Public Policy

  • May 21, 2026

    Meta Expert Says $27M Is Better Number For Abatement

    An economics expert for Meta testified Thursday against New Mexico's desired $3.7 billion plan to abate social media's harm to mental health, calling it more "a spending plan" than one for abatement and claiming $27 million will do the job.

  • May 21, 2026

    Trump Cites US AI Lead In Shelving Cybersecurity Directive

    President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly delayed the planned signing of an executive order to tackle cybersecurity concerns surrounding emerging artificial intelligence models, saying he was worried the proposal to encourage developers to voluntarily share their systems with the government for pre-release testing would impede innovation. 

  • May 21, 2026

    PBM Swaps Cravath For WilmerHale In Price-Fixing Suit

    Pharmacy benefit manager Prime Therapeutics LLC has replaced counsel Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP with WilmerHale and another firm in an antitrust case in Michigan federal court brought by the state's attorney general.

  • May 21, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Judge Overstepped In Fluoride Risk Case

    A Ninth Circuit panel scrapped a ruling that directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action to address potentially unsafe levels of drinking water fluoridation, concluding a California federal judge improperly commandeered the case.

  • May 21, 2026

    AT&T Sues Calif. To End Copper Wire Service Requirements

    AT&T asked a California federal court to preempt state regulations that require it to continue offering "plain old telephone service" to new customers, saying it needs to retire the "outdated" system to move forward with plans to devote $19 billion on modern telecom tech in the Golden State.

  • May 21, 2026

    11th Circ. Axes T-Mobile's Win In Ga. Tower Permit Dispute

    The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday vacated T-Mobile's win in a long-running fight with a Georgia city over a proposed cell tower, rejecting a widely used test over the infrastructure's need that the court called "irreconcilable" with the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

  • May 21, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Guatemalan Father-Daughter Duo BIA Cases

    A divided Ninth Circuit panel has revived a Guatemalan father and daughter's bids for protection from removal from the United States, finding on Thursday that the father faced extreme persecution in the Central American country when a family member repeatedly shot at their home in a drunken rage in an attempt to force them out.

  • May 21, 2026

    NY Cautions Banks About Cyber Risks From Advanced AI

    New York's financial services regulator issued new guidance Thursday on the risks associated with cutting-edge artificial intelligence, urging firms to make sure their cybersecurity programs can promptly flag weaknesses that so-called frontier AI models can exploit, among other things.

  • May 21, 2026

    U-M Student Says Pro-Palestinian Views Triggered Retaliation

    A University of Michigan student alleged in federal court Thursday he was harassed and stalked by school officials as retaliation for participating in pro-Palestinian protests and calling for the university to sever ties with Israel.

  • May 21, 2026

    Texas AG Accuses Meta Of Lying About WhatsApp Encryption

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Meta and the social media giant's messaging platform WhatsApp in Texas state court on Thursday, claiming the companies lied in promising that WhatsApp messages are private and "not even WhatsApp can see them."

  • May 21, 2026

    Vape Sellers Say Pa. E-Cig Law Usurps FDA Authority

    Vape companies are looking to stop a Pennsylvania law that would effectively ban most e-cigarettes, claiming in a federal lawsuit that the statute is unconstitutional, would destroy roughly $2 million of their inventory and targets products that federal regulators say helps smokers quit.

  • May 21, 2026

    SEC's Peirce To Join Law School Faculty After Agency Exit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Hester Peirce will join the faculty of Regent University School of Law this November after her time at the agency, the university announced, although the commissioner said her departure date has not yet been set.

  • May 21, 2026

    5 Podcasts To Keep IP Attys Entertained And Informed

    Whether intellectual property attorneys are hitting the road for a family trip or kicking their feet up at home, podcasts about legal news can offer an easy way for them to stay in the know while (hopefully) not working this Memorial Day weekend.

