Public Policy

  • July 03, 2025

    Circuit-By-Circuit Recap: Justices Send Message To Outliers

    It was a tough term at the U.S. Supreme Court for two very different circuits — one solidly liberal, one solidly conservative — that had their rulings overturned in eye-popping numbers. But it was another impressive year for a relatively moderate circuit that appears increasingly simpatico with the high court.

  • July 03, 2025

    Justices Extend Due Process Pause To South Sudan Removals

    The U.S. Supreme Court clarified Thursday that its recent order allowing the Trump administration to send noncitizens to countries they have no connection to with little notice or chance to object extends to a group of men the government plans to send to South Sudan.

  • July 03, 2025

    States Still Oppose Florida's Generic Drug Deal With Sandoz

    States accusing generic-drug makers of fixing prices are continuing to object to a $10 million settlement struck between Florida and Sandoz, arguing that it limits their ability to negotiate deals while letting the Sunshine State benefit without participating in the litigation.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Moments That Shaped The Universal Injunction Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court voted along ideological lines when it hindered the ability of federal district court judges to issue nationwide pauses on presidential policies, but that outcome didn't seem like a foregone conclusion during oral arguments earlier this year. What do the colloquies suggest about the justices' thinking? Here are some moments that may have swayed them.

  • July 03, 2025

    High Court To Hear Street Preacher's First Amendment Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a challenge to an ordinance in Brandon, Mississippi, that redirects demonstrations to a designated protest area, teeing up an examination of whether case law prevents someone who has been convicted from bringing a civil rights suit.

  • July 03, 2025

    Spectrum, Border, Injunction Changes Included In Mega Bill

    The House voted 218-214, almost along party lines, on Thursday on the reconciliation budget package, which includes a range of policy provisions on nationwide injunctions, spectrum and immigration and now goes to President Donald Trump's desk ahead of the decided Fourth of July deadline.

  • July 03, 2025

    Pacific Seafood Faces CWA Suit For Alleged Permit Violations

    The Center for Food Safety and Wild Fish Conservancy hit Pacific Seafood Aquaculture LLC with a Clean Water Act citizen suit alleging it has failed to comply with permit terms for three Columbia River net pen facilities, each producing more than 20,000 pounds of rainbow trout annually.

  • July 03, 2025

    Biggest Decisions Of Mich. Supreme Court So Far This Year

    The Michigan Supreme Court so far this year has handed down a number of decisions marking important changes to criminal law, including reshaping how late adolescents are sentenced for serious crimes and declaring that the smell of marijuana alone cannot justify a warrantless vehicle search.

  • July 03, 2025

    Ex-Treasury Official Joins Covington's Nat'l Security Practice

    Covington & Burling LLP has boosted its national security practice with the hire of the former head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence under former President Barack Obama's administration as of counsel.

  • July 03, 2025

    DHS Aims To Implement Biometric Tracking For Noncitizens

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is planning to revive a policy proposal from the first Trump administration to implement facial recognition technology as part of a comprehensive biometric system to track the entry and exit of noncitizens.

  • July 03, 2025

    Free-Speech Suit Will Be Early Trial Court Test Of Trump Admin

    A Massachusetts federal judge will begin hearing testimony Monday in a challenge by academic organizations to the Trump administration's visa revocations and removals of noncitizen faculty and students who have expressed pro-Palestinian views, in one of the first trials over the president's second-term policies.

  • July 03, 2025

    High Court Passes On Mont. Abortion, Parental Consent Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Thursday to hear a case focused on parental consent and abortion in Montana, as two conservative justices said the decision shouldn't be seen as a rejection by the justices of the parental-rights question itself.

  • July 03, 2025

    NC Gov. Vetoes Bill Stamping Out Carbon Reduction Target

    North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has rejected a piece of legislation that would have eliminated the state's 2030 goal to cut carbon emissions by 70%, saying it would cost ratepayers in the long run and keep the Tar Heel State too beholden to natural gas.

  • July 03, 2025

    HHS Ordered To Restore Data Axed Under 'Gender Ideology' EO

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services must restore a swath of webpages and datasets it took down following a Trump administration executive order seeking to root out references to so-called gender ideology, a D.C. federal judge ruled.

  • July 03, 2025

    DHS Says Feds Aren't Funding Everglades Detention Center

    The federal government is distancing itself from the new migrant detention center in the Everglades, saying in a court filing Thursday that it has not "implemented, authorized, directed or funded" the "Alligator Alcatraz" camp.

  • July 03, 2025

    What Judges Might Ponder In Judicial Safety Law Challenge

    A Third Circuit panel set to examine the constitutionality of a judicial safety law born out of the murder of a New Jersey federal judge's son is tasked with what experts are viewing as a lesser-of-two-evils choice: chilling free speech or chilling public service.

  • July 03, 2025

    FCC Waives Lifeline Voice, Mobile Changes For 1 Year

    The Federal Communications Commission has once again postponed two changes to its Lifeline subsidy program, delaying the phase-out of support for voice-only services that were originally meant to push users toward broadband and keeping minimum broadband data standards at 4.5 gigabytes per month for at least an extra year.

