Public Policy

  • July 22, 2026

    States Seek Win Over Trump Admin In DEI Contracts Dispute

    Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are urging a Maryland federal judge to vacate federal agencies' implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order requiring government contractors to agree that they won't engage in "racially discriminatory" diversity, equity and inclusion activities.

  • July 22, 2026

    Writers Guild Wants Paramount-Warner Bros. Block Extended

    The Writers Guild of America asked a California federal judge Wednesday to extend the two-week injunction against Paramount Skydance's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, warning that permitting the deal to close while challenges proceed would allow the companies to shut down projects and share negotiation information.

  • July 22, 2026

    11th Circ. Mulls Forcing Board To Testify In Book Ban Suit

    Members of a Florida school board on Wednesday told the Eleventh Circuit they shouldn't be forced to testify on their reasons for banning library books about people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, arguing their actions are protected by legislative privilege. 

  • July 22, 2026

    FCC Overhauls 'Nutrition' Labels For Broadband Services

    Consumers can expect to soon see a change in broadband "nutrition" labels detailing the metrics of high-speed services after the Federal Communications Commission voted to overhaul the labeling rules Wednesday.

  • July 22, 2026

    Exxon Convinces 5th Circ. To Scrap OSHA Mental Illness Reg

    The Fifth Circuit nixed an Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule requiring employers to keep track of employees' work-related mental illnesses, concluding that Congress didn't give the agency authority to regulate mental health in the workplace.

  • July 22, 2026

    NJ Judge Says ICE Can't Detain Man Leaving Voluntarily

    A New Jersey federal judge Wednesday ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release a Colombian man it continued to detain after it had prevented the man from voluntarily leaving the country in line with an immigration judge's order.

  • July 22, 2026

    Bipartisan Bill Would Tax And Regulate Hemp THC Products

    Members of Congress on Wednesday unveiled a bipartisan bill to legalize, regulate and tax the manufacture and sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products, while a federal ban on virtually all consumable hemp products is still due to take effect in less than four months.

  • July 22, 2026

    Federal Judge Blocks NYC Uber, Lyft Driver Deactivation Law

    A New York federal judge has blocked New York City from enforcing a new ordinance prohibiting Uber and Lyft from "deactivating" drivers without formal notice and investigation, saying the ride-hailing companies have made a strong showing that the regulation unconstitutionally interferes with their contractual rights.

  • July 22, 2026

    Illinois Crypto Tax Unfairly Targets Traders, Suit Says

    Illinois' new tax on cryptocurrency, the first in the nation, discriminates against those who trade in crypto and is illegal, a trade group argued in a complaint in a state court.

  • July 22, 2026

    Bipartisan Bill To Speed Broadband Permits Clears Committee

    A bipartisan bill aimed at making federal agencies accelerate reviews of broadband permit applications passed the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday.

  • July 22, 2026

    FCC Clears Way For Upper C-Band Auction To Sell 160 MHz

    The Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to set up an auction to sell exclusive licenses in the upper C-band airwaves, getting the process moving at what FCC Chair Brendan Carr called an "unprecedented" speed following Congress' order last year to expedite the sale long awaited by wireless carriers.

  • July 22, 2026

    Retired Judges Rip Bid To Ban Foreign-Born Federal Judges

    A group of 58 retired federal judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, on Wednesday came out strongly against recent proposals from Republican lawmakers that would require federal judges to be natural-born U.S. citizens and relinquish any citizenship that is not of the United States.

  • July 22, 2026

    DOL IG Says Info-Sharing Pacts Lacked Safeguards

    U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito testified Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee that during the Biden administration, the department shared confidential information with plaintiffs' attorneys without notifying the Wage and Hour Division or the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

  • July 22, 2026

    Commerce Opens Probe Into Canadian Spray Foam Imports

    The U.S. Department of Commerce will determine whether spray foam systems assembled in Canada with Chinese components and then exported to the U.S. are circumventing duties placed on a foam-making chemical, the department said Wednesday.

  • July 22, 2026

    2 Charged In Alleged $52.7M COVID-19 Tax Scheme

    Two men have been indicted in Pennsylvania on allegations that they participated in a multistate conspiracy to bilk the government out of $52.7 million in a COVID-19-related false tax return scheme, according to federal prosecutors.

  • July 22, 2026

    States Say Nielsen Ruling Backs Claims In Live Nation Suit

    A recent Second Circuit ruling in a data-tying case was invoked Wednesday to support a motion by more than a dozen state attorneys general opposing Live Nation's attempt to overturn a federal jury verdict against the company.

  • July 22, 2026

    Pa. Justices Say Resisting Arrest Case Lacked Valid Warrant

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has held that convicting someone for resisting arrest when officers are trying to follow a warrant requires proof the underlying warrant was valid — vacating the conviction of a man arrested after a police database and dispatcher said he had bench warrants in his name.

  • July 22, 2026

    Indonesian, Malaysian Fatty Acids Face US Duties

    Imports of certain fatty acids into the U.S. from Indonesia and Malaysia are facing countervailing duties after the U.S. Department of Commerce determined Wednesday they are benefiting from government subsidies.

