Public Policy

  • October 27, 2025

    AGs Push Congress To Close Intoxicating Hemp Loophole

    Attorneys general from 39 states and U.S. territories are urging Congress to quash the intoxicating hemp products market which they say lawmakers inadvertently created through the 2018 Farm Bill, saying the "laudable legalization of commercial hemp" must be salvaged during the 2026 appropriations process.

  • October 27, 2025

    Kalshi Sues NY Regulator Over Cease-And-Desist Letter

    Trading platform Kalshi on Monday accused the New York State Gaming Commission of intruding into the federal government's regulatory authority over derivatives trading, in a lawsuit following a cease-and-desist letter it received from the state regulator for allegedly illegal sports wagering.

  • October 27, 2025

    Senate Confirms 7th Circ., Alabama Judicial Picks

    The U.S. Senate voted on Monday to confirm Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin, to the Seventh Circuit, and Justice Bill Lewis of the Alabama Supreme Court to the Middle District of Alabama.

  • October 27, 2025

    Dems Say $6.2B Nexstar-Tegna Deal Breaches Ownership Cap

    Nexstar's $6.2 billion plan to merge with rival broadcast company Tegna will create a behemoth that will breach the FCC's national ownership cap that limits how many stations any one company can own in a given market, say two federal lawmakers from Colorado.

  • October 27, 2025

    Gov't Says It Won't Defy Order Not To Deport Ábrego García

    Kilmar Ábrego García won't be deported to Liberia unless the Maryland federal judge who blocked his deportation lifts the order, an attorney for the Trump administration assured the court Monday, despite the government previously saying he could be sent there as soon as Friday.

  • October 27, 2025

    Trump Taps Ex-Willkie Atty For 2nd Shot At Filling CFTC Chair

    President Donald Trump has chosen a former Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner and top attorney on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cryptocurrency task force to head the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, tapping the crypto industry advocate to lead an agency struggling with a leadership void.

  • October 27, 2025

    CFPB Says States Can't Enact Medical Debt Reporting Bans

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday that it now believes federal law blocks efforts by states to ban medical debt from credit reports or enact most other credit reporting rules of their own, breaking sharply from its Biden-era stance on the topic.

  • October 27, 2025

    Judge To Decide If Trump's Jan. 6 Docs Stay Confidential

    A D.C. federal judge will review a trove of documents containing communications between officials from the first Trump administration and attorneys for his 2020 campaign to decide whether they can be kept from discovery in a lawsuit over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

  • October 27, 2025

    Delta, Aeromexico Ask 11th Circ. To Halt Feds' JV Split Order

    Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico have asked the Eleventh Circuit to freeze a Trump administration order directing them to scuttle their joint venture by Jan. 1, saying their legal challenge should first run its course and that unwinding their complex networks would be "tremendously burdensome."

  • October 27, 2025

    5th Circ. Presses Texas County Over Redistricting Plan

    A Fifth Circuit panel pushed a Texas county to explain how a politician's comment that Black people tend to vote for Democrats should weigh on whether a redistricting plan disenfranchises minority voters, asking Monday whether the county acknowledges that race played a factor in the redistricting.

  • October 27, 2025

    More Action Needed On Upper Microwave Bands, FCC Told

    The Federal Communications Commission needs to consider a total overhaul of spectrum rules in the upper microwave bands to help the U.S. satellite industry thrive, a California space venture told the FCC.

  • October 27, 2025

    PTAB Judges Alarmed By Squires' Moves To Limit Their Role

    With U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leadership limiting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's oversight of patent validity disputes, current judges for the tribunal say they are distressed by the recent moves to curb their role and are looking for work elsewhere amid the instability.

  • October 27, 2025

    Former Pandemic Watchdog Named Interim US Atty In Pa.

    Amid the ongoing furlough of U.S. Department of Justice employees, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced the interim appointment of Brian D. Miller, former inspector general for pandemic recovery, as U.S. attorney, effective on Monday.

  • October 27, 2025

    Mich. Panel Orders House To Send Stalled Bills To Governor

    The Michigan House of Representatives must deliver nine passed bills that it has held onto for 10 months to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her consideration, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel ruled Monday.

  • October 27, 2025

    USPTO, NWS Unions Try Blocking Order Ending Labor Rights

    Two unions that represent employees at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Weather Service have asked a District of Columbia federal judge for a preliminary injunction to block an executive order ending their collective bargaining rights, saying the order relied on a flawed finding that the two agencies have national security as a primary function.

  • October 27, 2025

    AGs Call Landlord Deals In RealPage MDL 'Weak'

    A quartet of state attorneys general urged a Tennessee federal judge to hold off on approving $141.8 million in class settlements resolving claims that major landlords used RealPage to fix rent prices, arguing the "weak injunctive terms" and "meager monetary relief" interferes with their own cases.

  • October 27, 2025

    Texas Defends Using 'Alien Verification' System To Vet Voters

    Texas is looking to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's pooling of immigrants' personal data into centralized databases to help states purge voter rolls, saying that the challenge jeopardizes a "transformational" tool for doing so.

  • October 27, 2025

    10th Circ. Upholds Wyoming's Hemp Restrictions

    The Tenth Circuit on Monday said a Wyoming law regulating hemp-derived intoxicating products was not unconstitutional or preempted by federal law, preserving the state's strict policies reining in wares containing synthetic or delta-8 THC.