  • July 03, 2025

    What To Watch In Mass. Courts In The Second Half Of 2025

    Massachusetts courts should be busy through the second half of 2025, with litigation against the Trump administration playing a starring role at both the state and federal level. Here are some of the key cases and issues that attorneys are monitoring.

  • July 03, 2025

    Cannabis Co. Nectar Sues Chicago Atty For $500K

    A Chicago attorney and his business partner are accused of defrauding Oregon-based cannabis company Nectar in a federal lawsuit that claims they promised to secure an Illinois license for the company but instead walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

    The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.

  • July 03, 2025

    Residents Urge Judge To Redo Ruling Backing Alaska Casino

    A group of Anchorage, Alaska, residents opposed to a plan to build a casino urged a federal judge to reconsider a ruling finding the Native Village of Eklutna has sovereign immunity and can't face a lawsuit seeking to block the development plan.

  • July 03, 2025

    Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.

  • July 03, 2025

    Judge Pauses DOJ's Sanctuary City Suit Against Rochester

    A New York federal judge on Thursday agreed to halt the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against the city of Rochester over its sanctuary city policies until the court rules on a request by religious groups to intervene in the case. 

  • July 03, 2025

    Capital Markets Upturn Sets Stage For Second-Half Rebound

    Deals attorneys are approaching the second half of 2025 increasingly confident that capital markets' activity will accelerate despite potential headwinds stemming from higher tariffs, interest rate uncertainties and geopolitical turmoil.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Biggest Rulings From Mass. High Court So Far In 2025

    Massachusetts' top court has tackled a controversial housing initiative, the thorny issue of qualified immunity for public employees and even a high-profile murder case in the first six months of 2025.

Expert Analysis

  • AGs Take Up Consumer Protection Mantle Amid CFPB Cuts

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    State attorneys general are stepping up to fill the enforcement gap as the Trump administration restructures the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, creating a new regulatory dynamic that companies must closely monitor as oversight shifts toward states, say attorneys at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Va.'s Altered Surcharge Law Poses Constitutional Questions

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    Virginia's recently amended consumer protection law requiring sellers to display the total price rather than expressly prohibiting surcharges follows New York's recent revision of its antisurcharge statute and may raise similar First Amendment questions, says attorneys at Stinson.

  • Philly Law Initiates New Era Of Worker Protections

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    A new worker protection law in Philadelphia includes, among other measures, a private right of action and recordkeeping requirements that may amount to a lower evidentiary standard, introducing a new level of accountability and additional noncompliance risks for employers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • 5 Open Questions About FDA's AI-Assisted Review Plans

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently touted the completion of a generative artificial intelligence program for scientific reviewers and plans for agencywide deployment to speed up reviews of premarket applications, but there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the tools' ability to protect trade secrets, avoid bias and more, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Jurisdiction, Price Range, Late-Is-Late

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Thomas Lee at MoFo examines three May decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims examining the court’s jurisdiction to rescind an executive order, the impact of agency error in establishing a competitive price range and application of the late-is-late rule to an electronic filing.

  • How Trump Administration's Antitrust Agenda Is Playing Out

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    Under the current antitrust agency leadership, the latest course in merger enforcement, regulatory approach and key sectors shows a marked shift from Biden-era practices and includes a return to remedies and the commitment to remain focused on the bounds of U.S. law, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Justices' Ruling Lowers Bar For Reverse Discrimination Suits

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, lowering the evidentiary burden for plaintiffs bringing so-called reverse discrimination claims, may lead to more claims brought by majority group employees — and open the door to legal challenges to employer diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

  • Fed's Crypto Guidance Yank Could Drive Innovation

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    The Federal Reserve Board's recent withdrawal of guidance letters brings regulatory consistency and broadens banks' ability to innovate in the crypto-asset space, but key distinctions remain between the Fed's policy on crypto liquidity and that of the other banking regulators, says Dan Hartman at Nutter.

  • DOE Grant Recipients Facing Termination Have Legal Options

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    Federal grant recipients whose awards have recently been rescinded by the U.S. Deparment of Energy have options for successfully challenging those terminations through litigation, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • Loophole To Budget Bill's AI Rule May Complicate Tech Regs

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    An exception in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could allow state and local governments to develop ostensibly technology-neutral laws that nonetheless circumvent the bill’s ban on state artificial intelligence regulation could unintentionally create a more complex regulatory environment for technologies beyond AI, says Pooya Shoghi at Lee & Hayes.

  • A Look At Texas Corp. Law Changes Aimed At Dethroning Del.

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    Seeking to displace Delaware as the preferred locale for incorporation, Texas recently significantly amended its business code, including changes like codifying the business judgment rule, restricting books and records demands, and giving greater protections for officers and directors in interested transactions, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Prior Art Ruling Highlights Importance Of Detailed Elaboration

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent decision in Ecto World v. RAI Strategic Holdings shows that when there is a possibility for discretionary denial, and the examiner has potentially overlooked prior art, patent owners should elaborate on as many of the denial factors as possible, says Frank Bernstein at Squire Patton.

  • Dissecting House And Senate's Differing No-Tax-On-Tips Bills

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    Employers should understand how the House and Senate versions of no-tax-on-tips bills differ — including in the scope of related deductions and reporting requirements — to meet any new compliance obligations and communicate with their employees, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

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