Public Policy

  • October 21, 2026

    States Rip OCC's 'Beltway-Centric' Bid To Move Escrow Suit

    An Oregon-led coalition of states is pushing back on a U.S. banking regulator's bid to throw out or transfer the coalition's lawsuit over the regulator's new rules that block their interest-on-escrow laws, arguing its "Beltway-centric view of the world" doesn't mean they were wrong to sue in Portland.

  • October 21, 2026

    SEC Crypto Offering Plan Draws State Outcry, Industry Ideas

    States and watchdog groups told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw what they deemed a dangerous plan to exempt certain crypto offerings from registration requirements, while the crypto industry backed the proposal in comment letters that urged the agency to let exempted issuers raise even more from investors.

  • October 21, 2026

    Ill. Judge Questions Bid To Block 340B Drug Discount Law

    An Illinois federal judge seemed hesitant Wednesday to halt a state law barring drugmakers from trying to impose restrictions on pharmacies under contract with a federal drug pricing discount program, saying the state seems to be maximizing public health in an area the statute doesn't address.

  • October 21, 2026

    DHS Seeks High Court OK To Restart Big Bend Wall Project

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to let the agency restart construction of the Big Bend border wall, saying the district court lacked jurisdiction to pause the project.

  • October 21, 2026

    FCC Member Sees Satellite Spectrum Policy Advancing Fast

    A member of the Federal Communications Commission told a global gathering of telecom leaders that the U.S. will pursue policies on multiple fronts to make sure the booming satellite industry has abundant spectrum.

  • October 21, 2026

    Wind Groups Say DOD Continues To Freeze Project Reviews

    Renewable energy backers asked an Oregon federal judge to enforce an injunction that blocked the U.S. Department of Defense from suspending reviews of proposed wind energy projects, arguing it has continued to miss deadlines and maintain an unlawful freeze on project reviews.

  • October 21, 2026

    EEOC's Federal Sector Overhaul Nears Finish Line

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is poised to overhaul how federal employees' bias complaints are handled, sending the proposed regulation to the White House for approval just weeks after the public comment period closed.

  • October 21, 2026

    FCC OKs Relinquished Carrier Status For Carolina West

    The Federal Communications Commission approved the request of Carolina West Wireless Inc. to turn in its designations as an eligible telecommunications carrier following Verizon's purchase of the North Carolina telecom.

  • October 21, 2026

    House Bill Looks To Ease Copyright Process For Visual Artists

    Visual artists like photographers would have a more streamlined and cheaper copyright registration process under a bill that has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, matching a similar bill floated last year in the U.S. Senate.

  • October 21, 2026

    Trucking Group Tells DC Circ. Fee System Doesn't Deliver

    A trucking trade group is challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's interstate motor carrier fees for 2027, claiming in a new D.C. Circuit petition that the agency never lawfully established the fee-setting system by regulation.

  • October 21, 2026

    Lumos Urges FCC To Preempt Local Project Reviews

    Lumos Fiber says there are counties in Ohio that have so much red tape they're keeping competitive broadband from being deployed there, and it wants the Federal Communications Commission to step in and preempt those rules so it can continue with its planned projects.

  • October 21, 2026

    PBM Fee Disclosure Rule Clears White House Review

    A White House budget office has completed review of a rule from the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm that would require new fee disclosures from pharmacy benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drugmakers, pharmacies and insurers.

  • October 21, 2026

    AT&T Asks To Be Freed From California Landline Obligations

    AT&T says it only needs a "modest extension" of the permission the Federal Communications Commission has already given the telecom titan in order to drop its remaining copper line services in California, something state regulators have refused to give the company permission to do.

  • October 21, 2026

    Chicago Mayor Pitches Return Of $25-Per-Worker Corp. Tax

    The mayor of Chicago released a $17.6 billion budget plan Wednesday that includes the return of a tax on corporations for every employee at large firms, as well as increasing tax rates on sports betting and leased property.

  • October 21, 2026

    Feds Say High Court Ruling Forecloses Haiti TPS Challenge

    The Trump administration asked a D.C. federal judge on Tuesday to end a suit challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, suggesting there is nothing left to litigate following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case.

  • October 21, 2026

    Ex-Arizona Recorder Urges High Court To Drop Voter ID Case

    A former recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona, says the Supreme Court should dismiss the Republican National Committee's challenge to two state voting laws as improvidently granted, telling the justices that the case is an improper vehicle for deciding provisions of the National Voter Registration Act.

  • October 21, 2026

    Allegheny County Passes 12-Week Paid Parental Leave

    Pennsylvania's second-most populous county approved what worker advocates said was the first county-mandated paid parental leave policies in the U.S.

  • October 21, 2026

    6th Circ. Weighs First Amendment Right To Court Videos

    Modern technology necessitates updated court-access rules, a representative for a University of Michigan professor told a Sixth Circuit panel Wednesday, saying that citizens should have access to audio and video recordings of public court proceedings in addition to written transcripts.

  • October 21, 2026

    Prison Union Fights BOP's Emergency Bid To Ax Labor Deal

    The Bureau of Prisons' push to immediately terminate its collective bargaining agreement does not constitute an emergency, a prison guards union argued Wednesday, urging a Connecticut federal judge to reject the agency's request to fast-track its bid to end the contract.

  • October 21, 2026

    Squire Patton Lands Akerman's Public Finance Co-Leader

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP announced Wednesday that it has added the co-chair of Akerman LLP's public finance group to bolster its capacity to handle public finance, healthcare finance and other matters.

  • October 21, 2026

    Forced Labor Tariff Lacks Justification, Biz Group Tells Court

    Near-worldwide tariffs deployed by the U.S. government to address imports produced with forced labor should be considered unlawful given that the underlying report for those measures fails to meet statutory requirements, a coalition of small businesses told the U.S. Court of International Trade.

