Public Policy

  • August 01, 2025

    Village Ordinance Wrongly Bans Wind Farms, Ill. Panel Says

    An Illinois state appellate court majority on Friday reversed a village's summary judgment win in a lawsuit targeting an ordinance purportedly setting wind power generation limits, saying the ordinance effectively bans commercial wind farms without statutory authority.

  • August 01, 2025

    Normal Wear Is On Landlord's Dime, Not Renters', Court Says

    Massachusetts' highest court on Friday concluded that landlords cannot ding a tenant's security deposit for normal wear and tear like scuffs on walls, nor can they force a tenant to pay for professional cleanings during a moveout.

  • August 01, 2025

    States Urge High Court To Keep NIH Grant Funds Flowing

    A coalition of 16 states pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to reject the Trump administration's push to resume the mass termination of scientific research grants, saying a district judge had authority to pause the cuts.

  • August 01, 2025

    1st Circ. Doubtful Of Trump's Stance On Birthright Citizenship

    The First Circuit on Friday seemed inclined to say that the children of unauthorized immigrants are citizens if they were born on U.S. soil, citing both the 14th Amendment and a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling and pushing back on an argument by President Donald Trump's administration.

  • August 01, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Richmond PD Bias Claims Can't Sink Indictment

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday restored a federal grand jury indictment against a driver who fled police in Richmond, Virginia, finding a district court overstepped in blaming purported racial bias by the Richmond Police Department for the otherwise justifiable traffic stop.

  • August 01, 2025

    Texas Judge Says States Can Pursue BlackRock Coal Suit

    A Texas federal judge Friday gave Texas and other states the go-ahead to pursue claims that BlackRock Inc. and other asset managers used market muscle to decrease coal production, saying the states plausibly showed that the asset managers breached antitrust laws.

  • August 01, 2025

    Dems Want Probe Of DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement

    A quartet of Senate Democrats called Friday for the U.S. Department of Justice's internal watchdog to look for "improper business and political considerations" in the settlement permitting Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks.

  • August 01, 2025

    Alaskan Tribe's Breach Claim Axed In Gold Mine Permit Fight

    An Alaska judge threw out a breach of trust claim against the federal government and a mining company in a challenge to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to issue a permit for an open gold mine near the Yukon border.

  • August 01, 2025

    Senate Bill Would Ramp Up Oversight Of FCC Broadband Map

    A bipartisan pair of lawmakers filed a bill to ensure the Federal Communications Commission keeps tabs on the accuracy of broadband maps used to pinpoint where funding is needed for high-speed internet service.

  • August 01, 2025

    US Defends Bulk Denial Of Worker Credits At 9th Circ.

    An Arizona federal court was right to deny a request by tax services firms to stop the IRS from issuing batch denials of thousands of pandemic-era worker credit claims, the U.S. told the Ninth Circuit, defending the agency's system for handling problems administering the tax credit.

  • August 01, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs Prison Warden's Firing Over Facebook Memes

    The Seventh Circuit has refused to revive a deputy prison warden's suit claiming he was terminated in retaliation for sharing memes online denigrating Muslims, Black people, liberals and the LGBTQ community and calling the Confederate flag "our flag," saying the corrections department's interest as a public employer outweighs his speech interests.

  • August 01, 2025

    Senate Dem Pitches Way To Keep TikTok Online Without Sale

    U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is floating a proposal that would require TikTok to be transparent about how it displays content and limit foreign access to user data in order to allow the app to escape a legislative mandate to cut ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a nationwide ban.

  • August 01, 2025

    Texas Bill Seeks Permanent Limit For Property Tax Increases

    Texas would establish a permanent cap on increases in the appraised value of real property other than residence homesteads for property tax purposes if voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing the cap, as part of legislation filed in the state House of Representatives.

  • August 01, 2025

    Judge Says NJ Comptroller Can Subpoena Bistate Agency

    A New Jersey federal judge tossed the Delaware River Port Authority's suit claiming that the Garden State's comptroller unlawfully attempted to force it to comply with two investigative subpoenas, ruling that there is nothing to bar the comptroller from unilaterally issuing subpoenas to the New Jersey-Pennsylvania bistate transit agency.

  • August 01, 2025

    ECJ Strikes Down Italy's Tax On Cross-Border Dividends

    The Italian government breached the European Union's double-taxation protections for an Italian bank by taxing the bank's cross-border dividends via two separate levies, the EU's top court ruled Friday.

  • August 01, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    The U.S. Department of Justice abandoned its challenge of a corporate travel management deal, while lawmakers are calling for scrutiny of the agency's recent decision to settle a different case, and the Federal Trade Commission agreed to nix the requirements placed on a pair of oil and gas deals.

