Public Policy

  • May 27, 2026

    Del. Judge Upholds Voting By Corporations In Local Elections

    The Delaware Superior Court has ruled that corporations, trusts, limited liability companies and other artificial entities may legally vote in municipal elections in the town of Fenwick Island, rejecting a constitutional challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware over what it called unlawful "vote dilution."

  • May 27, 2026

    IRS Asked To Quickly Release Fuel Credit Emissions Model

    Energy companies and farm representatives urged the IRS on Wednesday to expedite the release of an updated greenhouse gas emissions model reflecting the 2025 budget law's changes, saying the guidance is needed to determine eligibility for and calculate the clean fuel production tax credit.

  • May 27, 2026

    Live Nation Wants AGs' Discovery To Wait On New Trial Bid

    Live Nation has told a New York federal judge that its bids for a new trial or judgment in its favor should go before state attorneys general to get discovery as they seek the forced divestiture of Ticketmaster to address the live music giant's monopoly.

  • May 27, 2026

    Fla. Detention Site Pollutes, Environmental Group Tells Court

    An environmental nonprofit told a Florida federal judge Wednesday that the director of the state's disaster agency illegally authorized a fleet of diesel-burning equipment that pollutes protected land surrounding an Everglades immigrant detention center, leading to violations of the Clean Air Act.

  • May 27, 2026

    Squires Institutes 3 IPRs, Refuses Case With Limited Impact

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires granted three petitions for inter partes review in his newest bulk order and broke down why he previously rejected CyberSecure IPS LLC's challenge to a Network Integrity Systems Inc. optical fibers monitoring patent.

  • May 27, 2026

    FCC Soon To Enforce New Foreign Sponsor ID Regs

    The Federal Communications Commission will soon start to enforce Biden-era rules for broadcasters to disclose foreign sponsorship of leased airtime, after twice pushing back the industry's deadline to comply.

  • May 27, 2026

    Court Orders CBP Commish To Testify In Tariff Refund Suit

    The U.S. Court of International Trade requested that U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney S. Scott appear during a hearing scheduled for early next month to discuss the agency's plans for refunds of tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to orders issued Wednesday.

  • May 27, 2026

    NC Gov. Bars State Employees From Insider Prediction Betting

    North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Wednesday signed an executive order banning public employees from using information they learn at work to make bets on prediction markets.

  • May 27, 2026

    Judge Doubts Prison Bureau Claim Trans Care Isn't Banned

    A D.C. federal judge repeatedly challenged a Trump administration attorney's claims that a looming ban on gender-affirming care in federal prisons wouldn't amount to a categorical ban on hormone treatments for inmates as he weighed extending an injunction already stopping the policy from taking effect.

  • May 27, 2026

    $3.6B Cabinetry Merger Clears FTC Scrutiny

    MasterBrand Inc. and American Woodmark Corp. said they are on track to close MasterBrand Inc.'s $3.6 billion purchase of American Woodmark after clearing an in-depth Federal Trade Commission review.

  • May 27, 2026

    FCC Says T-Mobile Can Use Galileo Alongside GPS

    The FCC has granted T-Mobile's request to use the European Union's Galileo navigation system along with the Global Positioning System to update the 911 system.

  • May 27, 2026

    US Tells Justices To Hold 'Lightning Rod' Health Ministry Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court should hold out on deciding whether a New Mexico insurance law violates the religious rights of nonprofit healthcare-sharing ministries that provide cheap, Christian-focused health insurance options while the justices decide a similar case, the U.S. solicitor general told the court. 

  • May 27, 2026

    Judge Denies Relief In Challenge To La. Forced Prison Labor

    A federal court ruled that forced agricultural labor at Louisiana State Penitentiary does not violate federal law, leaving intact a form of punishment that prisoners and critics say exposes workers to degrading and unsafe conditions.

  • May 27, 2026

    Feds Say Detainees Can't Justify Stay In Biometric Fight

    The Trump administration told a D.C. federal judge that detained noncitizens challenging a policy that allegedly blocks their ability to provide the biometric information needed for benefit applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services couldn't justify their push to have it temporarily stayed.

  • May 27, 2026

    Mich. Tells FCC States Play Key Role In Network Regs

    Michigan's telecom regulator has urged the Federal Communications Commission not to go overboard on preempting state authorities as it pushes the country toward modernizing the phone networks, saying state-level regulations also play a critical role.

  • May 27, 2026

    Squires Says Sun PGR Petition Denied For Not Naming Parent

    Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.'s failure to name its parent company in its challenge to a Biofrontera Inc. patent was why its request for review was rejected early, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has said.

  • May 27, 2026

    Trump's China Visit Reveals Signs Of Continued Trade Truce

    Signals from President Donald Trump's visit to China indicate an ongoing trade truce with the U.S. may continue, though concrete details on tariff reductions and policy changes were largely absent from the meetings.

  • May 27, 2026

    3 States Back Advocate's Challenge To DOJ Medical Pot Rule

    The anti-cannabis advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana will be joined by three states in its legal challenge to the U.S. Department of Justice's final rule loosening federal restrictions on medical marijuana.

  • May 27, 2026

    US Implements Semiconductor Deal Cutting Taiwan Tariffs

    The U.S. is capping tariffs on certain Taiwanese products while eliminating some derivative tariffs on aircraft components as part of the implementation of a deal aimed at bringing semiconductor production to the U.S., the U.S. Department of Commerce said Wednesday.