  • October 27, 2025

    Trump Asks Justices To Stay Copyright Chief's Reinstatement

    The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to stay a D.C. Circuit ruling that reinstated the fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office while she challenges her removal, arguing that allowing a terminated official to remain in place causes irreparable harm to the president's authority.

  • October 27, 2025

    Ex-Conn. Housing Chief's Brother Says Payments Were Legit

    The brother of the former executive director of a Connecticut municipal housing authority denied the authority's claims against him in a sprawling fraud lawsuit, saying payments made to his companies as part of the targeted transactions at issue were legitimate.

  • October 27, 2025

    Ore. Religious Group Loses Tax-Exempt Bid In Claims Court

    An Oregon religious organization lost its challenge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to regain its church tax-exempt status, which the Internal Revenue Service revoked after determining that much of the group's spending personally benefited the founders' family members.

  • October 27, 2025

    NY Judge Orders State Agency To Issue Climate Regulations

    A New York state judge on Friday sided with green groups that sued the Department of Environmental Conservation for failing to promulgate regulations implementing a climate change law that the agency says would burden residents with high costs.

  • October 27, 2025

    6th Circ. Judges Question FINRA's 'Voluntary' Membership

    Sixth Circuit judges probed the effect on private securities regulators of a U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of in-house courts Monday, though a procedural issue may thwart the appeal.  

  • October 27, 2025

    Feds Fight Union Bid To Protect Jobs During Gov't Shutdown

    The Trump administration is fighting a group of unions' request for a California federal judge to block the government from laying off federal workers during the shutdown, saying the injunction request from eight unions is far too broad.

  • October 27, 2025

    9th Circ. OKs Gun Ban For Suspect Who Brought Gun To Court

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday revived the indictment of a man who brought a loaded handgun into an Idaho state court, finding that a no-contact order banning him from possessing a firearm does not violate his Second Amendment rights.

Expert Analysis

  • How GILTI Reform Affects M&A Golden Parachute Planning

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    Deal teams should evaluate the effect of a recent seemingly technical change to U.S. international tax law on the golden parachute analysis that often plays a critical part of many corporate transactions to avoid underestimating its impact on an acquirer's worldwide taxable income following a triggering transaction, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Debut Of Atkins' 'New Day'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory flex agenda, published last week, demonstrates a clear return to appropriately tailored and mission-focused rulemaking, with potential new rules applicable to brokers, exchanges and trading, among others, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Restored Charging Project Funds Revive Hope For EV Market

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    While 2025 began with a host of government actions that prompted some to predict the demise of the U.S. electric vehicle market, the Trump administration's recent restoration of federal funding for EV charging infrastructure under new terms presents market participants with reason for optimism, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • A Changing Playbook For Fighting Records Requests In Del.

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Wong v. Amazon, reversing the denial of an inspection demand brought by a stockholder, serves as a stark warning to corporations challenging books and records requests, making clear that companies cannot defeat such demands solely by attacking the scope of their stated purpose, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Tesla Verdict May Set New Liability Benchmarks For AV Suits

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    The recent jury verdict in Benavides v. Tesla is notable not only for a massive payout — including $200 million in punitive damages — but because it apportions fault between the company's self-driving technology and the driver, inviting more scrutiny of automated vehicle marketing and technology, says Michael Avanesian at Avian Law Group.

  • Insuring Against FCA Risk In Shifting Trade Landscape

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    In today's heightened trade enforcement environment, companies should proactively assess whether their insurance programs are positioned to respond to potential False Claims Act or customs-related claims, including reviewing directors and officers, professional liability, and representations and warranties policies for key terms, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • What To Expect As Trump's 401(k) Order Materializes

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    Following the Trump administration’s recent executive order on 401(k) plan investments in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies and real estate, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will need to answer several outstanding questions before any regulatory changes are implemented, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • RI Menopause Law Brings New Considerations For Employers

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    Rhode Island becoming the first state to provide express antidiscrimination and accommodation protections for employees' menopause-related conditions may be a bellwether for similar protections in other jurisdictions, so employers should consider that while such benefits may improve recruitment and retention, complications may arise from voluntarily adding them, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • A Foreign Currency Breach Won't Always Sink EB-5 Cases

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    Recent court decisions show that, while EB-5 investors must be able to show the lawfulness of their funds and methods of transfer, a third-party currency exchanger's violation of another country’s currency export control law does not, by itself, taint the funds for purposes of U.S. investment, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

  • How The 5th, DC Circuits Agreed On FCC Forfeiture Orders

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    The Fifth and D.C. Circuits split this year on the Federal Communications Commission's process for adjudicating enforcement actions, but both implicitly recognized the problem with penalizing a party based on a forfeiture order that has not yet been challenged in any way in court, says Jared Marx at HWG.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

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    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • 'Solicit' Ruling Offers Proxy Advisers Compliance Relief

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    The D.C. Circuit recently found that proxy voting advice does not fall under the legal definition of "solicitation," significantly narrowing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory power over such advisers, offering stability to the proxy advisory industry and providing temporary relief from new compliance burdens, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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