  • August 01, 2025

    Feds Won't Retry Madigan Co-Defendant After Mistrial

    Prosecutors asked an Illinois federal judge on Friday to dismiss charges against ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's longtime confidant Michael McClain after a jury was unable to reach a decision on the counts against McClain when the pair were tried together.

  • August 01, 2025

    FCC Lets Univ. Use CBRS For Salt Lake City Research Tool

    The University of Utah has received special dispensation to use spectrum set aside for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service for its "valuable, innovative research," the Federal Communications Commission revealed.

  • August 01, 2025

    6th Circ. Upholds Michigan Ban On Drone-Assisted Hunting

    The Sixth Circuit upheld a Michigan law that prohibits the use of drones for hunting, finding the state has a compelling reason to manage wildlife hunts despite the free speech objections lodged by the plaintiffs.

  • August 01, 2025

    FCC Asked To Narrow Undersea Cable Rule's License DQs

    The Federal Communications Commission might have been "excessively, and perhaps unintentionally, stringent" when it was drafting the new rules for undersea cables, a trade group told the agency, particularly when it comes to character disqualifications.

  • August 01, 2025

    EPA Beats Coolant Cos.' Challenge To HFC Regs

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected refrigerant companies' challenges to a law requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons and said the cap-and-trade program implementing the law was based on sound methodology.

  • August 01, 2025

    NY Law Mandating Judicial Fine Declared Unconstitutional

    A New York state appeals court has declared unconstitutional a statute that mandates a judge forfeit $1,000 to a plaintiff if the judge refuses to issue a writ of habeas corpus.

  • August 01, 2025

    Mich. Judge Tosses MSU Students' $99 Class Fee Complaint

    A Michigan federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by two students claiming their Michigan State University professor should be liable for charging them a $99 course fee that she used to fund her political activism, saying the students were given a refund and the fee was not "compelled speech."

  • August 01, 2025

    Ex-Copyright Chief Appeals Denial Of Reinstatement Bid

    The former head of the U.S. Copyright Office will appeal a D.C. federal judge's denial of her request to be immediately reinstated to her former position after she was fired by President Donald Trump while her suit remains pending.

  • August 01, 2025

    Politics And Privacy Laws Collide 5 Years After Salas Shooting

    Five years after a disgruntled litigant killed a New Jersey federal judge's son at their home, experts and judges disagree over whether the judicial privacy laws enacted following the shooting are doing much to protect jurists, while political leaders' heated rhetoric makes for an even more dangerous landscape for judges.

Expert Analysis

  • FTC Focus: Enforcers Study AI Innovation And Entrenchment

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    The Federal Trade Commission and other regulators setting their sights on the burgeoning artificial intelligence ecosystem are considering how the government should approach innovation in tech markets that tend, almost inevitably, toward concentration, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

  • Policy Shifts Bring New Anti-Money Laundering Challenges

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    In the second half of 2025, the U.S. anti-money laundering regulatory landscape is poised for decisive shifts in enforcement priorities, compliance expectations and legislative developments — so investment advisers and other financial institutions should take steps to prepare for potential new obligations and areas of risk, say attorneys at Linklaters.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

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    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Despite Dark Clouds, Outlook For US Solar Has Bright Spots

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    While tariff, tax policy and bankruptcy news seemingly portends unending challenges for the U.S. solar energy industry, signs of continued growth in solar generating capacity and domestic solar manufacturing suggest that there is a path forward, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Assessing New Changes To Texas Officer Exculpation Law

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    Consistent with Texas' recent modernization of its corporate law, the recently passed S.B. 2411 allows officer exculpation, streamlines certificate of formation amendments, authorizes representatives to act on shareholders' behalf in mergers and makes other changes aimed toward companies seeking a more codified, statutory model of corporate governance, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations

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    As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Rising Enforcement Stakes For Pharma Telehealth Platforms

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    Two pieces of legislation recently introduced in Congress could transform the structure and promotion of telehealth arrangements as legislators increasingly scrutinize direct-to-consumer advertising platforms, potentially paving the way for a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy with bipartisan support, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

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    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Navigating Antitrust Risks When Responding To Tariffs

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    Companies should assess competitive perils, implement compliance safeguards and document independent decision-making as they consider their responses to recent tariff pressures, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Breaking Down Part 3 Of The Copyright Office's AI Report

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    On May 9, the U.S. Copyright Office published a prepublication version of the third and final part of its three-part report on artificial intelligence, offering key insights on the unauthorized use of copyrighted material by AI systems, says Courtney Sarnow at CM Law.

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