  • May 21, 2026

    FTC's Gender Care Policy Might Not Sink Probe, Judge Says

    A D.C. federal judge wondered Thursday whether it would set a bad precedent for future commissions to label the Federal Trade Commission's investigative demand to the American Academy of Pediatrics as "retaliatory" just because agency officials have issued a policy statement attacking gender-affirming care for minors.

  • May 21, 2026

    Minnesota Tribal Land Trust Order Was Biased, 8th Circ. Told

    Morrison County, Minnesota, and two townships are seeking to vacate a decision to take about 3,238 acres into trust for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, arguing it was based on a biased process in which the tribe pays Bureau of Indian Affairs' salaries to process trust requests.

  • May 21, 2026

    Consumers Want Prelim Block On Paramount-Warner Bros.

    Consumers challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s pending $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery asked a California federal judge Wednesday to preliminarily block the transaction while the case proceeds, arguing the threat of higher streaming costs and reduced news competition is too great, and it will be too hard to unscramble the egg after trial.

  • May 21, 2026

    Mich. Judge Expedites Suits Over Candidate Affidavit Rules

    A Michigan claims court judge has consolidated three election-related lawsuits challenging Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's rules and guidance regulating candidate affidavits of identity, while ordering expedited briefing as ballot certification deadlines approach for the August primary election.

  • May 21, 2026

    Newsom Order Eyes Labor Protections Amid AI Growth

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday issued what his office called a "first-in-the-nation" executive order aiming to shore up state labor policies in an effort to prepare workers and businesses in the event of mass workforce disruption caused by artificial intelligence.

  • May 21, 2026

    Feds Accuse Contractors Of DOD Bribery Scheme In Hawaii

    The U.S. Department of Justice has accused two Florida residents of conspiring to bribe a U.S. Army employee and defraud the federal government in connection with the development of a U.S. Department of Defense innovation lab in Hawaii.

  • May 21, 2026

    Legislative Update: Cannabis And Psychedelics Bill Roundup

    Virginia's governor vetoed legislation to establish adult-use marijuana sales, keeping the state in cannabis legal limbo; Illinois lawmakers introduced legislation to rein in hemp products, aligning state policy with an upcoming shift in federal law; and Louisiana lawmakers sent a bill to the governor that would allow terminally ill patients to access medical marijuana in healthcare facilities. Here are the major moves in cannabis and psychedelics legislation from the past week.

  • May 21, 2026

    Feds Tell 4th Circ. Maryland Judges Went Too Far On Removals

    The Trump administration told the Fourth Circuit that a district court wrongly deemed its suit challenging a standing order temporarily barring the immediate removal or transfer of detained noncitizens out of the District of Maryland a "branch-on-branch" dispute.

  • May 21, 2026

    Portugal Must Reclaim Illegal State Aid, EU Court Says

    The European Union's top court said Thursday that Portugal can't suspend tax enforcement proceedings against a company that benefited from unlawful state aid granted by the Madeira Free Zone.

  • May 21, 2026

    OCC Says Fintech Partner Bank Fell Behind On AML Controls

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has ordered Community Federal Savings Bank to strengthen its anti-money laundering controls after finding that the New York-based bank failed to keep pace with the risks from its fast-growing payment-processing business.

  • May 21, 2026

    DC Judge Says Gov't Must Tell Afghans About Visa Relief Limits

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to inform a certified class of Afghan nationals seeking special immigrant visas for aiding the U.S. government overseas about a proclamation that suspended visas for people from Afghanistan and dozens of other countries.

  • May 21, 2026

    NC Justices Told AG Powerless To Bring DuPont Pollution Suit

    The North Carolina attorney general does not have the authority to sue two DuPont spinoffs over contamination from forever chemicals because the same claims were already resolved by an order with state environmental regulators, the spinoffs told the Tar Heel state's high court.

