Public Policy

  • May 14, 2026

    NC Republicans Want Fetal Personhood Question On '26 Ballot

    Two Republicans in the North Carolina House who have a history of advancing so-called fetal personhood bills have made another attempt to put a constitutional amendment to voters in November to decide if life begins at fertilization.

  • May 14, 2026

    EPA Floats Relaxation Of Coal Plant Waste Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to relax Biden-era rules requiring coal-run power plants to treat toxic wastewater so it doesn't seep into waterways, saying the move would reduce the cost of electricity by more than $1 billion a year.

  • May 14, 2026

    Squires Walks Back 5 More IPR Grants Over Inconsistent Args

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has reversed earlier decisions granting five petitions for patent review, citing what he called the challengers' inconsistent positions in parallel proceedings and explaining that four petitions he denied in previous bulk orders were also rejected for the same reasons. 

  • May 14, 2026

    Squires Ends IPR After Railway Co. Surrenders Patent Claim

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has de-instituted a Patent Trial and Appeal Board review after National Steel Car Ltd. disclaimed the only parts of its patent the board thought could be invalid, saying they should "be treated as though they never existed."

  • May 14, 2026

    Boulder Tent Ban Survives Colo. Rights Challenge Appeal

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel unanimously found that two city of Boulder ordinances that ban sheltering in public spaces don't violate the Colorado Constitution, shooting down constitutional challenges from a now-defunct nonprofit and several Boulder residents, according to an opinion announced Thursday.

  • May 14, 2026

    Newsom's Budget Change Targets Credits, SaaS, LLC Tax

    California would make permanent its business tax credit limit, apply the sales tax to digital prewritten software and cut in half the $800 minimum tax for limited liability companies under a revised budget announced Thursday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • May 14, 2026

    States Eye AI Ownership Laws To Fill Federal IP Gaps

    States are beginning to test whether they can fill a gap left by federal copyright and patent law for works created with artificial intelligence, with Arkansas adopting a first-of-its-kind ownership rule for generative content and lawmakers elsewhere weighing their own proposals.

  • May 14, 2026

    Farmworkers Lose Early Bid To Halt DOL H-2A Wage Rule

    A California federal judge declined Thursday to block a U.S. Department of Labor regulation reducing wages for H-2A seasonal farmworkers, ruling that United Farm Workers failed to show there is an immediate injury that warrants court intervention now.

  • May 14, 2026

    Verizon's Array Buy Gets Green Light From FCC Staff

    Verizon secured approval Thursday from the Federal Communications Commission to buy up spectrum assets of the former rival UScellular, now known as Array Digital Infrastructure Inc.

  • May 14, 2026

    Voting Maps, Ballot Deadline Teed Up For Ga. Special Session

    Georgia lawmakers will reconvene for a special session in June to redraw the state's electoral maps in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling and to address a fast-approaching deadline to find a replacement method for tabulating votes that does not involve QR codes.

  • May 14, 2026

    Algorithms In Senate Spotlight After Social Media Suit Losses

    Lawyers and parents on Wednesday urged lawmakers to strengthen protections for children online, focusing on the addictiveness of social media algorithms after two recent trial losses for Big Tech.

  • May 14, 2026

    House Passes Bill To Narrow Biofuel Blending Exemption

    The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would lift summertime restrictions on the sale of higher-ethanol fuel and tighten requirements for a biofuel blending exemption for small refineries.

  • May 14, 2026

    Fla. Property Manager To Pay Evicted Sailor $60K In DOJ Deal

    A Florida property management company will pay $60,000 to a U.S. Navy sailor to settle allegations by federal prosecutors that the company used a false affidavit to win an eviction that forced the sailor to live apart from his wife — at times on a Navy ship with no heat.

  • May 14, 2026

    House Panel Backs Bill To Recast Copyright Office Oversight

    A U.S. House committee Thursday unanimously advanced a bill that would change how the Copyright Office chief is selected, requiring congressional leaders to recommend candidates while allowing the president to make the final selection — a shift that would give both branches of government a more direct role in choosing the agency's leadership.

  • May 14, 2026

    EPA Proposes Delaying Biden-Era Vehicle Emissions Regs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a two-year extension on Thursday for the compliance deadline for Biden-era vehicle emissions standards, saying the policy was based on an overestimation of electric vehicle demand.

  • May 14, 2026

    Florida AG Subpoenas NFL Over Diversity Hiring Rules

    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier expanded his inquest into the NFL and subpoenaed league officials after they pushed back against the threat of a lawsuit for allegedly using discriminatory hiring practices in violation of state law. 

  • May 14, 2026

    Senate Bill Would Require Network Outage Refunds

    A Democratic senator filed legislation that would require cable, satellite, internet and phone providers to refund customers for service outages lasting longer than four hours.

  • May 14, 2026

    Conn. Mayor Given Gag Order For Talking To Press About Trial

    A Connecticut mayor placed the integrity of a wrongful conviction trial "at grave risk" by speaking to the media, a judge said in issuing a gag order this week, also noting that the jury will be instructed on the importance of ignoring news stories.

  • May 14, 2026

    Mich. Court Freezes $2.5M In Grants Meant For Baseball Parks

    A Michigan court has granted a preliminary injunction ordering the state Department of Labor and Economic Development to halt disbursements of $2.5 million in community enhancement grants to two minor-league baseball stadiums pending the outcome of a Mackinac Center for Public Policy suit claiming earmark funds were illegally appropriated.

