Public Policy

  • May 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Wash. City Workers' Vax Mandate Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday put an end to city workers' lawsuit challenging Bellingham, Washington's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that a lower court appropriately dismissed the action and barred the workers from amending their claims.

  • May 26, 2026

    Feds, Unified Patents, AT&T Push Back On High Court Bids

    The U.S. Supreme Court received objections to three patent petitions on Tuesday, with Unified Patents fighting Dolby's appeal of its own Patent Trial and Appeal Board win; AT&T and Nokia protesting an attempt to revive a $181 million trial loss; and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office opposing inventor Gilbert Hyatt's challenge to prosecution laches.

  • May 26, 2026

    Trump Admin Looks To Ax Expanded Suit Over Staffing Cuts

    A union-led coalition should not be allowed to pursue an expanded challenge to the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal workforce, the administration argued, telling a California federal judge that the lawsuit is turning into a "litigation safari."

  • May 26, 2026

    BofA Borrowers Urge High Court To Revisit NY Escrow Suit

    New York borrowers have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to again revive their claims for millions in mortgage escrow interest from Bank of America, arguing the Second Circuit's recent decision to free the bank for a second time still gets federal banking preemption wrong.

  • May 26, 2026

    DOJ Again Targets UCLA With Antisemitism Claims

    The Trump administration on Tuesday once again sued the University of California, Los Angeles over its handling of protests following Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, this time demanding that the university repay federal grants it received while it was allegedly "deliberately indifferent" to antisemitism on campus.

  • May 26, 2026

    Judge Says Ex-City Prosecutor's Bias Suit Should Be Tossed

    A Texas federal judge recommended Tuesday that a bias and retaliation suit against the city of Corpus Christi by a former assistant city attorney be tossed because he failed to show that comparable workers were treated better or that the city's performance-based reasons for firing him were false.

  • May 26, 2026

    Judge Nixes $28M DAPL Verdict To Pave Way For Deal

    A North Dakota federal judge agreed Tuesday to overturn the state of North Dakota's $28 million verdict against the U.S. for failure to control Dakota Access pipeline protesters, clearing the way for a settlement the parties have said is ready to go.

  • May 26, 2026

    Detainee Transfer Limit Must Be Nixed, Feds Tell Minn. Judge

    The Trump administration told a Minnesota federal judge on Friday that an order limiting its ability to transfer noncitizens from a holding facility in Minneapolis to detention centers outside the state is legally and operationally flawed.

  • May 26, 2026

    Colo. Justices Say Debt Buyer Must Show It Owns The Debt

    A debt buyer seeking to collect a debt must attach to its complaint a writing that shows the debt buyer owns the debt, the Colorado Supreme Court said Tuesday in ruling for a consumer who incurred a $671.29 credit card debt.

  • May 26, 2026

    AGs Say House Child Safety Bill Weakens States' Authority

    A group of 44 attorneys general for states including California, New York, New Jersey and Michigan have created a coalition opposing the House version of the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, H.R. 7757, and signed a letter to congressional leaders pointing out the shortcomings of the bill.

  • May 26, 2026

    Insurers Will Pay Bulk Of $10M Wrongful Conviction Deal

    A North Carolina man who claimed through a guardian that he was coerced as a teen into falsely confessing to the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl has agreed to a $10 million deal with the state and county law enforcement, in which insurers will foot most of the bill.

  • May 26, 2026

    Trump Admin Wants Federal Workers To Sign NDAs, Citing Leaks

    President Donald Trump's administration ​on Tuesday announced that it wishes to require federal employees with access to sensitive government information to sign a nondisclosure agreement, citing recent leaks related to immigration enforcement operations and the release of personal information belonging to approximately 4,500 Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees.

  • May 26, 2026

    3rd Circ. Stay Blocks Khalil's Removal For High Court Appeal

    The Third Circuit on Tuesday granted former Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil's request to stay a split panel decision in his immigration case, blocking his detention and removal while he seeks to have the ruling reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • May 26, 2026

    Schools Fight New Lead Counsel, Cert. In Aid-Fixing Suit

    Five private universities that have yet to settle with students over the alleged fixing of financial aid offerings argued Tuesday that an Illinois federal judge should deny them class certification rather than allow them to tap different lead counsel after misrepresentations regarding one firm's purportedly contingent casework have come to light.

  • May 26, 2026

    SEC's Atkins Floats Loosening IPO Communication Rules

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said Tuesday evening that the agency is in the process of writing rules aimed at encouraging more companies to go public, including by potentially relaxing prohibitions on communication between prospective public companies and investors.

  • May 26, 2026

    6th Circ. Rejects Mich. Reproductive Rights Challenge

    Abortion opponents and several parents lack standing to sue top Michigan officials, the Sixth Circuit said Tuesday, affirming dismissal of a suit challenging the state's voter approved reproductive rights amendment.

