Public Policy

  • May 13, 2026

    Feds' Sanctuary City Suit Against Boston Scrutinized

    A Massachusetts federal judge appeared poised Wednesday to throw out a Trump administration lawsuit against the city of Boston over its "sanctuary city" policy limiting cooperation with federal immigration agents.

  • May 13, 2026

    Conn. PFAS Plaintiffs Deny Forum Shopping In Montana Suit

    The City of Stamford and a local fire district are pushing back against a bid by 3M and others to sanction them for moving their claims from Connecticut to Montana, saying the sanctions bid misrepresents the facts and circumstances motivating them to join the litigation.

  • May 13, 2026

    Israel, Diplomat Hit With Suit Alleging Damage To Ga. Home

    The state of Israel and an Israeli diplomat owe a property owner thousands of dollars over homeowners association violations, lease breaches and damage done to his Atlanta home when it was leased for the diplomat and her family to live in, according to a suit filed Wednesday in Georgia federal court.

  • May 13, 2026

    10th Circ. Doubts Bid To Undo Colo. Land Swap

    A Tenth Circuit panel appeared unsure that an appraisal of a land exchange between the federal government and a private landowner must be publicly disclosed under federal law, despite claims to the contrary from an attorney representing Colorado Wild Public Lands at oral argument Wednesday.

  • May 13, 2026

    Native Activist Urges Justices To Uphold Assault Ruling

    An Indigenous activist is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a federal government petition that looks to overturn a Tenth Circuit decision that said he can't be convicted of simple assault under the Major Crimes Act, telling the justices that the government's "bizarre" arguments flout the law's plain text.

  • May 13, 2026

    Lawmakers Float Allowing Charitable Gifts From 401(k) Plans

    A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that would allow workers to make tax-free charitable donations directly from their employer-sponsored retirement plans, building on a section of the retirement policy overhaul known as Secure 2.0.

  • May 13, 2026

    Calif. Gas Station Leak Suit Came Too Late, Judge Says

    A California federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Tesoro Companies of failing to handle carcinogenic exposure from a gas station, saying the claims were brought too late.

  • May 13, 2026

    Creek High Court Ends Freedmen Citizenship Contempt Bid

    The (Muscogee) Creek Supreme Court won't hold the tribe's citizenship board or executive branch in contempt over an order that gives citizenship to those once enslaved by the Indigenous nation, saying the governmental entities have shown that they're taking steps to comply with the directive, albeit slowly.

  • May 13, 2026

    Mass. Audit Fight Not Over As AG Is Ripped For Comments

    Massachusetts' auditor said Wednesday that she may file more litigation over her ongoing bid to audit the state legislature, sharply pushing back on statements by the state attorney general that suggested any review would be cabined.

  • May 13, 2026

    Bipartisan Bill Would Require ICE Training On Tribal IDs

    A bipartisan bill aims to improve how immigration officials interact with Native Americans following reports that members of Indigenous communities are getting swept up in immigration raids and of officers not accepting their Tribal IDs despite them being U.S. citizens. 

  • May 13, 2026

    Mass. Justices OK Lotto License Denial Over 'Moral Character'

    Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday reinstated a decision by state regulators to deny a lottery license to the owner of several convenience and liquor stores based on a finding that he lacked "good moral character" despite being acquitted on rape charges.

  • May 13, 2026

    DOJ Fraud Division Set To Shake Up White-Collar Enforcement

    President Donald Trump's administration created the U.S. Department of Justice's National Fraud Enforcement Division with a narrow focus on combating government program fraud, but a move to retain federal prosecutors focused on other types of fraud could signal a wider scope with potential ripple effects across white-collar enforcement.

  • May 13, 2026

    Atkore's $136M Deals In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row Get Initial OK

    An Illinois federal judge Wednesday granted preliminary approval to two settlements totaling over $136 million that Atkore Inc. has agreed to pay to resolve allegations it conspired with other polyvinyl chloride pipe producers to fix prices.

