Public Policy

  • April 24, 2026

    Dem PAC's Ad Didn't Defame Roy Moore, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit tossed on Friday an $8.2 million defamation verdict awarded to former Alabama judge Roy Moore over claims that a Democratic PAC's ad suggested he solicited a minor for sex, revising the court's standard for defamation suits and ruling he failed to meet it.

  • April 24, 2026

    LA Fitness Fights Uphill To Toss FTC's Gym Cancellation Suit

    LA Fitness urged a California federal judge to reconsider his tentative order refusing to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission's suit challenging its cancellation policies advising members to send forms through certified or registered mail, arguing Friday the gym only recommended, but never required cancellation notices be sent in that fashion.

  • April 24, 2026

    Feds Fight Ex-Rep.'s Acquittal Bid In Venezuela FARA Case

    Federal prosecutors urged a Florida U.S. district judge to reject an attempt by politician David Rivera and a political consultant to escape charges for allegedly failing to register as foreign agents while secretly representing Venezuela's state-owned oil company, saying the charges aren't too late.

  • April 24, 2026

    Calif.'s High Court Seeks Stronger Rules On False Statements

    California's Supreme Court has rejected the State Bar's proposed rule changes in response to threats and violence against the judiciary — asking for a redraft saying lawyers who make false and reckless statements against judges and judicial officers may be disciplined even if the lawyer "reasonably disagrees with a ruling."

  • April 24, 2026

    Tatneft Calls Stay Order In $173M Suit 'Checkmate'

    One of Russia's largest oil companies has urged the D.C. Circuit to expedite its appeal of a lower court decision refusing to lift a stay order as PAO Tatneft looks to enforce a $173 million arbitral award against Ukraine, calling the order "checkmate with no way out."

  • April 24, 2026

    Judge Shields More Colleges From Admissions Data Survey

    A Boston federal judge on Friday blocked enforcement of the federal government's demand for seven years' worth of college admissions data from dozens of universities, following an earlier ruling enjoining the U.S. Department of Education survey for the public colleges of 17 states.

  • April 24, 2026

    States Seek Early Win In Challenge To Trump Mail-In Ballot EO

    A coalition of Democrat-led states is asking a Massachusetts federal judge to permanently block core provisions of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting mail-in voting, arguing the directive unlawfully encroaches on states' authority over elections and violates the Constitution's separation of powers.

  • April 24, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Renew Wash. Developer's Suit Against County

    A Ninth Circuit panel declined Friday to resurrect a Washington developer's lawsuit accusing Whatcom County officials of violating its constitutional rights by scaling back a housing development plan, concluding that the firm hasn't shown a protected stake in the property that it offloaded during Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

  • April 24, 2026

    Pa. Beats Challenge To Rule Keeping Voter Records Offline

    Pennsylvania's procedures for requesting copies of its voter rolls comply with the National Voter Registration Act, but so does a state rule preventing a national group from publishing that information on the internet in its hunt for voter fraud, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • April 24, 2026

    One Certainty As Tariff Refunds Start: 'There Will Be Litigation'

    The launch of the refund process for tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court marks the start of lengthy and multifaceted court battles as companies fight with consumers — and amongst themselves — about who gets a slice of the $166 billion pie, experts told Law360.

  • April 24, 2026

    Press And Watchdog Groups Sue Over Presidential Records

    Two press freedom and oversight watchdog groups are suing the Trump administration over its decision to stop complying with the Presidential Records Act, arguing that an opinion published by the U.S. Department of Justice declaring the law unconstitutional is threatening permanent destruction of important White House records.

  • April 24, 2026

    Feds Say Species Suit Is Moot After Gulf Drilling Exemption

    The Trump administration has said that a federal committee's recent exemption of oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico from Endangered Species Act requirements moots a lawsuit challenging federal evaluations of offshore drilling's effects on endangered species.

  • April 24, 2026

    Scores Of Orgs. Oppose FCC's Effort To Redo E-Rate Program

    The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition already raised the alarm earlier this month about the FCC's plan to consolidate E-rate program bids into a single portal, but now it's back with dozens of education and library organizations that also think the portal is a bad idea.

  • April 24, 2026

    Bank Asks 2nd Circ. To OK Fed-Blocked Mortgage Program

    Canandaigua National Corp. has urged the Second Circuit to overturn a Federal Reserve Board decision that denied the community bank's request to introduce a cash guarantee program for homebuyers, arguing the agency wrongly treated the plan as off-limits under what the company called an outdated legal view that banks should not own real estate.

  • April 24, 2026

    Lawmakers Back $5.7M For Conn. Official's 23 Years In Prison

    The Connecticut Legislature's Joint Committee on Judiciary voted Friday to compensate a local politician $5.7 million for 23 years he spent in prison after a murder conviction, overcoming objections from the victim's family and the concerns of some lawmakers that the evidence underlying Maceo "Troy" Streater's claim did not meet the necessary standard.

  • April 24, 2026

    Mich. Panel Revives Open Meetings Claim In Pot License Fight

    A Michigan appellate court panel has restored an Open Meetings Act challenge to a city's recreational marijuana licensing process, ruling its closed-door review of applications for two retail licenses must face further scrutiny even as the court upheld dismissal of claims that an ordinance violated state cannabis law and constitutional protections.

  • April 24, 2026

    NYC Council Plans Small-Lot Housing Update, Advisory Panel

    New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin on Friday announced construction code reforms that she said could create up to 35,000 new housing units on small lots across the city, along with a new panel of experts to advise the council on housing affordability.

