Public Policy

  • January 29, 2026

    Mass. AG Sues 9 Towns To Enforce Housing Law

    The Massachusetts attorney general on Jan. 29 sued nine towns that have not complied with a controversial state housing initiative requiring them to allow multifamily housing in at least a portion of their communities.

  • January 29, 2026

    Clemency Favors White Collar Offenders, New Study Shows

    White collar criminal defendants are more likely than other types of offenders to receive presidential pardons, especially under the Trump administration, a new analysis of clemency actions shows, raising concerns about a system one expert called "broken."

  • January 29, 2026

    Utah House Bill Would Require Tax Hike Notice, Set Limits

    Utah would require taxing entities to provide notice of their intent to levy a property tax rate above a statutorily defined base rate and impose limits on property tax increases under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • January 28, 2026

    ICE Violated Nearly 100 Court Orders, Minn. Judge Says

    The Minnesota federal court's chief judge admonished U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday for violating nearly 100 court orders concerning the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota while another judge, on the same day, temporarily blocked ICE from unlawfully arresting and detaining refugees in the North Star State.

  • January 28, 2026

    Mid-America Inks $53M Deal In RealPage Landlord MDL

    Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. revealed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that it will pay $53 million to settle out of multidistrict antitrust litigation alleging some of the largest landlords in the country used RealPage Inc.'s software to fix rent prices for residential properties.

  • January 28, 2026

    Trade Secret Filings Hit Record High In 2025, Report Finds

    Trade secret litigation reached an all-time high in 2025, with more than 1,500 federal cases filed for the first time ever, according to a new report by legal analytics firm Lex Machina, which also highlights trends about damages, the busiest courts and the law firms most frequently involved.

  • January 28, 2026

    Powell Says Cook Case May Be 'Most Important' In Fed History

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court bid to oust Fed Gov. Lisa Cook represents "perhaps the most important" case in the history of the central bank, defending his move to attend the high court's recent hearing on the matter.

  • January 28, 2026

    Unions Say FEMA Staff Cuts Threaten Disaster Readiness

    A coalition of unions, nonprofit organizations and local governments that are challenging the Trump administration's federal worker layoffs and agency reorganizations asked a California federal judge Tuesday for permission to add the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a defendant, saying ongoing staff cuts threaten its legally mandated responsibility to respond to disasters.

  • January 28, 2026

    Subcontractor Says Fluor Shut It Out Of Work On NM Wildfires

    A subcontractor has told a Texas federal court that Fluor Corporation was in cahoots with another subcontractor to push it out of the disaster relief staffing market relating to the 2022 New Mexico wildfires, saying Fluor violated federal antitrust law.

  • January 28, 2026

    NJ Prep School Can't Arbitrate Student's Sex Assault Suit

    A New Jersey appeals court on Wednesday refused to send to arbitration a suit seeking to hold the prestigious Lawrenceville School liable for the sexual assault of a student, saying a federal statute that bars arbitration for certain sexual assault cases renders irrelevant the school's argument about a later-signed agreement.

  • January 28, 2026

    Ex-Detainees Detail Conditions At Florida Immigration Facility

    Former detainees testified Wednesday in Florida federal court about conditions at an Everglades immigration facility, recalling that they weren't able to speak with attorneys and had to write down phone numbers for counsel using bars of soap.

  • January 28, 2026

    Dems Call For Release Of 5-Year-Old Detained By ICE In Texas

    A coalition of Texas elected officials and community leaders called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday to immediately release a father and his 5-year-old son from an immigration detention facility in southern Texas after they were detained last week in Minnesota.

  • January 28, 2026

    Rubio Says There's No Plan For Military Action In Venezuela

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Wednesday that future military action is not off the table in Venezuela but that the Trump administration has no intention to take such action at this time, while laying out plans to "normalize" the country's oil industry.

  • January 28, 2026

    Senators Question If FirstNet, AT&T Need More Oversight

    A U.S. Senate panel Wednesday examined calls to reform the national first responder network and to rework AT&T's 25-year exclusive contract to provide network coverage for emergency personnel across the country.

  • January 28, 2026

    Tobey Maguire Says He Rerouted Fee To Goldstein

    "Spider-Man" star Tobey Maguire told the jury Wednesday in Thomas Goldstein's tax fraud trial that he paid $500,000 for his legal services to another poker player the former SCOTUSblog founder owed money to, rather than Goldstein's law firm.

  • January 28, 2026

    Schools Want To Appeal Financial Aid-Fixing Antitrust Case

    The five private universities that have yet to settle with students over the alleged fixing of financial aid offerings are asking an Illinois federal court for permission to immediately appeal a ruling that sets the case up for trial.

  • January 28, 2026

    Sanctions Motion Allowed In Barratry Suit, Texas Court Says

    A Texas appeals court has kept intact a motion for sanctions against a man who accused a law firm of barratry, saying Wednesday the motion was based on "ancillary conduct" and therefore not subject to the state's anti-SLAPP law.

  • January 28, 2026

    Trump Announces Pick For New Assistant AG For Fraud Role

    President Donald Trump announced Wednesday evening that he would be nominating Colin McDonald, associate deputy attorney general, for the newly created assistant attorney general for fraud role.

