Public Policy

  • June 26, 2025

    DOJ Puts U. Of California Diversity Plans Under Microscope

    The U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights arm said Thursday it's launching an investigation into whether a University of California strategic plan prompted its campuses to discriminate against job applicants and employees based on their race and gender.

  • June 26, 2025

    Lawmakers Object To USPTO Reneging On Atlanta Hub Plan

    A group of federal lawmakers from Georgia has written to the acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to ask why it no longer plans to launch an outreach office in Atlanta and instead plans to open one at its current headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

  • June 26, 2025

    Conn. Pushes For Emergency Halt To Tribal Land Trust Plan

    Connecticut is looking to halt the U.S. Interior Department's transfer of 80 acres into trust for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, arguing that without intervention, the federal government will interfere with the state's sovereign right to control its territory and its ability to enforce its laws.

  • June 26, 2025

    Trump Admin. Moves To Fast-Track Immigration Fines

    The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security released an interim final rule on Thursday aimed at making it easier to impose civil monetary penalties on noncitizens who enter the country without authorization or fail to voluntarily depart.

  • June 26, 2025

    Key DOL Nominees Clear US Senate Committee

    U.S. Department of Labor nominees cleared a U.S. Senate committee Thursday and are set to head to a vote in the full chamber, moving the agency closer to having a complete leadership team that is likely to proceed with policy changes.

  • June 26, 2025

    Seattle Jan. 6 Cops Again Ask Justices To Shield Identities

    Four current and former Seattle police officers who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" insurrection have again asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency stay to prevent the public release of their names after an initial denial from the high court, saying the justices have two days to act.  

  • June 26, 2025

    Solar Co. Meyer Burger Can Tap $10M DIP To Fund Ch. 11 Sale

    Swiss solar panel maker Meyer Burger's U.S. unit secured a Delaware bankruptcy judge's interim approval Thursday for a $10 million debtor-in-possession loan as it looks to sell two manufacturing sites in Chapter 11.

  • June 26, 2025

    FERC Chair Aims To Stay Beyond His Term's End

    As his potential replacement awaits a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie said Thursday that he plans to oversee the agency's next monthly open meeting in July, but otherwise remained tight-lipped about his impending departure.

  • June 26, 2025

    Fair Housing Groups Argue HUD Wrongly Withheld Grants

    A pair of advocacy groups have sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in D.C. federal court over the Trump administration's purported move to withhold grants meant to help private nonprofits enforce housing laws.

  • June 26, 2025

    Ex-FDA Regulator Joins ArentFox Schiff's Pharma Practice

    ArentFox Schiff LLP has hired a career U.S. Food and Drug Administration compliance professional, whose oversight focused on ensuring pharmaceutical industry participants' compliance with drug supply chain rules and other governing regulations, as counsel in the firm's food, drug, medical device and cosmetic practice in Washington.

  • June 26, 2025

    ICE Agents Could Testify Anonymously In 1st Am. Trial

    A Massachusetts federal judge suggested Thursday he is open to allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to testify anonymously at an upcoming bench trial in a suit brought by academic groups challenging the detention of noncitizen students and faculty who express pro-Palestinian views.

  • June 26, 2025

    New FCC Republican Names Key Legal Staff

    Commissioner Olivia Trusty, who was sworn in this week as the newest member of the Federal Communications Commission, announced the hiring of several top aides Thursday.

  • June 26, 2025

    Trans Passport Applicants Say Gov't Flouting Court Order

    Members of two recently certified classes of transgender and nonbinary people seeking passports that reflect their gender identity accused the Trump administration of "slow-walking compliance" with a Massachusetts federal judge's order requiring the U.S. Department of State to resume issuing passports with the requested designations.

  • June 26, 2025

    Trump 2.0's First Group Of Judicial Noms Goes To Full Senate

    The first batch of judicial nominations from President Donald Trump's second term were sent to the Senate floor on Thursday, as they were voted out of committee along party lines.

  • June 26, 2025

    Maine To Hike Sales Tax On Cannabis, Add Streaming To Base

    Maine will raise its sales tax rate on adult-use cannabis and lower its excise tax rate on cannabis flower and add streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu to the sales tax base under budget legislation signed by the governor.

  • June 26, 2025

    Justices Say DHS Orders Final In Withholding-Removal Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court held Thursday that the 30-day statutory deadline for challenging deportation orders in withholding of removal cases starts when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, not when Board of Immigration Appeals proceedings conclude.

  • June 26, 2025

    Justices Allow Texas Death Row Inmate's DNA Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said a Texas death row inmate can sue state officials in federal court to try to obtain post-conviction DNA testing, a decision that could open the door to broader challenges to how Texas provides access to forensic evidence after conviction.

  • June 26, 2025

    Justices Say SC Medicaid Patient Can't Sue To Pick Provider

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a patient can't challenge South Carolina's decision to kick Planned Parenthood from the state Medicaid program because it includes abortions among its services.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed Rolls Out Plan To Relax Leverage Rule For Biggest Banks

    The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kicked off an effort to ease a key leverage requirement for the biggest U.S. banks, advancing a highly anticipated proposal that officials said could free up bank balance-sheet capacity to bolster the U.S. Treasury market. 

  • June 25, 2025

    Trump's DOL Blocked From Slashing Job Corps Program

    A New York federal judge Wednesday issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the U.S. Department of Labor from "suspending" most of the Job Corps program, ruling that Congress created the program and funded it, and the "DOL is not free to do as it pleases."

  • June 25, 2025

    Judge Blocks Colo. Gov. From Forcing Cooperation With ICE

    A Colorado state judge on Wednesday blocked Gov. Jared Polis from forcing certain state labor department employees to comply with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoena, but he stopped short of prohibiting Polis from cooperating with the federal agency.

