Public Policy

  • December 12, 2025

    CFTC Drops 'Outdated' Crypto Guidance On Actual Delivery

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has withdrawn what it called "outdated" guidance on the actual delivery of cryptocurrency, to be more in line with recommendations from the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, and has issued no-action letters to several prediction market platforms.

  • December 12, 2025

    Wash. Justices Retroactively Lower Bar Exam's Passing Score

    As Washington state is preparing to transition to a new bar exam, its Supreme Court has ordered a retroactive adjustment to the current exam's minimum passing score, making an estimated hundred-plus law school graduates who narrowly failed in recent years newly eligible for admission to practice law.

  • December 12, 2025

    Bill Would Let Fed Workers Use Uniformed Services Works

    Federal lawmakers have introduced a copyright bill to the U.S. House of Representatives that would give employees of the federal government permission to use literary works produced by civilian members of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences for work and other purposes.

  • December 12, 2025

    Full 3rd Circ. Will Review NJ 'Sensitive Places' Gun Law

    The Third Circuit has agreed to rehear en banc a high‑profile challenge to New Jersey's firearms law, vacating a September panel decision that upheld major portions of the state's sweeping "sensitive places" restrictions while striking down others.

  • December 12, 2025

    Dropped FTC Complaint: Pepsi Gave Walmart A 'Price Gap'

    The Federal Trade Commission's newly unsealed New York federal court complaint confirms that the agency had accused Pepsi of favoring Walmart, until the newly Republican-controlled FTC abandoned the lawsuit alleging the soda giant both gave Walmart discounts denied others and actively sought to raise Walmart's rivals' own prices.

  • December 12, 2025

    Merchant Orgs. Fight Latest Visa, Mastercard Swipe-Fee Deal

    The National Association of College Stores, Energy Markets of America and other industry groups objected Friday to a proposed new settlement between Visa, Mastercard and a class of potentially millions of merchants to resolve two decades of antitrust litigation, claiming the deal "does not come close to fixing the swipe fee challenges" faced by merchants.

  • December 12, 2025

    OCC Conditionally Grants 5 Crypto-Focused Trust Charters

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday gave five crypto-focused firms a preliminary nod to operate as national trust banks, clearing the way for crypto to integrate further into the banking system despite pushback from banking lobbyists.

  • December 12, 2025

    DOJ Shake-Up Keeps Criminal Tax Meetings, Ex-Official Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice — despite recently eliminating its Tax Division as part of a broad restructuring — continues to meet with practitioners representing clients who may face federal criminal tax charges, the former division chief said Friday.

  • December 12, 2025

    IRS To Revamp Voluntary Disclosure Program

    The Internal Revenue Service will be updating a program early next year that would allow taxpayers to voluntarily report previously undisclosed income as a way to resolve their tax issues to facilitate a simpler reporting process, the agency's criminal enforcement chief said Friday.

  • December 12, 2025

    7th Circ. Halts Release For Hundreds Of Ill. ICE Detainees

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday halted a Chicago federal judge's order requiring the release of hundreds of immigrants arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying the Trump administration was likely to succeed in arguing he should have conducted individual determinations about whether their arrest violated a consent decree it had previously entered in the case.

  • December 12, 2025

    National Trust Sues To Halt Trump's Ballroom Construction

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation asked a D.C. federal judge to stop construction on a White House ballroom until Trump administration officials complete mandatory review processes that they blew off before unilaterally razing the East Wing to make room for the structure.

  • December 12, 2025

    Wireless Group Calls For High Court Review Of FCC Fines

    The major wireless carriers' trade group on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Verizon's case against a $46 million privacy fine, saying the Seventh Amendment right to jury trial is too important to leave questions unanswered about its reach.

  • December 12, 2025

    Duke Energy Pushes Back On DOJ's View Of 'Monopoly Broth'

    Duke Energy told the U.S. Supreme Court the government is backing a rival's antitrust claims accusing the power giant of squeezing it out of the North Carolina market simply to help enforcers' own cases accusing Big Tech companies of using a "monopoly broth" to thwart competition.

  • December 12, 2025

    Crypto Industry Balks At Citadel Securities' Call For Regs

    Cryptocurrency advocates pushed back Friday against Citadel Securities' request that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission more closely monitor decentralized trading platforms, contending that placing the industry under the same strictures as traditional exchanges would "undermine" innovation.

