Public Policy

  • July 07, 2025

    Hartford Says No Coverage For General Store's GIPA Row

    A Hartford unit told an Illinois federal court that it does not owe a general store coverage for claims that the company violated the state's genetic information privacy law by conditioning employment on disclosing genetic information.

  • July 07, 2025

    Trump Orders Treasury To Restrain Solar, Wind Tax Credits

    President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday to begin carrying out cuts and restrictions to the solar and wind production and investment tax credits that were mandated in the budget bill Trump signed Friday.

  • July 07, 2025

    Biggest Illinois Decisions Of 2025 So Far: A Midyear Report

    State and federal courts have handed down rulings in Illinois cases so far this year that have clarified standing for data breach actions in the state's courts, affirmed coverage for attorney fees and costs paid as part of a settlement, and deemed insufficient a jury instruction frequently given in Illinois personal injury cases. Here's a breakdown of some of the biggest decisions courts have handed down in Illinois cases so far in 2025.

  • July 07, 2025

    Refugee Admission Compliance Plan Is Needed, Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge signaled Monday that he's not inclined to disturb an injunction requiring the government to admit a small class of refugees, despite President Donald Trump's travel ban and recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent curtailing the availability of nationwide injunctions.

  • July 07, 2025

    Personal Injury & Med Mal Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

    The social media addiction multidistrict litigation against the biggest tech companies and a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding state medical malpractice lawsuit requirements are among the cases injury and malpractice attorneys will be following closely in the second half of 2025.

  • July 07, 2025

    Pregnant Doc, Medical Orgs. Sue To Block RFK's Vax Directive

    A pregnant doctor who fears she will be denied a COVID-19 vaccination, along with a coalition of medical associations, sued Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Massachusetts federal court on Monday challenging his directive recommending against the shot for pregnant women and children.

  • July 07, 2025

    Planned Parenthood Wins Block of 'Catastrophic' Defunding

    A Massachusetts federal judge late Monday agreed to temporarily block the Trump administration's plans to prohibit Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, issuing a temporary restraining order just hours after Planned Parenthood sued, saying the consequences would be "catastrophic."

  • July 07, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Ponders If PTAB Developments Save 'Veto' Rule Suit

    A Federal Circuit judge wondered Monday if developments concerning the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director's discretionary denial process could breathe new life into advocacy groups' fight for a "veto" for small business patent owners defending themselves at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. 

  • July 07, 2025

    Feds Tell 9th Circ. Ayahuasca Church Not Owed $2M In Fees

    Federal officials told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that a Phoenix-based church that reached an agreement with the government to use the psychedelic ayahuasca in religious ceremonies was not entitled to more than $2 million in attorney fees.

  • July 07, 2025

    Colo. Church, Town Settle Zoning Dispute Over Homeless Aid

    Castle Rock, Colorado, and a church located within the town have agreed to dismiss a suit that challenged the use of zoning regulations to prevent the church from allowing homeless families to park RVs and trailers in its parking lot.

  • July 07, 2025

    Alaskan Tribe's Immunity Upheld In Anchorage Casino Fight

    A federal court judge on Monday denied a bid by a group of Anchorage, Alaska, residents to reconsider a ruling that found the Native Village of Eklutna is immune from the residents' lawsuit seeking to block a casino development, saying their arguments are no more than a disagreement with the court's analysis.

  • July 07, 2025

    Ex-Officer Sues Ga. City Over Police Dept.'s Alleged Bias

    The city of South Fulton, Georgia, has been sued in federal court by a former South Fulton Police Department officer who alleges she and other white employees were routinely discriminated against because of their race, and that she was fired as a result.

  • July 07, 2025

    ​​​​​​​Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates more than 100 times in June on issues including Alaska high-speed connectivity, cable rates, FCC rules covering pole attachments for broadband equipment, rural network deployment and more.

  • July 07, 2025

    EPA, Enviro Orgs. Fight Over 'Big Bill's' Impact On Funding Case

    Green groups fighting to reclaim grant funding frozen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday to reject the agency's argument that Congress's recent tax and policy bill means their lawsuit should be dismissed.

  • July 07, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Rehear ND Tribe's Voting Rights Dispute

    The Eighth Circuit won't rehear a bid by two North Dakota tribes to overturn its decision that vacated their challenge to two of the state's voting laws after the panel found that provisions of the Voting Rights Act don't give private citizens the right to sue over dilution claims.

  • July 07, 2025

    Crypto Group, Treasury Drop 11th Circ. Tornado Cash Case

    Crypto think tank Coin Center Inc. and the U.S. government have ended their battle over the Biden-era blacklisting of Tornado Cash now that the U.S. Treasury Department has removed the crypto mixing service from its list of blocked entities and a federal judge has deemed the designation unlawful.

  • July 07, 2025

    Split 5th Circ. Upholds Block Of Texas' Migrant Arrest Law

    A split Fifth Circuit panel left intact a district court order blocking the enforcement of a Texas law that allows state officials to arrest people suspected of crossing the border unlawfully and empowers local judges to order their removal.