  • May 26, 2026

    Wash. Tribal Site Secrecy Cuts Against Injunction, Court Told

    A Washington telephone company says a bid by the Lummi Nation to seal information containing the locations of sensitive archaeological sites undermines the tribe's claims that a preliminary injunction is necessary since maintaining the confidentiality of those locations mitigates the alleged risk of potential looting.

  • May 26, 2026

    Apple, OpenAI Say X Is Refusing To Allow Some Depositions

    Apple Inc. and OpenAI Inc. told a Texas federal court that X Corp. wrongly stymied their ability to take depositions from X employees amid the social media company's sweeping antitrust suit, saying that X has refused to schedule the required number of depositions.

  • May 26, 2026

    FTC Tells DC Circ. That Meta Monopoly Judge Botched Timing

    The Federal Trade Commission has urged the D.C. Circuit to revive its lawsuit accusing Meta of monopolizing personal social media through its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram, arguing the district court wrongly held the question of monopoly to when the case went to trial, not when the FTC sued.

  • May 26, 2026

    Copyright Suits Against Jan. 6 Attys Won't Be Tossed

    Attorneys who represented Jan. 6 defendants will have to face a consultant's claims that they copied her jury-attitude report without permission after a D.C. federal judge rejected their arguments that their conduct fell under fair use and the public's right to access court records.

  • May 26, 2026

    FCC Clears Drone Counter System To Deploy At World Cup

    The Federal Communications Commission told an Israeli company the agency's rules do not prohibit law enforcement authorities from using the firm's drone-countering system during the World Cup, but said waivers might be needed for deployment at other events.

  • May 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Ruling Must End Land Transfer Suit, Copper Co. Says

    Resolution Copper Co. is asking a federal court to dismiss an amended religious freedom and constitutional challenge to a Tonto National Forest 2,500-acre land exchange that includes an ancient Apache worship site, arguing it recycles claims that the Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court have already rejected.

  • May 26, 2026

    Colo. High Court Says Broken Signal Waived City's Immunity

    The Colorado Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the City of Colorado Springs isn't immune from a driver's lawsuit claiming the city was negligent for a car accident caused by a malfunctioning traffic light.

  • May 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Reinstating DEI Grants Nixed By Trump

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday partially upheld a lower court's preliminary injunction and class certification orders in litigation from University of California researchers against President Donald Trump, backing the reinstatement of grants terminated due to presidential orders against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while reversing the injunction for those grants that were rescinded without explanation.

  • May 26, 2026

    Conn. Drug Price Law Still Allows Hikes, 2nd Circ. Told

    Wholesale distributors that abide by Connecticut's drug price cap law can hike the cost of their other products to ensure they don't suffer losses, the state told the Second Circuit Tuesday, raising the ire of the companies trying to invalidate the new statute.

Expert Analysis

  • '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.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • AG Watch: Reconciling 2 Maryland Data Privacy Statutes

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    In-house counsel should map the interplay between the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act's strictly necessary standard to deliver a requested service, and the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act's exemption of consent-based pricing within loyalty programs, before the state attorney general begins enforcement on the latter in October, says Erek Barron at Mintz.

  • EPA Listing Signals New Scrutiny Of Drugs In Drinking Water

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    The recent publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest draft drinking water contaminant list highlights pharmaceuticals as a category of concern, marking the start of a process that could shape future research priorities, monitoring requirements, and federal and state actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • New Cuba Sanctions Raise Risks For Foreign Banks, Cos.

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    President Donald Trump's bold move leveling secondary sanctions against Cuba expands enforcement risk for foreign banks and companies with no U.S. nexus, signaling that non-U.S. businesses should reassess related transactions, counterparties and exposure as regulators test this broader authority, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • SEC Clarifies 'Baby Shelf' Restrictions For Small Cos.

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    For smaller public companies looking to access the capital markets, the so-called baby shelf requirements can be a significant limitation, but recent guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission helps to alleviate the effect of subsequent baby shelf restrictions on an at-the-market facility, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Nexstar Offers A Cautionary Tale On State-Level Deal Scrutiny

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    State-enforcement challenges to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger remind legal practitioners that federal approval isn't always sufficient to deliver certainty on closing, integration and timetable assumptions, says Brett Story at Britehorn Securities.

  • How 'Bundling' Enforcement Is Parsing Efficiency, Access

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    Recent antitrust enforcement actions have taken a selective view of companies' bundling of products or services — challenging it when it shuts out rivals, but tolerating it when it creates efficient scale — making the real test now less about lower prices than about whether competition is being blocked, says attorney Alan Kusinitz.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • How Treasury's Stablecoin Test Will Shape State Oversight

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    The Treasury Department's recently proposed principles for judging whether state stablecoin regimes are "substantially similar" to the federal framework signal that issuers should expect stricter benchmarking against the bank agencies' standards, limited state flexibility and heightened pressure to reassess compliance as rules take shape, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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