  • January 28, 2026

    FCC Sees Dead People On Lifeline, But Dems Balk At New Reg

    Democrats are bristling against a plan by the Federal Communications Commission to reduce purported fraud in the Lifeline program, where the agency says some states enrolled dead people and others who don't qualify.

  • January 28, 2026

    Enbridge Looks To Keep Pipeline Open Amid 7th Circ. Appeal

    Enbridge Energy Inc. is looking to pause a shutdown order of a segment of its Line 5 pipeline that runs through Wisconsin tribal lands pending its Seventh Circuit appeal, arguing to a Wisconsin district court that a cutoff would cause disproportionate economic harm and energy shortages.

  • January 28, 2026

    Jail Officers, Doctor Seek Exit From Excessive Force Suit

    A medical provider for correctional facilities, a physician and two jail officers told a Georgia federal court they should not face a lawsuit seeking to hold them liable for a former sheriff's excessive force, pointing to a two-year statute of limitations.

  • January 28, 2026

    Biden Official Says Congress Should Reassert Trade Control

    Congress should look to take back some of the U.S. trade policymaking reins from President Donald Trump this year to establish appropriate oversight of such measures, a former official under former President Joe Biden said Wednesday.

  • January 28, 2026

    New Squires Order Allows 4 Patent Reviews, Denies 25 Others

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires instituted four America Invents Act patent challenges while denying 25 others in his most recent summary decision.

  • January 28, 2026

    Social Media Addiction Laws Eyed By Conn. Governor, AG

    Connecticut lawmakers will consider forcing social media companies to display mental health warning labels and file state reports detailing the numbers of youth users, parental consent figures and average daily screen time statistics, Gov. Ned Lamont and Attorney General William M. Tong said in a Wednesday statement.

  • January 28, 2026

    SEC Urged To Adopt Insider Trading Rules For Foreign Firms

    A former member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is among a trio of academics pressing the agency to write rules cracking down on insider trading at foreign companies that trade on U.S. exchanges, urging action before a congressionally mandated deadline runs out in March.

Expert Analysis

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: A Reset, A Shift And A Preview Of '26

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    With major proposals withdrawn and new priorities emerging, forthcoming U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposals in 2026 will look to reshape how digital assets are regulated, recalibrate market structure and simplify how small companies go public, says Christopher Grobbel at Goodwin.

  • Changes In Crypto, Cybersecurity Defined NY Banking In 2025

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    The major takeaways from 2025 in New York banking policy involve updated guidance, regulations and requirements primarily affecting innovation and digital banking, in areas such as cybersecurity, virtual currencies, and buy now, pay later programs, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Opinion

    Justices Should Clarify Loper Bright Doctrine Via Patent Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should use the Lynk Labs v. Samsung patent case to provide urgently needed guidance on how last year’s Loper Bright decision should be applied to real-world questions of agency authority in the post-Chevron world, says Timothy Hsieh at Oklahoma City University School of Law.

  • How OECD Tax Update Tackles Mobile Workforce Complexity

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    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recently updated model tax convention — a recalibration of international tax principles in response to an increasingly mobile workforce — should prompt companies to reevaluate cross-border operations, transfer pricing policies and tax controversy strategies, say attorneys at Eversheds.

  • Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

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    2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • 2025 Legal Milestones That Will Shape Psychedelics Sector

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    As 2025 draws to a close, psychedelic drug development stands at an inflection point, experiencing unprecedented momentum through recent sweeping regulatory changes and landmark clinical milestones, amid rapidly evolving regulatory expectations, say Odette Hauke at Odette Alina LLC and Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

  • M&A Midmarket Shows Resilience Amid 2025 Challenges

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    Midmarket mergers and acquisitions showed a slight decline in volume but climbed in value for much of 2025, particularly in the private equity space, indicating that the middle market M&A environment is cautious but steady heading into 2026, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.

  • Del. Dispatch: Key 2025 Corporate Cases And Trends To Know

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    The Delaware corporate legal landscape saw notable changes in 2025, spurred by amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, ubiquitous artificial intelligence fervor, boardroom discussion around DExit, record shareholder activism activity and an arguably more expansive view of potential Caremark liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

  • 2025 Brought A New Paradigm For Federal Banking Regulation

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    A series of thematic shifts defined banking regulation in 2025, including a fundamental reform of prudential supervision, a strategic easing of capital constraints, steps to streamline merger reviews, and a new framework for fair access and entrants seeking to offer banking services, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • What 2025 Transpo And Logistics Legal Trends Mean For 2026

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    2025 was challenging for the transportation and logistics sector, with emergent trends including dramatic federal policy shifts, developments in tort risk, and a host of mergers and acquisitions — but a review of these themes offers a useful playbook for where the industry is headed in 2026, says Jonathan Todd at Benesch.

  • How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

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    Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • 2025 State AI Laws Expand Liability, Raise Insurance Risks

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    As 2025 nears its end, claims professionals should be aware of trends in state legislation addressing artificial intelligence use, as insurance claims based on some of these liability-expanding statutes are a certainty, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

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    Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.

  • Crypto In 2025: From Federal Deregulation To State Action

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    The cryptocurrency enforcement landscape evolved in 2025, marked by federal deregulatory trends and active state attorney general enforcement, creating both opportunity and risk for businesses navigating the digital asset market, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

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