Public Policy

  • February 13, 2026

    Blair's Think Tank Urges UK Gov't To End Energy Windfall Tax

    The U.K.'s Labour government must phase out the windfall tax on the energy industry and lift the ban on new oil and gas drilling licenses in the North Sea to increase revenue long term, the Tony Blair Institute said Friday.

  • February 13, 2026

    DHS Terminating Temporary Protected Status For Yemen

    U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday said she has decided to terminate temporary protected status for Yemen.

  • February 13, 2026

    DOJ Suit Alleges Harvard Withholding Admissions Data

    The Trump administration hit Harvard University with a suit Friday claiming that the college has illegally withheld data necessary to determine whether it is following the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling outlawing affirmative action in admissions.

  • February 12, 2026

    Judiciary Issues 'Rule Of Law' Ethics Guidance For Judges

    Federal judiciary advisers Thursday sought to clarify ethical boundaries for judges wading into politically charged legal waters, saying jurists can rebut "illegitimate criticism" and urge stronger security amid fears of violence while also eschewing "demeaning" or "acerbic" rhetoric.

  • February 12, 2026

    Trump Admin. Blocked From Cutting $600M In Health Funding

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating more than $600 million in public health funding to four Democratic-led states, saying the states will likely succeed in showing they are unconstitutionally being targeted due to political or policy objectives.

  • February 12, 2026

    FTC Merger Filing Overhaul Thrown Out

    The Federal Trade Commission hasn't shown the costs on merging companies outweigh the claimed benefits of dramatically increasing the amount of information that must be provided upfront when giving notice of a transaction, a Texas federal judge said Thursday, throwing out the commission's overhaul of premerger reporting requirements.

  • February 12, 2026

    5 Key Flashpoints From Fed's 'Skinny' Account Proposal

    The Federal Reserve's push to create "skinny" master accounts that would open up access to U.S. payment rails has become the latest front in long-running turf wars between banks and fintech companies. Here are five of the project's hottest flashpoints attracting controversy.

  • February 12, 2026

    EPA Targets High Court Do-Over With GHG Rule Repeal

    The Trump administration's removal of the link between greenhouse gases and public health takes aim at the U.S. Supreme Court's 2007 landmark determination that GHGs are air pollutants, and will spark a prolonged battle with consequent uncertainty for industries.

  • February 12, 2026

    Affairs, Spending Come Out In Goldstein Cross-Examination

    SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein was confronted Thursday with allegations of extramarital affairs, lavish spending and lies on asset disclosures, all in front of the jury in his ongoing tax fraud trial.

  • February 12, 2026

    5th Circ. Upholds Texas Ban On Compensated Vote Harvesting

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday reinstated enforcement of Texas' felony ban on compensated vote harvesting, saying that hypothetical scenarios are not enough to claim that a law is unconstitutional.

  • February 12, 2026

    US Sets 15% Tariff On Taiwanese Imports In Trade Deal

    Taiwan has agreed to lift nearly all of its tariffs on U.S. imports and pledged to purchase nearly $85 billion in American goods in exchange for a 15% tariff on Taiwanese goods, according to a reciprocal trade deal signed Thursday.

  • February 12, 2026

    DC Judge Skeptical Funding Lapse Settles ICE Visit Policy Row

    A D.C. federal judge considered Thursday whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security permissibly used a funding gap to freshen up a policy requiring a week's notice for congressional oversight visits, or if a longstanding spending rider prohibits the move.

  • February 12, 2026

    7th Circ. Takes Up BIPA Amendment's Retroactivity

    The Seventh Circuit heard arguments Thursday over whether a liability-limiting amendment to Illinois' biometric privacy law has retroactive application to lawsuits filed before it took effect, with one judge on the panel saying it seemed like "billions of dollars of consequences turn on how we label the change."

  • February 12, 2026

    Challenge To 3D-Printed Gun Law Fails, 3rd Circ. Rules

    The First Amendment does not protect the distribution of "purely functional code" that would allow for the 3D printing of guns, the Third Circuit ruled Thursday, ending a challenge to a New Jersey law from a Texas-based firearm company and a gun rights group.

  • February 12, 2026

    IRS Guidance Offers Relief In Energy Credits' Sourcing Limits

    The IRS issued interim guidance Thursday providing two safe harbor options for clean energy facilities or manufacturers of energy components to determine the extent to which they received material assistance from an entity tied to a foreign government that the U.S. deems adversarial.

  • February 12, 2026

    Row Over Forensic Expert Testimony Hits NC High Court

    Prosecutors are urging North Carolina's highest court to uphold a drug conviction thrown out on appeal, saying an appellate court deemed a key forensic expert's trial testimony unconstitutional using a flawed interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Smith v. Arizona.

  • February 12, 2026

    SEC's Atkins Rejects Top Dem's Crypto Corruption Claims

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins on Thursday pushed back on claims his agency dropped against cryptocurrency firms as a political favor to President Donald Trump, telling Senate Democrats a "changed attitude" by the commission led to the dismissals.

  • February 12, 2026

    12 Questions For FCC Chair Brendan Carr

    It's been a "banger" of a year at the Federal Communications Commission, says agency chief Brendan Carr, who took over at the outset of President Donald Trump's second term with the goal of cutting regulations and quickly turning over more spectrum to the private sector.