Expert Analysis

  • Legal And Industry Impacts Of America's Maritime Action Plan

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    America's Maritime Action Plan, unveiled by the White House last month, introduces changes to trade investigations, a new maritime trust fund and more — adding regulatory and compliance obligations for companies and counsel, but also new avenues for client engagement in project finance, contract negotiation and dispute resolution, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 5 Gov't Contractor Tips Following Anthropic Risk Designation

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    The Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk is an unprecedented action that raises significant legal questions, and with government contractors already receiving directives and inquiries concerning their use of Anthropic products and services, there are several strategies contractors can use to manage risk, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • 6 Noteworthy Changes From SEC Enforcement Manual Update

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    Recent updates to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement manual represent a commitment to transparency and fair process, with the signature change being a requirement that staff make certain probative evidence available during the Wells process, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

  • How Internal Reporting Could Benefit Antitrust Whistleblowing

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    As the Justice Department's new antitrust whistleblower program stands to raise questions over the interaction between rewards and corporate leniency, incentivizing internal reporting first could increase the likelihood that the Antitrust Division receives the high-quality evidence needed to successfully prosecute cartel cases, says Daniel Oakes at Axinn.

  • What Texas Anti-Boycott Ruling Means For ESG Landscape

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    A Texas federal court's recent ruling in American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar that Texas' anti-ESG law is unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds will likely embolden legal challenges to similar laws in other states that have adopted fossil fuel boycott statutes, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How To Wield The Clarity Act As A Litigation Defense Tool

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    The Clarity Act is being discussed as a future compliance statute, but for litigators it can be used as a present-day defense tool to strengthen fair‑notice framing, argue for forward‑looking remedies rather than punitive ones and reprice settlement leverage as statutory clarity approaches, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: The Human Element

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    Law school teaches you to quickly apply intellect and logic when handling a legal issue, but every fact pattern also involves a person, making the ability to balance expertise with empathy critical to the growth of relationships with clients, colleagues and adversaries, says Rachel Adcox at Adcox Strategies.

  • As Justices Mull Suncor, Cos. Face New Climate Suit Realities

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Suncor Energy v. Boulder County — its first case analyzing the litigation impact of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding — companies must consider new preemption questions surrounding climate lawsuits after the rescission, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • 7 Steps For Gov't Contractors In Post-IEEPA Tariff Landscape

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    In response to U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down tariffs issued by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, there are several actions federal contractors should take to preserve their place in any refund waterfall, and to manage audit, overpayment and False Claims Act risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How DExit, Mandatory Arbitration Could Alter IPO Outlook

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    As companies continue to leave Delaware and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission begins allowing companies to implement mandatory arbitration provisions, these developments could have a major impact on the initial public offering, securities class action, and directors and officers insurance landscapes, says Walker Newell at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

  • How High Court Recast State Sovereign Immunity In Galette

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in Galette v. New Jersey Transit, asserting that the state-chartered transit agency has independent corporate personhood and sole obligation to pay judgments against it, turned on substance rather than form — and its analysis should be carefully reviewed in courthouses and statehouses, say attorneys at McCarter & English.

  • Get Smart: Navigating The Genius Act's Regulatory Gaps

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    While some recent Genius Act rulemaking has covered consumer protection issues within the stablecoin market, the context is generally narrow and the final outcome remains uncertain for financial institutions or companies in the evolving landscape, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Opinion

    Ga. HOA Reform Bills Risk Undermining Local Governance

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    Lawmakers considering several bills in Georgia that would centralize regulation of homeowners associations should acknowledge that effective reform needs to protect homeowners’ rights while preserving the financial and governance structures that allow communities to function, says Julie Howard at NowackHoward.

  • Why Prediction Market Regulation Is At Major Inflection Point

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    As prediction markets experience tremendous growth and rapid mainstream adoption, regulators have begun to exercise enforcement authority to ensure market integrity and protect participants, though forthcoming guidance will shed light on how aggressively the agencies will police the fast-changing landscape, say attorneys at Latham.

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