Public Policy

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Won't Let Pa. AG Enter Grid Project Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a plea from Pennsylvania's attorney general to let him intervene in Third Circuit proceedings that allowed an electricity transmission project to proceed despite having been rejected by state utility regulators.

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Reopens Review Of DOE Furnace Efficiency Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld Biden-era energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters and ordered the circuit court to take another look in light of the Trump administration's intent to revise the rules.

  • June 05, 2026

    NY Bill To Ban Surveillance Pricing Heads To Gov.'s Desk

    New York is on the brink of becoming the third state to prohibit companies from using consumer data to set individualized prices for certain products and services, as policymakers across the country continue to ramp up scrutiny on the increasingly prevalent practice known as surveillance pricing. 

  • June 05, 2026

    USDA Food Assistance Conditions Halted By Mass. Judge

    A Massachusetts federal judge Friday blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from conditioning funding for programs like school lunches and food assistance on compliance with Trump administration policies on gender, women's sports, diversity and immigration.

  • June 05, 2026

    Wash. Says 40-Year DV Gun Ban In Line With 2nd Amendment

    The Washington State Attorney General urged an Evergreen State federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a man prevented from gun ownership for 40 years due to his history of domestic violence against his ex-wife, arguing there was nothing unconstitutional about preventing him from owning weapons.

  • June 05, 2026

    Hemp Sellers Say Ohio Law Can't Mandate In-State Retail

    Hemp product manufacturers and sellers are looking to block an Ohio state law that reclassified their products as marijuana, which effectively handed the hemp market over to state-approved dispensaries, according to a federal lawsuit, which claims the statute violates the U.S. Constitution.

  • June 05, 2026

    HHS Can Issue Medicare Fines Without Jury, 4th Circ. Says

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can seek monetary penalties from Medicare participants for violating program requirements without a jury trial, rejecting a Maryland nursing home operator's argument that Medicare participants are guaranteed that right.

  • June 05, 2026

    Rail Co. Loses DC Circ. Appeal Challenging State Forest Law

    The D.C. Circuit rejected Grafton & Upton Railroad Co.'s effort to preempt a Massachusetts town's claim over forest land the railroad wants to use for a new transloading facility, finding Friday that the federal Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act doesn't preempt a state right-of-first-refusal law.

  • June 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Tribal Smoke Shop Owner's RICO Suit

    Officials with the Colorado River Indian Tribes must face a lawsuit brought by a smoke shop owner who claims they wrongfully evicted his business and stole its inventory, the Ninth Circuit ruled in a published opinion, saying tribal employees aren't automatically shielded by sovereign immunity.

  • June 05, 2026

    Trump Signs Memo To Speed Up AI Use For National Security

    President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday aimed at accelerating the development and use of artificial intelligence for national security applications and barring companies from preventing the U.S. military from using their AI systems unless they get approval to.

  • June 05, 2026

    Epic Fights Apple's Bid For High Court Sanctions Review

    Epic Games told the U.S. Supreme Court there's no need for high court review of a California federal court's contempt order against Apple for violating a ban on company policies that barred app developers from steering users to outside payment options.

  • June 05, 2026

    Quinnipiac Hit With Title IX Suit After Dropping Rugby Team

    Current and future players for a women's rugby team eliminated by Quinnipiac University sued in Connecticut federal court Friday to reinstate the team, accusing the school of Title IX discrimination and of using NCAA revenue-sharing rules as an excuse to cut it.

  • June 05, 2026

    Trans Patients Urge Blocking DOJ 'Campaign Of Harassment'

    Transgender adolescents urged a California federal judge Friday to block a Stanford Medicine hospital from sharing gender-related care medical records in response to a Texas grand jury criminal subpoena, arguing that other courts have rebuffed similar government subpoena attempts and the judge should end the DOJ's "campaign of harassment."

  • June 05, 2026

    7th Circ. Says Ind. Can Bar Press From Attending Executions

    A divided Seventh Circuit panel on Friday ruled that an Indiana prison rule restricting journalists' access to inmate executions does not violate the First Amendment, as reporters are not actually prevented from covering executions.

  • June 05, 2026

    NYC Beats Taxi Drivers' Unfair Suspensions Suit

    A New York federal judge has said the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission had probable cause for summarily suspending the licenses for taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers who've been arrested, but not convicted, rejecting a proposed class action alleging the drivers were maliciously prosecuted.

  • June 05, 2026

    EPA Asks 4th Circ. To Back 'Streamlined' Haze Plan Reviews

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Fourth Circuit to deny a petition challenging its approval of West Virginia's regional haze plan, saying it reasonably accepted the plan after proposing to reject it based on a new policy to streamline reviews.

