Public Policy

  • January 22, 2026

    Judge Severs Tax Charges From Ex-Rep's Foreign Agent Case

    A former Florida congressman will get to contest tax charges against him separately from a criminal indictment alleging he and a political consultant failed to register as foreign agents while lobbying on behalf of Venezuela's state oil company, a federal judge ruled.

  • January 22, 2026

    Digital Services Taxes May Give Leverage In US Trade Deals

    As President Donald Trump and his administration continue to negotiate with trading partners seeking to lower tariff rates, countries with digital services taxes could find those measures build some leverage with U.S. negotiators aiming to eliminate them. 

  • January 22, 2026

    UN Committee Floats Draft For Taxing Cross-Border Services

    Negotiators at the United Nations released a draft of potential cross-border measures that could eventually appear in a multilateral treaty to help countries tax the income of remote corporations that currently fall outside traditional taxation rules.

  • January 22, 2026

    USPTO Re-Ups Agreement With Major IP Offices Through 2029

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has extended the Patent Prosecution Highway pilot program with four other intellectual property offices, which expedites review of patent applications that have been allowed in another country, for another three years.

  • January 22, 2026

    Md. Judge Keeps Ship Manager Liability Shield Bid Alive

    A Maryland federal judge on Thursday allowed the manager of the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge to press ahead, for now, with its request to invoke a nearly two-centuries-old maritime law to limit its liability for the 2024 wreck.

  • January 22, 2026

    Pa. Justices Say Judge's Partisan Posts Warrant Suspension

    Pennsylvania's highest court has adopted a balancing test for restricting a sitting judge's free speech outside the context of an election and, in doing so, affirmed the suspension of a state court judge who it said damaged the court's appearance of impartiality by making political posts on social media.

  • January 22, 2026

    AGs Target Investor Advocacy Group As 'Climate Cartel'

    A group of state attorneys general led by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a warning letter Wednesday to climate advocacy organization Ceres claiming concerns about violations of antitrust and consumer protection laws.

  • January 22, 2026

    Trump Sues JPMorgan For $5B Over Account Closures

    President Donald Trump on Thursday sued JPMorgan Chase in Florida state court for at least $5 billion in damages, alleging it unlawfully "debanked" him and an array of his business ventures shortly after he left office in 2021.

  • January 22, 2026

    NCAA Tells 4th Circ. Appeal Of Eligibility Ruling Should Go On

    The NCAA has urged the Fourth Circuit to keep hearing its appeal of a preliminary injunction letting four West Virginia University football players compete in a season that is now over, arguing that similar challenges to its eligibility rules are inevitable.

  • January 22, 2026

    Washington Drops $9M Climate Fund Suit Against NOAA

    Washington state dropped its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from withholding more than $9 million meant to shore up the state's resiliency to climate change.

  • January 22, 2026

    EEOC Chair Decries 'Fearmongering' Amid Guidance Repeal

    The Republican members of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted Thursday to retract comprehensive harassment guidelines issued during the Biden administration after the agency's chair panned warnings from Democrats and civil rights advocates that the move erodes key worker protections.

  • January 21, 2026

    NJ Justices Wrestle With Cases Complicated By ICE Custody

    The New Jersey Supreme Court wondered Wednesday how to manage case flow when detained or deported defendants are prevented by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from attending their proceedings, lamenting the difficult choice of options including letting matters languish, conducting criminal trials virtually or issuing bench warrants that could complicate immigration cases.

  • January 21, 2026

    Lawyer Testifies Goldstein Dodged $500K Poker Repayment

    A former employee at Thomas Goldstein's law firm recounted in court Wednesday that a U.S. Internal Revenue Service levy was placed on the SCOTUSblog founder's accounts, while a lawyer at another firm said Goldstein dodged repaying him for money invested in his poker-playing exploits.

  • January 21, 2026

    Senate Agriculture Unveils Crypto Bill Without Dem Backing

    The chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee released the text of a proposal to expand the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority over crypto Wednesday evening, despite failing to reach a bipartisan agreement on the text ahead of a markup slated for next week.

  • January 21, 2026

    BP Says Wash. Residents' 'Noxious Odors' Class Claims Stink

    A BP unit facing a proposed class action over oil refinery fumes urged a Washington federal judge to flush the suit, arguing that the plaintiffs' proposed class definition is flawed because individual residents would be affected differently based on wind direction, distance from the facility and other factors.

  • January 21, 2026

    Court Rejects Sanctions In Venezuelan Oil Defamation Case

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday declined to sanction a director of a Venezuelan state-owned oil company, finding no conflict of interest by his attorneys at Diaz Reus LLP in a now-dismissed suit accusing the director and others of engaging in a campaign to smear Venezuelan civic leaders.

  • January 21, 2026

    8th Circ. Temporarily Lifts Restrictions On ICE In Minnesota

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday issued an administrative stay temporarily lifting a district court injunction blocking federal immigration agents from retaliating against or detaining peaceful protesters without probable cause during federal immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities area.

  • January 21, 2026

    Texas AG Launches Investigation Into Vaccine Incentives

    The Texas attorney general launched what it characterized as a sweeping, multi-industry investigation into financial incentives for medical providers to recommend childhood vaccines, saying providers regularly dish out vaccines that "are not proven to be safe or necessary."

  • January 21, 2026

    10th Circ. Says Detectives Must Face Suit For Hiding Evidence

    The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that a pair of detectives who helped wrongfully convict a man of murder are not shielded by qualified immunity from a civil suit by the man's family.