  • July 22, 2026

    Mich. Gets Judge With Blue Slips In 1st For Trump Admin

    The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 on Wednesday to confirm Michael Martin, a longtime federal prosecutor, to the Eastern District of Michigan and Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to the Sixth Circuit.

  • July 22, 2026

    Trade Court OKs Canadian Softwood Duty After 4 Remands

    A pair of Canadian softwood lumber producers' imports to the U.S. will be subject to a countervailing duty after the U.S. Court of International Trade signed off on the U.S. Department of Commerce's fourth pass at the rate calculation, finally resolving the dispute.

  • July 22, 2026

    Trump Admin Can't Get Suit Over $600M Cuts Transferred

    An Illinois federal judge ruled Tuesday that he has jurisdiction over a suit filed by Illinois and three other Democratic-led states over the Trump administration's termination of more than $600 million in public health funding and denied the federal government's bid to transfer the case to the Court of Federal Claims.

  • July 22, 2026

    Squires Grants 4 IPRs, Issues No Discretionary Denials

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has granted four more petitions for inter partes review, bringing his institution rate to just shy of 30%.

  • July 22, 2026

    5th Circ. Stays Lower Orders In 90-Day Bond Hearing Review

    The Fifth Circuit granted the Trump administration's request to pause several habeas judgments while the court reconsiders whether the federal government has the authority to detain noncitizens for more than 90 days without providing a bond hearing.

  • July 22, 2026

    Trump's Expiring Global Tariff Is Valid, US Tells Fed. Circ.

    President Donald Trump's temporary global tariff is lawfully authorized under a statute allowing the executive branch to address serious balance-of-payment deficits, a term that can easily be construed to include the economic conditions referenced in the implementing order, the government told the Federal Circuit.

  • July 22, 2026

    Wash. Law Bars Discriminatory HOA Enforcement, Panel Says

    The Washington State Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of the Washington State Human Rights Commission's administrative housing bias complaint against a homeowners association and other parties, ruling that the state's discrimination law stops homeowners associations from using their rules to discriminate against people.

Expert Analysis

  • Big Issues Linger After Senate Prediction Market Trading Ban

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    Whether the Senate can — or should — extend prediction market trading restrictions beyond itself will test not only the boundaries of insider trading law, but also the structural limits of legislative power in an era where information itself has become a tradable asset, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Trump's Psychedelics EO Creates A Regulatory Collision

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    Sponsors pursuing U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for psychedelic drug access must tackle how to generate regulatory-grade safety and efficacy data in controlled trials when President Donald Trump's recent executive order on psychedelics mandates uncontrolled access through Right to Try, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Odette Hauke at Odette Alina.

  • What Model Risk Guidance Update Means For Banks

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    Federal prudential regulators recently issued new model risk management guidance for banks that is designed to reduce prescriptive supervisory expectations and instead focus more on material financial risk, so banking organizations should reassess their model inventories, apply the new materiality framework and update their internal policies, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Recent Benchmarking Suits Highlight DOJ Enforcement Risks

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlements with RealPage and Agri Stats inform the level of antitrust risk surrounding the use of benchmarking services and suggest an aggressive enforcement approach, particularly with respect to granular data and nonprice data reporting, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Operational AI Washing: The Section 220 Information Strategy

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    Plaintiffs filing AI washing claims will likely use Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law to obtain internal board records, but 2025 amendments have fundamentally changed the landscape of presuit shareholder document demands in ways that create both risk and opportunity for companies, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • What New PFAS Rule Means For Tracking And Disclosure

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    In the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's publication of its rule adding PFHxS-Na to the Toxics Release Inventory, companies should identify this substance in their facilities and supply chains, and prepare for disclosures to both regulators and the public, says Ayodeji Ayolola at Gordon Rees.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Raises Bar For Avoiding Default Interest

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    Following a New York bankruptcy court's recent decision in 33 Mako, solvent debtors may find it significantly harder to avoid paying contractual default interest to oversecured lenders under Section 506(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 'Skinny Label' Arguments Spotlight Induced Infringement Risk

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    Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma highlight the uncertain boundary between lawful generic competition through so-called skinny labels and induced patent infringement, with potential implications for patent holders’ communication, enforcement and causation strategies across industries, says Anton Hopen at Trenam.

  • What Jury Holdouts Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Strategy

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    Though a hung jury can be a disappointment, a psychological understanding of jury holdouts can help trial lawyers shape their damages arguments and understand leadership and group composition as a function of jury selection, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

  • 'Mobile' Sources For On-Site Generation May Be A Risky Bet

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering treating large on-site generators used at data centers as mobile rather than stationary sources under the Clean Air Act, a significant policy change that would leave developers that adopt this solution at risk of regulatory reversals, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • AI Investment Advice May Fail Investor Protection Rules

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    Based on an ongoing study of artificial intelligence platforms' investment advice given to retail investors, direct access to AI may not yield recommendations for typical households that are suitable under relevant securities rules, raising new and important issues in the regulation of financial markets, says Bruce Carlin at Rice University.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

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    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

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