  • June 05, 2026

    Texas Justices Say Cities Sued Wrong Party In Telecom Row

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday tossed a group of cities' challenge to state laws limiting what they can charge telecommunications companies to use public rights-of-way, finding the cities sued the wrong defendant and leaving the constitutional fight unresolved.

  • June 05, 2026

    GOP Lawmakers Target China With 2 Patent Bills

    Republican lawmakers are floating a pair of bills that would block anyone who is considered a national security threat from gaining a U.S. patent and require anyone with connections to "foreign adversaries" to list the association on an application.

  • June 05, 2026

    Coalition Urges Court To Halt Gov't Contractor DEI Order

    A coalition of nonprofits, university professors, federal contractors and subcontractors has asked a Maryland federal court to halt an executive order requiring government contractors to agree not to engage in "racially discriminatory DEI activities," arguing that they will continue to suffer irreparable harm if the order is not enjoined and stayed.

  • June 05, 2026

    Diocese Says Feds Already Working On Land Before Taking

    Attorneys for the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces in New Mexico clashed with the government Friday over reports that Border Patrol contractors are already working on a stretch of church-owned land the government wants for border wall construction but has not won the title to.

  • June 05, 2026

    DC Circ. Backs FERC In Midwest Grid Rate Refund Fight

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday affirmed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's order of refunds in a long-running dispute over rates charged by Midwest transmission owners, saying the agency heeded instructions the court gave in 2022 when it nixed previous FERC orders in the rate case.

  • June 05, 2026

    Builders Seek Redo On Biden-Era Labor Mandate Ruling

    An association of builders has urged the en banc Eleventh Circuit to rethink a panel's decision rejecting its attempt to secure an injunction blocking a Biden-era executive order requiring labor agreements for all federal contracts exceeding $35 million.

  • June 05, 2026

    Paramount Criticizes Consumers' Antitrust Suit As Unserious

    Paramount Skydance has asked a California federal judge to toss a consumer antitrust challenge to its pending $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying the lawsuit lacks essential elements to state a claim and criticizing the opposition for treating the litigation like a "sport" rather than a "serious matter."

  • June 05, 2026

    FCC Grants Amazon Leo's Waiver For Deployment Milestones

    The Federal Communications Commission has granted Amazon some leniency in meeting the deployment milestones of its Leo satellite system, which is meant to provide high-speed internet.

  • June 05, 2026

    Ex-City Council Member's 2nd Daughter Cops To COVID Fraud

    The second daughter of a former city council member in Charlotte, North Carolina, has pled guilty to her role in the family's alleged scheme to submit fake applications for federal loan assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, court records show.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Parsing Rule 12(c) Motion Overuse In Securities Class Actions

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    Defendants in securities class actions have more frequently been filing motions for judgment on the pleadings following the denial of motions to dismiss, but courts have recently demonstrated an increasing willingness to reject these previously rare motions, finding them transparent attempts to relitigate already-decided issues, say attorneys at Labaton Keller.

  • Preparing For New Calif. Pay Data Reporting Requirements

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    California's S.B. 464 overhauls the state's pay data reporting framework by requiring employers to use job categories that are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, increasing both the potential visibility of pay disparities and the complexity of compliance, say attorneys at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Series

    Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Michigan's financial services sector saw several significant developments in 2026's first quarter, including the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services' issuance of a bulletin on the use of artificial intelligence and the Michigan House's introduction of a bill based on the Model Money Transmission Modernization Act, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • Justices' Ruling Stresses Quick Action Against Absconders

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in Rico v. U.S. that a supervised release term is not automatically extended when a defendant absconds, probation officers and prosecutors risk being unable to address later violations if they don't act promptly to secure warrants, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • New DOD Framework Offers Key Guidance On PFAS Disposal

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    The U.S. Department of Defense's recently updated guidance on disposal of materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ends its moratorium on incineration of PFAS-containing waste, but contractors must be ready to demonstrate stringent compliance with the department's new permitting system, operational controls and data practices, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How Cos. Can Navigate The Patchwork Of AI Safety Bills

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    In the first few months of 2026, state and federal lawmakers introduced hundreds of bills to address the perceived safety risks of artificial intelligence, so companies should assess whether existing or planned services could be scoped into AI safety legislation across jurisdictions, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Unpacking FCC's Proposed Rules For Offshore Call Centers

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    The Federal Communications Commission recently proposed rules that would restrict the use of offshore customer service operations, citing consumer frustration, data security risks and fraud as core reasons for the sweeping regulatory move, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    As usual, California remained a hub for financial services activity in the first quarter of 2026, with key developments including the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation's eye on consumer issues, a bill targeting "pig butchering" schemes, and jam-packed courts, say attorneys at Joseph Cohen.

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