  • May 13, 2026

    Union, Federal Workers Sue USDA Over Religious Messaging

    The National Federation of Federal Employees and a group of federal workers are accusing the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture of unlawfully imposing her religious views on a "captive audience" of agency employees through agency emails, according to a lawsuit filed in California federal court Wednesday.

  • May 13, 2026

    Legalizing Pot Leads To Fewer Arrests, Report Says

    The pro-legalization advocacy organization Marijuana Policy Project recently made public a report culling data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's crime data explorer showing that states with legalized cannabis have seen dramatic decreases in marijuana-related arrests.

  • May 13, 2026

    6th Circ. Presses DOJ On Bid For Mich. Unredacted Voter List

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday questioned if a civil rights statute requires Michigan to turn over an unredacted statewide voter registration list to the U.S. Department of Justice, focusing on whether the law covers a modern, continuously updated voter database. 

  • May 13, 2026

    Prosecutor's Office Must Face Suit Over Lost Vacation Time

    A New Jersey appellate panel revived a lawsuit from a Sussex County Prosecutor's Office chief detective over deleted vacation days, finding factual disputes barred summary judgment after he said he canceled time off during a transition to a new county prosecutor based on assurances the leave could be carried over.

  • May 13, 2026

    NJ Cannabis Regulator Tapped To Head Alcohol Control Unit

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has nominated the head of compliance at the state Cannabis Review Commission with a decade of public service experience to lead the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

  • May 13, 2026

    Trump 1st-Term Tariff Hikes On China Legal, Feds Tell Justices

    President Donald Trump's first administration was well within its legal authority to increase tariffs on Chinese goods under a law utilized to address unfair trading practices, and the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't need to consider a challenge to those measures, the government told the justices.

  • May 13, 2026

    FCC Ramps Up Focus On Cybersecurity In Telecom Biz

    The Federal Communications Commission will kick off a pair of public workshops this week aiming to find ways to elevate cybersecurity in the telecom space.

  • May 13, 2026

    Provider Says NY Is On The Hook For $3.3M Medicaid Shortfall

    The New York State Department of Health's refusal to enforce payment obligations by Medicaid managed care organizations has cost a Queens-based safety net provider at least $3.3 million in underpayments for behavioral health services, according to a suit filed in New York federal court.

  • May 13, 2026

    6th Circ. Says Kentucky Judicial Hopefuls May Tout Ideology

    Kentucky judicial hopefuls are cleared to discuss their political leanings on the campaign trail, according to a precedential ruling by the Sixth Circuit, which permanently enjoined the state's Judicial Conduct Commission from pursuing an enforcement action against two candidates who described themselves as "conservatives" and "Republicans" amid the 2022 election season.

  • May 13, 2026

    Canada Allocating Over $3.4M To Firms Hit By US Tariffs

    The Canadian government has announced a total of over CA$4.7 million ($3.4 million) in grants to support small or medium-size aluminum businesses this week to help the companies cope with U.S. tariffs, including nearly CA$2.1 million in funding Wednesday.

  • May 13, 2026

    Warsh Confirmed As Trump's Next Federal Reserve Chair

    The U.S. Senate signed off Wednesday on the White House's choice of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, capping off a monthslong process that became entangled in the Trump administration's push to criminally investigate outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

  • May 13, 2026

    Trade Court OKs Chinese Gum Zero Duty Rate On Remand

    The U.S. Department of Commerce cleaned up its evaluation of the energy used by a Chinese company in the production of a gum used as a food thickener, the Court of International Trade said, signing off on the agency's decision to zero the company's duty rate.