  • April 24, 2026

    National Parks Signage Order Diverts Resources, Court Told

    Conservation groups looking to block an Interior Department order regarding the removal of signs containing information about slavery, Indigenous nations and climate change from national park sites say the directive has caused them to divert resources and pressured their members to self-censor or defy best practices for historical interpretations.

  • April 24, 2026

    AT&T Seeks To Shut Down Old Services Due To Roadwork

    AT&T already wants to retire older copper networks in places where wire has been stolen, and now the telecom giant also is asking for the Federal Communications Commission's go-ahead to close parts of networks where roadwork or other events would cause disruption.

  • April 24, 2026

    Fed Bill Targets Colo. Tribal Water Backlog With $10M Boost

    A coalition of Colorado federal lawmakers introduced legislation this week that will prioritize drinking water projects for tribal communities in the Upper Colorado River Basin by increasing funding for programs by $10 million annually.

  • April 24, 2026

    FCC Ready To Revoke Mont. FM License For Back Fees

    The Federal Communications Commission will consider revoking the license of a Montana FM radio station that the agency claims has not paid regulatory fees going back years and totaling thousands of dollars.

  • April 24, 2026

    11th Circ. Seems Skeptical Of Standing Args In Ga. Voter Suit

    An Eleventh Circuit panel Friday appeared wary of arguments that two men's lack of confidence in Georgia's electoral process and their attempts to contact the state's secretary of state about alleged voter registration anomalies gave them standing to sue under the National Voter Registration Act.

  • April 24, 2026

    Trump Admin Seeks Stay Of Vax Policy Suit Pending Appeal

    The Trump administration has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to press pause on a challenge to its new childhood vaccine schedule while it considers appealing the court's order blocking the changes, a request the plaintiffs called a delay tactic.

  • April 24, 2026

    Wis. Takes On Prediction Market Cos. Over 'Illegal' Betting

    Wisconsin has joined the fight with other states to regulate prediction market platforms under their respective state gambling laws, telling a Wisconsin state court that the platforms are engaging in criminal activity and creating a public nuisance.

  • April 24, 2026

    ICE Says 'Speculative' Harms Can't Block NJ Detention Center

    Federal officials are urging a New Jersey federal judge to reject a bid from the state and one of its municipalities to block work on a planned immigration detention center, arguing the plaintiffs lacked standing and relied on "highly speculative and unrealistic" environmental and infrastructure harms.

Expert Analysis

  • FDA Guidance May Move Goalposts For Form 483 Responses

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    New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides formal insight on how drug manufacturers are expected to respond to Form 483s, raising some concerns about the agency's timelines and expectations, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Understanding The SEC's Consequential Crypto Guidance

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent interpretive release — its most comprehensive statement ever on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto-assets — reimagines the Howey test to resolve long-standing questions over what is a security, but leaves many issues unresolved, say attorneys at Cahill.

  • Ohio Case Reflects States' Aggressive Criminal Antitrust Turn

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    The Ohio Attorney General's Office’s recent bid-rigging indictment of an online auctioneer is the latest signal that states, through attorneys general pursuing more kickback cases and legislators expanding the reach of antitrust laws, are shedding their historical reluctance to wield their criminal antitrust enforcement powers, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Justices' Geofence Ruling May Test 4th Amendment's Future

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court decides in Chatrie v. U.S. whether law enforcement may use geofence warrants to compel Google to disclose location history data, the ruling is likely to become an important statement about the future of Fourth Amendment law in data-driven investigations, says Duncan Levin at Levin & Associates.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    In the first quarter of 2026, New York's banking developments were headlined by initiatives to expand oversight of financial institutions and strengthen consumer protection laws, including a new framework for buy now, pay later lenders, a sweeping debt collection rule and a revised corporate self-disclosure program for financial crimes, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Seeking A Policy Fix As Merger Reporting Fight Continues

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    A recently announced request by the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice for public comment on the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger reporting requirements, as litigation challenging the commission's updated requirements continues, suggests the government's willingness to address how best to support modern merger enforcement without unduly burdening filing parties, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • What New Fla. Citizens Bill Means For Surplus Lines Insurers

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    A Florida bill recently passed by the Legislature as part of a continued effort to depopulate Citizens Property Insurance, the state's insurer of last resort, creates an additional pathway for commercial policies to be written by surplus lines insurers, but also presents concerns of unnecessary regulation, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • What Voluntary Calif. Carbon Reports Show About Compliance

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    While the enforcement of California's S.B. 261 is currently paused due to a Ninth Circuit injunction, more than 130 companies have nonetheless chosen to voluntarily publish climate-related financial risk disclosures, providing a useful snapshot of how the market is interpreting the law's requirements in practice, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • PTAB Memo Recenters Discretion On US Manufacturing

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    Read alongside recent Federal Circuit decisions, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires' memo on patent denial considerations emphasizes domestic manufacturing in a way that the International Trade Commission does not require, says Brandon Theiss at Volpe Koenig.

  • Why MDLs Slow Down — And How To Speed Them Up

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    Multidistrict litigation has become central to mass tort practice, but as MDLs grow in size and complexity, so do delays and costs — so tools like the new federal rule governing MDLs, targeted use of special masters and strategically deployed Lone Pine orders are more essential than ever, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

  • 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.

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