mean For 4 Markets

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to centralize its resources, proposals to alter the definition of larger market participants in the automobile financing, international money transfer, consumer reporting and consumer debt collection markets would reduce the scope of the bureau's oversight, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • MIT Bros.' Crypto Charges Provide Fraud Test Case For Gov't

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    As U.S. v. Peraire-Bueno, involving cryptocurrency fraud charges against brothers who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, moves forward after surviving a motion to dismiss, the case provides an early example of how the government might use the federal fraud statutes to regulate decentralized networks, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Navigating Brazil's Regulations, Incentives For Green Projects

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    Brazil's evolving environmental regulatory framework and ongoing moves to attract international capital for climate-focused projects may appeal to U.S.-based companies and investors interested in sustainable development — but taking advantage of these opportunities requires careful planning and meaningful stakeholder engagement, says Milena Angulo at Guimarães.

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