Expert Analysis

  • Ohio Case Reflects States' Aggressive Criminal Antitrust Turn

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    The Ohio Attorney General's Office’s recent bid-rigging indictment of an online auctioneer is the latest signal that states, through attorneys general pursuing more kickback cases and legislators expanding the reach of antitrust laws, are shedding their historical reluctance to wield their criminal antitrust enforcement powers, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Justices' Geofence Ruling May Test 4th Amendment's Future

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court decides in Chatrie v. U.S. whether law enforcement may use geofence warrants to compel Google to disclose location history data, the ruling is likely to become an important statement about the future of Fourth Amendment law in data-driven investigations, says Duncan Levin at Levin & Associates.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    In the first quarter of 2026, New York's banking developments were headlined by initiatives to expand oversight of financial institutions and strengthen consumer protection laws, including a new framework for buy now, pay later lenders, a sweeping debt collection rule and a revised corporate self-disclosure program for financial crimes, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Seeking A Policy Fix As Merger Reporting Fight Continues

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    A recently announced request by the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice for public comment on the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger reporting requirements, as litigation challenging the commission's updated requirements continues, suggests the government's willingness to address how best to support modern merger enforcement without unduly burdening filing parties, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • What New Fla. Citizens Bill Means For Surplus Lines Insurers

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    A Florida bill recently passed by the Legislature as part of a continued effort to depopulate Citizens Property Insurance, the state's insurer of last resort, creates an additional pathway for commercial policies to be written by surplus lines insurers, but also presents concerns of unnecessary regulation, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • What Voluntary Calif. Carbon Reports Show About Compliance

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    While the enforcement of California's S.B. 261 is currently paused due to a Ninth Circuit injunction, more than 130 companies have nonetheless chosen to voluntarily publish climate-related financial risk disclosures, providing a useful snapshot of how the market is interpreting the law's requirements in practice, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • PTAB Memo Recenters Discretion On US Manufacturing

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    Read alongside recent Federal Circuit decisions, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires' memo on patent denial considerations emphasizes domestic manufacturing in a way that the International Trade Commission does not require, says Brandon Theiss at Volpe Koenig.

  • Why MDLs Slow Down — And How To Speed Them Up

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    Multidistrict litigation has become central to mass tort practice, but as MDLs grow in size and complexity, so do delays and costs — so tools like the new federal rule governing MDLs, targeted use of special masters and strategically deployed Lone Pine orders are more essential than ever, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

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    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • Regulators' Basel Pitch May Bring Banks Capital Relief

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    The prudential banking agencies' new proposals to implement the so-called Basel III endgame rules — which would modify the approach to risk-based capital, among other notable changes — represent a fundamental directional shift in bank capital requirements aimed at increasing lending capacity, says Chen Xu at Debevoise.

  • How SEC And CFTC Are Attempting To End Their 'Turf War'

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    Through coordinated examinations and a shared aim to end duplicative regulation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent memorandum of understanding could represent a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for market participants subject to the jurisdiction of both agencies, say attorneys at Jenner.

  • FTC Focus: Growing Emphasis On Competition In AI

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    The Federal Trade Commission's leadership has continued to highlight that competitive risks in artificial intelligence markets may arise at multiple levels simultaneously, considering not only who controls the resources necessary to build AI systems, but also how those systems function and yield outputs, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • What's Missing From Latest Gov't Claims Against Harvard

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    The most interesting thing about the Trump administration’s recent civil rights enforcement efforts targeting Harvard University is its decision not to assert violations of the False Claims Act when given the opportunity, despite signals that its enforcement efforts will include use of the federal FCA, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • How Cos. Can Prepare For 'Made In America' Ad Scrutiny

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    The Trump administration's executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in consumer-facing advertising, along with actions by the Federal Trade Commission, suggest a potential increased focus on consumer protection and pricing-related matters, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Opinion

    FTC Case Risks Redefining Price Discrimination

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    Federal Trade Commission v. Southern Glazer puts a spotlight on the blurry line between illegal price discrimination and ordinary competition, and could potentially set a precedent that puts nearly any manufacturer at risk of Robinson-Patman Act enforcement, says Jeremy Sandford at Econic Partners.

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