  • June 25, 2025

    TCPA Litigants Brace For 'Seismic Shift' After Deference Blow

    The U.S. Supreme Court's backing of broad judicial review for the crush of regulatory orders interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is poised to turn the litigation landscape on its head, as key statutory determinations that have long been viewed as settled matters are suddenly ripe for scrutiny. 

  • June 25, 2025

    Senate Panel Again OKs Bill To Boost Teens' Online Privacy

    A longstanding legislative proposal that would ban online targeted advertising to minors and expand digital privacy protections to cover teens between the ages of 13 and 16 began its latest trip through Congress on Wednesday, when the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee easily advanced the measure to the full chamber. 

  • June 25, 2025

    Coinme Fined $300K In Landmark Calif. Enforcement Action

    Crypto kiosk operator Coinme Inc. has agreed to pay a $300,000 fine to resolve findings that it violated California's kiosk transaction limits and failed to include certain disclosures on receipts, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced Wednesday.

  • June 25, 2025

    Tulsa Inks Jurisdiction Pact With Tribe As Okla. Gov. Objects

    The mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday settled a jurisdictional dispute with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation over law enforcement, saying the city will bring an end to the tribe's lawsuit by deferring to its criminal jurisdiction, despite Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's objections that he's been cut out of the deal.

Expert Analysis

  • Avoiding The Risk Of Continued AI-Washing Enforcement

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    A recent action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice, alleging a software developer defrauded investors by lying about his app’s artificial intelligence capabilities, suggests this administration will continue to target AI washing, so companies should adopt practices to mitigate enforcement risk, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 4 Ways Slater Is Priming DOJ For Continued Antitrust Success

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    Just as Jonathan Kanter did during his recent tenure leading the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater is following the effective blueprint set by Thurman Arnold when he modernized the division more than 80 years ago, says Perry Apelbaum at Kressin Powers.

  • 3 Tax Issues Manufacturers Should Watch In 2025 Budget Bill

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    As Congress works toward a budget reconciliation bill, manufacturing companies should keep a keen eye on proposals to change bonus depreciation, the qualified business income deduction and energy tax credits, which could have a significant impact on capital-intensive industries, say attorneys at Frost Brown Todd.

  • Key Aspects Of FDIC's Resolution Planning FAQ

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent FAQ on changes to its resolution plan rule ease burdensome requirements for some large institutions and exempt others from discussion of franchise components, making it easier for banks to finalize submissions before the July 1 deadline, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Why Texas Should Slow Down On Healthcare Merger Bills

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    More time is needed to study three Texas bills aimed at considering the effects of healthcare consolidation to increase affordability and access to healthcare, which could have the opposite effect, say John Saran and Harshita Rathore at Holland & Knight and Robbie Allen at U.S. Heart and Vascular.

  • As Tariffs Hit The Radar, PE Counsel Should Review Strategies

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    As tariffs compound existing challenges in the private equity sector, counsel should consider existing headwinds such as interest rates and industry-specific impacts like supply chains and pricing power, which may help mitigate risks and capture opportunity, says Nathan Viehl at Thompson Coburn.

  • Trump Rule Would Upend Endangered Species Status Quo

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    The Trump administration's recent proposal to rescind the regulatory definition of "harm" in the Endangered Species Act would be a tectonic shift away from years of established regulatory practice, with major implications for both species protection and larger-scale conservation efforts, says David Smith at Manatt.

  • DOJ Memo Raises Bar For Imposition Of Corporate Monitors

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    A recently released U.S. Department of Justice memo, outlining guidance on the imposition of compliance monitors in corporate criminal cases, reflects DOJ leadership’s concerns about scope creep and business costs, but the strategies for companies to avoid a monitorship haven't changed much compared to the Biden era, says James Koukios at MoFo.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP

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    Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • How NY's FAIR Act Mirrors CFPB State Recommendations

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    New York's proposed FAIR Business Practices Act, which targets predatory lending and junk fees, reflects the Rohit Chopra-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recommendations to states in a number of ways, including by defining "abusive" conduct and adding a new right to file class actions, says Christian Hancock at Bradley Arant.

  • Expect Eyes On Electronic Devices At US Entry Points

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    Electronic device searches are becoming common at U.S. border inspections, making it imperative for companies to familiarize themselves with what's allowed, and mandate specific precautions for employees to protect their privacy and sensitive information during international travel, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Big Tech M&A Risk Under Trump May Resemble Biden Era

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    Merger review under the Trump administration may not differ substantially from merger review under the Biden administration, particularly in the Big Tech arena, in which case dealmakers and investors should shift the antitrust discount on M&A deals upward, says Jonathan Barnett at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

  • A Breakdown Of Trump's Order On Drug Pricing

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    The Trump administration may attempt to effectuate through rulemaking a recently issued executive order on lowering drug prices, which would likely have an adverse effect on stakeholders and trigger litigation, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • FTC Focus: Interlocking Directorate Enforcement May Persist

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    Though the Federal Trade Commission under Chair Andrew Ferguson seems likely to adopt a pro-business approach to antitrust enforcement, his endorsement of broader liability for officers or directors who illegally sit on boards of competing corporations signals that businesses should not expect board-level antitrust scrutiny to slacken, says Timothy Burroughs at Proskauer.

  • Calif. Climate Superfund Bill Faces Legal, Technical Hurdles

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    California could soon join other states in sending the fossil fuel industry a massive bill for the costs of coping with climate change — but its pending climate Superfund legislation, if enacted, is certain to face legal pushback and daunting implementation challenges, says Donald Sobelman at Farella Braun.

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