  • May 27, 2026

    NC, Minors Get OK On Deal Limiting Solitary Confinement

    A North Carolina federal judge has given an initial seal of approval to a settlement placing limitations on the state's use of solitary confinement in juvenile detention facilities, resolving a class action that claimed the practice was unconstitutional.

  • May 27, 2026

    Trump Taps Ohio Appeals Judge For Federal Bench

    President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he's nominating state Judge Matthew Byrne as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Ohio.

  • May 27, 2026

    State Senators Win Texas Attorney General Primary Runoffs

    Republican state Sen. Mayes Middleton and Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson will face off in the November general election for Texas attorney general after beating their respective challengers in Tuesday's runoffs.

  • May 27, 2026

    CFPB Sued Over 'Drastic' Rollback Of Fair Lending Rules

    The National Fair Housing Alliance sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday to overturn the agency's recent rollback of its fair lending regulations, challenging it as an unjustified, unlawful dismantling of protections against credit discrimination.

  • May 27, 2026

    Wash. Says GEO Can't Evade Inspections Via ICE Contract

    Washington state officials asked a federal judge to allow it access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility to inspect its conditions, arguing private prison operator GEO Group is not immune from local public health and safety laws.

  • May 27, 2026

    FCC Approves More Drones For Sale On US Market

    The Federal Communications Commission has approved another round of drone systems for marketing in the U.S. after a federal government security review.

Expert Analysis

  • OhioHealth Suit Signals Higher Antitrust Heat On Hospitals

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    The recent antitrust lawsuit against OhioHealth by the U.S. Justice Department and Ohio attorney general shows that federal and state enforcers are closely examining the competition issues in the healthcare sector, including restrictive contracts and antisteering practices, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • OCC Rule Tests Nonfiduciary Powers Of Trust Banks

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's updates to its final rule on national bank chartering, effective April 1, may augur a showdown between the OCC, states and traditional banking institutions over both the authority of national trust banks to engage in nonfiduciary activities under the National Bank Act, and the scope of federal preemption, says Audrey Carroll at Stinson.

  • Proposed Oracle Act Tests NY's Prediction Markets Clout

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    New York's proposed Oracle Act could if passed force a high-stakes showdown over event contracts in the prediction markets as well as state gambling laws, and legal practitioners should closely monitor litigation, parallel developments in other states, Commodity Futures Trading Commission rulemaking and congressional action, says Linda Goldstein at CM Law.

  • How A High Court Music Piracy Ruling Shrinks ISP Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in Cox Communications Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, which concerned the boundaries of contributory copyright infringement for internet service providers, dramatically lessens both the risk that an ISP will be held contributorily liable and, relatedly, the incentives an ISP may have to help combat online copyright infringement, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How Cos. Can Prepare For California's Textile Recovery Act

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    Staged implementation of California's Responsible Textile Recovery Act, establishing the state's first extended producer responsibility program for apparel and textile articles, has begun — and companies that review their data readiness, contracts and exposure risks now will be best prepared when the act comes into full effect, says Thierry Montoya at FBT Gibbons.

  • 'A-C-T' Agenda Signals New Regulatory Era At SEC Speaks

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    At this year's SEC Speaks, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins unveiled his ambitious A-C-T agenda — advance, clarify and transform — to align the federal securities regulatory regime with modern markets, illustrating that the conference was not merely a status update but an action plan, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Opinion

    AI Presents A Make-Or-Break Moment For Outside Counsel

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    The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by corporate legal departments is forcing a long-overdue reset of the relationship between inside and outside counsel, and introducing a significant opportunity to shed frustrating inefficiencies and strengthen collaboration for firms willing to embrace the shift, says Intel Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.

  • Opinion

    USPTO Has A Chance To Correct Double-Patenting Doctrine

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    Now that the issue of obviousness-type double patenting is front and center before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Appeals Review Panel, the agency should put an end to the practice of rejecting earlier-expiring patents in favor of later-expiring ones, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • 1st AI Acquisition Regulation Raises Contractor Concerns

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    The General Services Administration’s recently published contract clause addressing artificial intelligence systems is problematic in a number of ways, underscoring the complex legal and practical issues that will need to be addressed as AI becomes more widely deployed in federal contracting, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • DOJ Actions Suggest Expansion Of Healthcare Enforcement

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    Recent actions by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggest that federal healthcare enforcement efforts are moving away from traditional program-based fraud and toward cases centered on product integrity, regulatory transparency and telehealth marketing, effectively widening the government's enforcement playbook, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • 8 Tariff Refund Questions For Restructuring Professionals

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    For restructuring and turnaround professionals, seeking refunds following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act raises several questions about how to capture legitimate recoveries while protecting an enterprise from the consequences of its own history, says Jonny Frank and Laura Greenman at StoneTurn, and Andrew Popescu at Province.

  • Defense Deals Can Trigger Extra HSR Filing With The DOD

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    Certain aerospace, defense and national security M&A transactions will require a concurrent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act filing to the U.S. Department of Defense, and practice tips for navigating this extra filing include early analysis of competitive implications of sector deals and planning for concurrent filings, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Navigating Life Sciences Deals Amid Heightened Scrutiny

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    With pricing reform initiatives, national security legislation and evolving trade policy currently contributing to meaningful uncertainty for life sciences companies, it is important to proactively structure deals to avoid downstream complications, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

  • NY Bill Elevates Criminal Risk For 'Shadow' Crypto Firms

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    New York's proposed CRYPTO Act would expose unlicensed digital asset operators to criminal penalties ranging from state misdemeanor charges to felony convictions, potentially marking a significant shift in how New York — already among the most aggressive crypto regulators — oversees virtual currency businesses, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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