  • October 21, 2026

    OPM's DOGE Data Access Was Unlawful, Judge Says

    The U.S. Office of Personnel Management unlawfully gave employees associated with the Department of Government Efficiency "broad" access to the sensitive personal information of millions of current and former federal workers, a New York federal judge has ruled.

  • October 21, 2026

    Trade Court Blesses Retroactive Korean Steel Duty Findings

    The U.S. Court of International Trade adopted a Federal Circuit reversal directing the court to allow the U.S. Department of Commerce to adjust its countervailable duty rate for a South Korean steel manufacturer by reconsidering earlier determinations.

  • October 21, 2026

    EU Says Trump's Russia Sanctions Waiver Weakens Pressure

    The European Commission said President Donald Trump's executive action waiving tariffs and economic sanctions against Russia last week was "regrettable" and would impede international pressures to end the country's war with Ukraine.

  • October 21, 2026

    Meta Owes $25B After NM Data Privacy Trial

    A New Mexico judge ruled Wednesday that Meta must pay $25 billion for the "systematically broadcast" lies the social media giant offered the public regarding its data privacy practices, including in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Expert Analysis

  • NY Bill Would Boost Litigation Risk For Cosmetics Cos.

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    The Beauty Justice Act, now pending in the New York Legislature, would not only present compliance challenges for companies making cosmetics and personal care products, but could also be used by private plaintiffs to bring consumer fraud, false advertising, toxic exposure and product liability claims, says Kadeejah Kelly-Previl at Faegre Drinker.

  • Appellate Vape Rulings May Expand State Regulation Powers

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    Two recent federal appeals courts decisions rejecting Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preemption challenges to state electronic nicotine delivery systems directory laws signal an emerging appellate consensus that could significantly expand states' power to regulate vaping product sales where federal enforcement falls short, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Parsing Gov't Scrutiny Of Lending To Unauthorized Workers

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    Attorneys at Mayer Brown explain guidance recently issued by three banking regulators that addresses risks associated with lending to so-called non-work authorized individuals and discuss what the regulatory update could mean for fintech companies.

  • Discovery Into Insurers' AI Use Should Stay Proportional

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    As insurers increasingly use artificial intelligence to make claim decisions, plaintiffs in first-party coverage litigation should seek discovery that tracks how materially the automated system influenced the challenged decision, not whether the insurer used AI somewhere in its operations, says attorney Joe Zaid.

  • How FCC Covered List Blitz Is Sidelining Commerce Dept.

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    The swath of recent Federal Communications Commission rulemakings raises serious questions about the purpose and future of Commerce's Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, and how the U.S. government will go forward in imposing national security regulation on domestic applications of adversary-linked technologies, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

  • DOJ Healthcare Declination Offers Self-Disclosure Checklist

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's declination of criminal charges against Campus Eye Management signals that its new self-disclosure policy provides a real path for healthcare companies to avoid criminal exposure, but that path is paved with speed, transparency and operational remediation, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Rubber Meets The Road

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rulemaking agenda shows its regulatory reset taking shape, with sweeping crypto proposals that could bring the biggest changes it has made to broker-dealer, exchange and trading compliance in decades, says Christopher Grobbel at Goodwin.

  • Monitor Exposure, Stay Flexible Amid Tariff Uncertainty

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    To navigate an unstable trade environment, businesses must evaluate their exposure to new tariffs invoked under a patchwork of statutory authorities and be prepared to adapt to further changes that may be on the horizon, says Bhargav Prajapati at Capital Trade.

  • CFPB Complaint Portal Overhaul Signals Changing Priorities

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's updates to its consumer complaint portal and decision to cease publishing consumer complaint narratives should be viewed by companies as one component of a larger recalibration of how the CFPB collects information and allocates its supervisory and enforcement resources, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Being In A Band Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing shows in storied New York City venues and rehearsing with my bandmates in poorly ventilated rooms helped develop the professional qualities I rely on as a litigator, including an ability to collaborate with strong-minded equals and the determination to treat each client with singular focus, says Eliad Shapiro at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Opinion

    Correctional Healthcare Requires Clearer Legal Standards

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    As the correctional healthcare industry increasingly faces financial instability due to litigation, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons should develop clear standards for constitutionally adequate care for incarcerated patients, says Susanne Moore at Blackstone Trial Group.

  • 6 Risk Areas Future Fla. Stablecoin Issuers Should Plan For

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    Companies hoping to issue stablecoins under Florida’s new supervision regime should prioritize constructing robust risk management architecture across key areas before the Oct. 1 effective date so they can secure licenses, avoid a web of potential liabilities, and operate sustainably as state and federal regulations evolve, says Elizabeth Brusa at Shumaker.

  • 6 Key Takeaways From CFIUS Annual Report

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    Attorneys at Simpson Thacher review highlights from the annual report of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., released to Congress this month, including the launch of the American First Investment Policy and the Known Investor Pilot Program, and the agency's continued focus on enforcement despite its resource constraints.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Surviving A Long Trial

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    Most of law school trial advocacy is geared toward the sprint of trying a short case, but beyond managing a cross-examination or closing argument, effectively handling the marathon of a lengthy trial requires the ability to maintain composure, organization and credibility with the jury, says Mihir Elchuri at Hirschler.

  • AI Chatbot's Medical Claims Highlight Enforcement Risks

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    The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine's recent lawsuit against Character Technologies, arguing that an artificial intelligence chatbot engaged in the unlicensed practice of medicine, may provide other state licensing boards with a road map for going after AI platforms, and counsel should advise clients to calibrate compliance accordingly, say attorneys at Cooley.

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