  • May 14, 2026

    Ex-Immigration Judge Says DOJ Targeted Dissenters, Others

    A former immigration judge in Massachusetts said in a lawsuit brought Thursday that he was fired in a purge of those with "political ideologies contrary to those held" by the Trump administration in violation of his First Amendment rights.

  • May 14, 2026

    Ill. Rep.'s Ex-Aide Pleads Not Guilty To COVID Relief Fraud

    An Illinois congressman's former deputy district chief accused of securing fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits through a COVID-19 pandemic relief program pled not guilty to the charges Thursday in federal court.

  • May 14, 2026

    High Court Must End Colo. Climate Suit, Oil Cos. Say

    Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil urged the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to reverse a Colorado Supreme Court ruling allowing local communities to pursue state law tort claims for climate change damages, arguing their claims are "avowedly interstate and international in scope."

  • May 14, 2026

    FDIC Signs Off On Stellantis Industrial Bank Bid

    Stellantis, the company behind Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge cars, has received Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. clearance to open a U.S. industrial bank, a move that will put all of Detroit's "Big Three" automakers on track to own federally insured lenders.

  • May 14, 2026

    High Court Maintains Abortion Pill Access Amid Circuit Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday extended a stay preserving telehealth access to the abortion medication mifepristone while the Fifth Circuit weighs a challenge to the mail-order distribution of the pill.

  • May 14, 2026

    Advocacy Groups, Dems Seek To Restore Digital Equity Fund

    A year after the Trump administration abruptly pulled funds set aside for digital equity grants, Democratic lawmakers are joining with public interest groups in trying to block a budget proposal that would permanently stamp out the program.

Expert Analysis

  • The Growing Importance Of Nature-Related Disclosures

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    The International Sustainability Standards Board's recent vote to develop nonmandatory nature‑related disclosure guidance reduces immediate compliance pressure, but it does not eliminate the practical relevance of such risks for companies that already prepare sustainability reports or operate across jurisdictions with differing expectations, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Rightsizing Regulation To Usher In Next-Generation Nuclear

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    Next-generation nuclear seems to be having its moment as a recent flurry of Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemaking aims to fast-track the licensing and deployment of such technologies, says Hilary Jacobs at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Live Nation Shows States, Experts Key To Antitrust Verdicts

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    A New York federal jury's recent finding that Live Nation unlawfully monopolized primary ticketing services and amphitheaters demonstrates that states will not defer to federal agencies when they believe anticompetitive conduct warrants stronger action and highlights the vital role of economic expert testimony in antitrust cases, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Expect US Enforcers' Cartel Crackdown To Continue

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    Since agencies’ coordinated enforcement efforts targeting cartel-related activity have not slowed, U.S. companies in Latin America should assess new business lines for designated-cartel ties, scrutinize highest-risk third parties, and enhance training and internal investigation practices, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How To Limit Accounting Fraud Risk As SEC Focus Persists

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    Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pullback on crypto, cybersecurity and recordkeeping cases, accounting fraud remains a core enforcement priority, making it important for public companies and auditors to strengthen controls, investigations and whistleblower processes, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • OCC Proposal Frames Key Genius Act Implementation Issues

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently proposed rule under the Genius Act previews federal expectations on permissible activities for stablecoin issuers, offering an early guide to potential compliance burdens and state-federal equivalency debates as the stablecoin regulatory regime continues to take shape, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • FCC Rule Changes Could Accelerate The Space Economy

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    A series of recently proposed Federal Communications Commission rulemakings that would expand opportunities for commercial space and satellite operations signal a regulatory shift toward greater flexibility, faster processing and more deliberate spectrum planning for space-adjacent and emergent space activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 9th Circ.'s Silence Prolongs Uncertainty On Cemex Framework

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    By affirming a bargaining order in Cemex Construction Materials v. National Labor Relations Board without opining on the NLRB’s 2023 expansion of its authority to issue such orders, the Ninth Circuit avoided direct conflict with the Sixth Circuit’s rejection of the same framework, prolonging uncertainty for employers facing union elections, say attorneys at Dinsmore & Shohl.

  • Arguments Show Justices Vacillating On Geofence Warrants

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    Questions and statements by the justices during recent oral arguments in Chatrie v. U.S., probing the Fourth Amendment limits of geofence warrants, revealed a Supreme Court that is skeptical of the government’s most sweeping claims, uncomfortable with the petitioner’s broadest theories and searching for a narrow off-ramp, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Surveying The CFTC Campaign To Control Prediction Markets

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is simultaneously asserting exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and signaling aggressive enforcement within them, a combination that will reshape the regulatory landscape for event contract platforms — pending the outcome of several court cases throughout the country and a likely circuit split, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • FinCEN Rule Could Reshape AML Priorities Across Finance

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    Financial institutions should prepare for a proposed Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule that would heighten scrutiny of anti-money laundering requirements and encourage responsible use of technology, potentially reorienting compliance, governance decisions and enforcement exposure for organizations across the financial sector, not just banks, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Should Institute A New Enforcement Scorecard

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    Amid controversy over the recent release of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's annual enforcement statistics, the SEC should use a new scorecard that measures how well the Division of Enforcement detects and stops intentional fraud in order to refocus on its core mission of investor protection, says Peter Chan at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • Rebuttal

    Pro Codes Act Does Not Pose Constitutional Concerns

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    A recent Law360 guest article that raises constitutional alarms concerning the proposed Pro Codes Act, under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives, overstates the potential harm to standards development organizations and mischaracterizes existing law, says James Gourley at Carstens Allen.

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