  • February 12, 2026

    Wash. Justices To Hear Gym's Suit Over COVID-Era Inspection

    Washington's highest court will review an appellate ruling that state labor department inspectors violated an Anytime Fitness owner's reasonable expectation of privacy when they tailgated a gym member who used a key card to enter the facility during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses were supposed to be shuttered.

  • February 12, 2026

    DC Judge Won't Bow To DOJ, Public Criticism On TPS Ruling

    A D.C. federal judge who said she has been receiving threats and personal insults after she temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status for Haitians refused to pause her ruling, saying judges will not be intimidated by public threats.

  • February 12, 2026

    Bipartisan Bill Targets Scam Ads On Social Media Platforms

    Federal lawmakers are pushing to require social media companies to crack down on fraudulent advertising on their platforms under new bipartisan legislation that is drawing praise from banking and consumer groups.

  • February 12, 2026

    Trump Admin EV Funding Cuts Suits Merged In Wash. Court

    A Washington federal judge has consolidated two lawsuits seeking to stop the Trump administration from preventing nearly $2.5 billion in congressionally appropriated funds from going to electric vehicle charging infrastructure programs.

  • February 12, 2026

    HPE Has 'No Grounds' To Hide DOJ Deal Bidders, AGs Say

    Democratic attorneys general challenging the controversial Justice Department settlement permitting Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks have urged a California federal judge to let them see who's bidding for assets up for divestiture, arguing the would-be buyers are an integral part of the agreement's viability.

  • February 12, 2026

    Tesla Says Case Transfer Boosts Mandamus Bid In PTAB Fight

    A Texas federal judge's decision to send patent infringement litigation against Tesla Inc. to California strengthens the automaker's mandamus petition claiming the Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly turned away its challenges, Tesla told the Federal Circuit.

  • February 12, 2026

    DC Circ. Judge Rips Into Insurer In CMS Rating Case

    A Louisiana insurer found a tough critic in one D.C. Circuit judge Thursday as it argued that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services used an unfair method to assess its "star ratings" for insurance plans, with the jurist saying the company seemed like it "just wanted whatever interpretation will give you a higher score."

Expert Analysis

  • What 2025 Transpo And Logistics Legal Trends Mean For 2026

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    2025 was challenging for the transportation and logistics sector, with emergent trends including dramatic federal policy shifts, developments in tort risk, and a host of mergers and acquisitions — but a review of these themes offers a useful playbook for where the industry is headed in 2026, says Jonathan Todd at Benesch.

  • How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

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    Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • 2025 State AI Laws Expand Liability, Raise Insurance Risks

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    As 2025 nears its end, claims professionals should be aware of trends in state legislation addressing artificial intelligence use, as insurance claims based on some of these liability-expanding statutes are a certainty, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

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    Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.

  • Crypto In 2025: From Federal Deregulation To State Action

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    The cryptocurrency enforcement landscape evolved in 2025, marked by federal deregulatory trends and active state attorney general enforcement, creating both opportunity and risk for businesses navigating the digital asset market, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • How CFTC Enforcement Shifted In 2025 And What's Next

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pivoted sharply under acting Chairman Caroline Pham in 2025, resulting in a pared-back enforcement docket, sweeping policy changes intended to provide greater transparency, and a renewed focus on fraud prevention and maintaining market integrity for the CFTC's core markets, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Learning From 2025 FCA Trends Targeting PE In Healthcare

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    False Claims Act enforcement trends and legislative developments from this year signal intensifying state and federal scrutiny of private equity's growing footprint in healthcare, and the urgency of compliance, says Lisa Re at Arnold & Porter.

  • Reviewing 2025's State And Federal AI Regulations

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    In light of increasing state and federal action to oversee the use of artificial intelligence, companies that develop or deploy the technology should keep abreast of current and forthcoming AI laws and consider their applicability to their business activities, says Jessica Brigman at Spencer Fane.

  • Software Patents May Face New Eligibility Scrutiny

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    November guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, along with recent litigation trends from the Federal Circuit, may encourage new challenges in the USPTO and district courts to artificial intelligence and software patents that rely on generic computing functions without concrete details, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What Trump Order Limiting State AI Regs Means For Insurers

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    Last week's executive order seeking to preclude states from regulating artificial intelligence will likely have minimal impact on insurers, but the order and related congressional activities may portend a federal expectation of consistent state oversight of insurers' AI use, says Kathleen Birrane at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

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    To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • Investment Advisers Should Stay Apprised Of New AI Risks

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently issued annual examination priorities reiterate a host of regulatory implications for investment advisers using artificial intelligence tools, highlighting that meaningful ongoing due diligence can help mitigate both operational and regulatory surprises amid AI's rapid evolution, says Christopher Mills at Sidley.

  • New Rule Shows NRC Willing To Move Fast To Reform Regs

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    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to forgo public comment and immediately rescind certain rules governing adjudicatory procedures, federal tort claims and disclosure of licensee information signals the agency's intent to accelerate the regulatory streamlining efforts ordered by the president this spring, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • AG Watch: Texas Junk Fee Deal Shows Enforcement Priorities

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent $9.5 million settlement with online travel agency website Booking Holdings for so-called junk fee practices follows a larger trend of state attorneys general who have taken similar action and demonstrates the significant penalties that can follow such allegations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • 10th Circ. Dissent May Light Path For Master Account Access

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    While the Tenth Circuit's majority in Custodia Bank v. Federal Reserve Board recently affirmed Federal Reserve banks' control over master account access, the dissent raised constitutional questions that could support banks seeking master accounts in future litigation, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

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