  • January 21, 2026

    5th Circ. Leans Toward Vacating Airline Fees Disclosure Rule

    The full Fifth Circuit wanted to know Wednesday why it shouldn't just do away with a Biden-era rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, saying that the government seemed to be arguing that the court should just vacate the rule.

  • January 21, 2026

    Midwives Challenge Miss. Practice Limits In Antitrust Suit

    The American College of Nurse-Midwives launched a suit seeking to permanently block Mississippi rules requiring certified nurse-midwives to obtain collaboration agreements with physicians, arguing the rules unlawfully restrict competition and exacerbate public health challenges in the state.

  • January 21, 2026

    Ex-Military Heads Back Sen. Kelly In Suit Against Hegseth

    Dozens of former military leaders have backed U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., in challenging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's bid to reduce his Navy rank, saying Kelly's punishment for "accurate statements of military law" discourages veterans from exercising their own First Amendment rights.

  • January 21, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Judge Wrongly Blocked Trump Grant Freeze

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday wiped out a federal district judge's order restoring 32 congressionally funded grants frozen by the Trump administration, saying it's a contractual matter for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to decide.

  • January 21, 2026

    Feds Say Medicare Steering Case Meets FCA Legal Bar

    The government said Wednesday that its False Claims Act complaint accusing insurers and brokers of participating in a kickback scheme to steer customers to Medicare Advantage plans doesn't conflict with a First Circuit decision last year setting out the standard for such cases.  

  • January 21, 2026

    Ga. Justices Deny Atty's Reprimand Bid After Jan. 6 Actions

    A public reprimand may not be enough to discipline an attorney who was convicted and later pardoned of a felony and several misdemeanor federal offenses in connection with his participation in events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Georgia Supreme Court said Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • What Texas Can Learn From La. About CO2 Well Primacy

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's granting Texas primary authority over wells used to inject carbon dioxide into deep rock formations is a significant step forward for carbon capture and storage projects in the state — but Louisiana's experience after it was granted primacy offers a cautionary tale, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.

  • How Payments Law Landscape Will Evolve In 2026

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    After a year of change across the payments landscape, financial services providers should expect more innovation and the pushing of regulatory boundaries, but should stay mindful that state regulators and litigation will continue to challenge the status quo, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Opinion

    It's Too Soon To Remove Suicide Warnings From GLP-1 Drugs

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision this month to order removal of warnings about the risk of suicidal thoughts from GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is premature — and from a safety and legal standpoint, the downside of acting too soon could be profound, says Sean Domnick at Rafferty Domnick.

  • Opportunities Amid The Challenges Of Trump's BIS Shakeup

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    The Trump administration’s continuing overhaul of the Bureau of Industry and Security has created enormous practical challenges for export compliance, but it potentially also offers a once-in-a-generation opening to advocate for simplifying and rationalizing U.S. export controls, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • How SEC Civil Penalties Became Arbitrary: The Data

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    Data regarding how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adhered to its own civil penalty rules over the past 20 years reveals that awards are no longer determined in accordance with the guidelines imposed on the SEC by the securities laws, say David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher and Phil Lieberman at Vanderbilt Law.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills, but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • Postconviction Law In 2026: A Recalibration, Not A Revolution

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    As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to issue decisions in several federal postconviction cases in the coming months, the justices appear focused on restoring coherence to a system in which sentencing modification, collateral review and finality increasingly overlap, and success for practitioners will depend on strategic clarity, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • OCC's New Fee Clearance Shows Further Ease Around Crypto

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent holding that banks can use crypto-assets to pay certain blockchain network fees shows that the OCC is further warming to the idea that organizations are using new methods to do "the very old business of banking," say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • How SEC Civil Penalties Became Arbitrary: The Framework

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    An examination of how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently applied guidelines governing the imposition of monetary penalties in enforcement actions shows that civil penalty awards in many cases are inconsistent with the rules established to structure them, say David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher and Phil Lieberman at Vanderbilt Law.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

  • Opinion

    Faulty Legal Assumptions Obscure Police Self-Defense Law

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    As illustrated by the public commentary surrounding the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an immigration agent, lawyers sometimes have mistaken assumptions about the applicability of self-defense when law enforcement officers deploy deadly force, but the governing legal standard is clear, says Markus Funk at White & Case.

  • Why 2026 Could Be A Bright Year For US Solar

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    2025 was a record-setting year for utility-scale solar power deployment in the U.S., a trend that shows no signs of abating, so the question for 2026 is whether permitting, interconnection, and state and federal policies will allow the industry to grow fast enough to meet demand, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • 2026 Int'l Arbitration Trends: Tariffs Drive Transformation

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    In 2025, the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs triggered an unprecedented wave of trade-related disputes — and this, along with evolving M&A practices, the challenges of enforcing arbitral awards against sovereign states, and the role of emerging technologies, will continue to drive international arbitration trends this year, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • What Productivity EO May Mean For Defense Industrial Base

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    President Donald Trump’s recent executive order barring stock buybacks and dividend payments by "underperforming" defense contractors represents a significant policy shift from traditional oversight of the defense industrial base toward direct intervention in corporate decision-making, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What's New In ISS' Benchmark Voting Policy Updates For 2026

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    Companies should audit their governance structures and disclosures to prepare for the upcoming proxy season in light of Institutional Shareholder Services' 2026 policy updates, which include tighter guardrails on capital structures and director compensation, and more disclosure-driven assessments of environmental and social shareholder proposals, say attorneys at Fenwick.

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