  • December 12, 2025

    20 States Sue Trump Admin Over $100K H-1B Visa Fee

    A coalition of 20 states, led by the California attorney general, sued the Trump administration Friday to challenge a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, saying the fee goes against Congress' intent for the work visa program.

  • December 12, 2025

    Md. Judge Probes Limits Of Review In ICE Church Raids Suit

    A Maryland federal judge on Friday seemed unsure whether a coalition of religious organizations have a viable Administrative Procedure Act challenge to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security policy loosening restrictions on where immigration enforcement can take place.

  • December 12, 2025

    Judge Tosses 'Problem Solver' TM Suit In Calif. Gov. Race

    A California federal judge has dismissed a trademark complaint from gubernatorial candidate Stephen Cloobeck, ruling that his effort to stop Democratic primary opponent Antonio Villaraigosa from saying he is a "proven problem solver" in his campaign could stifle political expression.

  • December 12, 2025

    Treasury Withdraws Proposed Regs On Spousal Tax Liability

    The U.S. Treasury Department has withdrawn two sets of proposed regulations addressing married individuals who filed joint tax returns then later sought relief from joint and several tax liability, according to a notice issued Friday.

  • December 12, 2025

    Tort Reform Fight Dominated 2025 For Ga. Lawmakers

    Sweeping changes to Georgia's civil practice rules amid a Republican-led tort reform push took center stage in the state's legislative session in 2025, shaking up how litigators navigate new claims and setting the stage for years of appellate battles, attorneys in the state say.

  • December 12, 2025

    Ex-Rabobank Exec Will Press For Fees From OCC At 9th Circ.

    A former Rabobank compliance official will make another attempt to force the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to pick up the tab for her legal fees for the office's now-abandoned enforcement proceeding, which she says cost her millions of dollars to defend.

  • December 12, 2025

    Betting, Trading Platforms Form Prediction Market Alliance

    A group of betting and trading platforms said they've created a new organization to advance the interests of prediction markets as betting challenges from states intensify and Congress starts to formally structure the cryptocurrency market writ large.

  • December 12, 2025

    FCC's Carr Cheers Trump Order Curtailing State AI Laws

    Federal Communications Commission Chief Brendan Carr on Friday lauded a White House move to restrict states from passing "onerous" laws and regulations covering artificial intelligence.

  • December 12, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Black Worker's Promotion Bias Suit

    The Fourth Circuit backed a community college's win Friday in a Black former employee's suit claiming her race and gender caused her to lose out on a promotion, ruling she failed to rebut the college's explanation that the white, male candidate who got the role was more qualified.

  • December 12, 2025

    NLRB Asks Calif. Judge To Follow Colleague On Fill-In Law

    A California federal judge should follow his New York colleague's lead and hold that states likely cannot let their labor boards fill the National Labor Relations Board's shoes if the NLRB is faltering, the NLRB argued, saying "profound labor relations instability" could result if courts begin endorsing such laws.

  • December 12, 2025

    Treasury Issues Final Rules For Taxing Foreign Gov't Income

    The U.S. Treasury Department issued final regulations Friday for determining whether income of foreign governments derived within the U.S. is taxable along with proposed regulations concerning when a foreign government has effective control of a commercial entity.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

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    With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.

  • How Litigating Antitrust Fix Helped GTCR Prevail In Court

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    An Illinois federal judge's recent denial of the Federal Trade Commission's injunction request in the GTCR acquisition of Surmodics joins a developing series of cases in which deal parties have prevailed against government antitrust challenges by proposing a post-complaint fix and litigating the as-amended deal, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

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    As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

  • Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

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    Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • Wading Into NY Wetland Regs' 2025 Changes And Challenges

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    Solar developers in New York should keep a weather eye on litigation challenging the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s recently expanded authority to regulate wetlands and waterways, which could erode the impact of a new permitting process meant to streamline solar development on protected wetlands, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Takeaways As Justices Let 5th Circ. Pollution Ruling Stand

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent certiorari denial leaves intact a Fifth Circuit ruling that environmental justice organizations have standing to pursue a civil rights challenge to a parish's land-use practice, underscoring the importance of local governments proactively engaging with communities to address cumulative impacts of development, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • Next Steps For DOE's Large-Load Interconnection Reforms

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    The U.S. Department of Energy's recent letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may mark a substantial expansion of FERC's open-access framework for large-load facilities, though the proposed timeline for the rulemaking appears to be extraordinarily short, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

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