  • July 07, 2025

    Wis. Rep. Pushes 2 Bills To Counter EU's Tech, ESG Rules

    A Republican U.S. House representative recently introduced two pieces of legislation over European Union regulations the congressman has deemed to be burdensome to U.S. companies, according to a recent announcement from the representative.

  • July 07, 2025

    Mass. Cannabis Lab Calls Shutdown Order 'Unlawful'

    A cannabis testing lab asked a Massachusetts judge on Monday to let it resume operating, nearly a week after state regulators ordered it shut down for allegedly misreporting the results of mold and yeast tests.

  • July 07, 2025

    Judge Rejects DOJ Bids To Dismiss Abrego Garcia Suit

    A Maryland federal judge demanded answers from Trump administration attorneys Monday about when they knew of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's criminal indictment and return from El Salvador, saying the timing of the criminal case in Tennessee didn't align with the administration's earlier declarations that he couldn't be returned to the U.S.

  • July 07, 2025

    Green Group, Chemours Battle Over W.Va. PFAS Injunction Ask

    An environmental group is urging a West Virginia federal court to prevent Chemours from releasing a "forever chemical" into public drinking water sources along the Ohio River, while the company is fighting the effort.

  • July 07, 2025

    ​​​​​​​Gov't Says OPM Didn't Order Probationary Worker Firings

    The Trump administration maintained that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's guidance on probationary federal employees was lawful, telling a California federal judge the OPM did not order agencies to carry out a mass termination of these workers despite the claims of unions representing them.

  • July 07, 2025

    Countries Get August Ultimatum To Avoid US Tariff Hikes

    Goods entering the U.S. from numerous countries will face tariff hikes beginning Aug. 1 unless their governments commit to address trade concerns the U.S. has raised, according to letters President Donald Trump sent Monday.

  • July 07, 2025

    USPTO Ups Number Of Prioritized Patent Applications

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is raising the number of applications it can accept each year for a prioritized patent examination to 20,000.

  • July 07, 2025

    Settlement Unlikely In Airline Group's Colo. Sick Leave Suit

    An airline lobby and the state of Colorado told a federal court last week that a settlement "appears unlikely" in the airline group's case claiming the state's sick leave law is preempted by federal law.

Expert Analysis

  • Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting

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    A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    FCPA Shift Is A Good Start, But There's More DOJ Should Do

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines bring a needed course correction amid overexpansive enforcement, but there’s more the DOJ can do to provide additional clarity and predictability for global companies, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    IRS Should Work With Industry On Microcaptive Regs

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    The IRS should engage with microcaptive insurance owners to develop better regulations on these arrangements or risk the emergence of common law guidance as taxpayers with legitimate programs seek relief in the federal courts, says Dustin Carlson at SRA 831(b) Admin.

  • How Providers Can Brace For Drug Pricing Policy Changes

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    Though it's uncertain which provisions of the Trump administration's executive order aimed at addressing prescription drug costs will eventually be implemented, stakeholders can reduce potential negative outcomes by understanding pathways that could be used to effectuate the order's directives, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Comparing New Neural Data Privacy Laws In 4 States

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    Although no federal law yet addresses neural privacy comprehensively, the combined effect of recent state laws in Colorado, California, Montana and Connecticut is already shaping the regulatory future, but a multistate compliance strategy has quickly become a gating item for those experimenting with neuro-enabled workplace tools, says Kristen Mathews at Cooley.

  • 2025's First Half Brings Regulatory Detours For Fintechs

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    The first half of the year has resulted in a bifurcated regulatory environment for fintechs, featuring narrowed enforcement in some areas, heightened scrutiny in others and a policy window that, with proper compliance, offers meaningful opportunities for innovation, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Debunking 4 Misconceptions Around Texas' IV Therapy Law

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    Despite industry confusion, an IV therapy law enacted in Texas last week may actually be the most business-friendly regulatory development the medical spa industry has seen in recent years, says Keith Lefkowitz at Hendershot Cowart.

  • A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute

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    The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Psychedelic Treatment Regs May Be At A Tipping Point

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    Recent scientific and public attention suggest that development of psychedelics as treatment for some conditions may be at a tipping point, which could bring on more rapid change and opportunities for stakeholders who may in the future benefit from greater access to safe and effective psychedelic medicines, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

  • Comparing Stablecoin Bills From UK, EU, US And Hong Kong

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    For multinational stablecoin issuers, navigating the differences and similarities among regimes in the U.K., EU, Hong Kong and U.S., which are currently unfolding in several key ways, is critical to achieving scalable, compliant operations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Baseball Can Teach Criminal Attys About Rule Of Lenity

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    Judges tend to assess ambiguous criminal laws not unlike how baseball umpires approach checked swings, so defense attorneys should consider how to best frame their arguments to maximize courts' willingness to invoke the rule of lenity, wherein a tie goes to the defendant, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

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