Public Policy

  • August 01, 2025

    USPTO Tightens Rules On Patent Challengers' Arguments

    Patent challengers at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board will no longer be able to skirt a requirement that they must identify where all the elements of the patent are found in prior art patents or printed publications, according to a notice from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • August 01, 2025

    GOP Reps Eye Reforms To Landmark Bank Data Privacy Law

    Republican lawmakers have kicked off a review that could lay the groundwork for new financial data privacy legislation, soliciting public input on whether and how to overhaul a law that governs financial institutions' handling of consumer financial records.

  • August 01, 2025

    Judge Suspends Expedited Removals Of Parolees

    A D.C. federal judge on Friday paused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's ability to subject noncitizens who were paroled into the country to expedited removal proceedings, finding that DHS' use of the practice on this population exceeded the agency's authority.

  • August 01, 2025

    Trade Deals And Tariff Delays Leave Some Details Unclear

    President Donald Trump again delayed higher tariff rates that were set to take effect Friday, pushing their implementation another week as trade lawyers seek technical details associated with the latest announced framework trade deals, including how transshipped goods will be defined.

  • August 01, 2025

    AGs Sue Trump Over 'Onslaught Of Pressure' On Trans Care

    The Trump administration has improperly "weaponized" federal laws against drug misbranding, false claims and female genital mutilation as part of a pressure campaign to undermine state protections for gender-affirming care, a coalition of state attorneys general argued in a new suit Friday.

  • August 01, 2025

    SEC To Explore Internal Use Of AI With New Task Force

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that it plans to ramp up its internal use of artificial intelligence tools with a new task force led by a veteran staffer who's recently led the agency's fintech efforts.

  • August 01, 2025

    Calif. Tribe Can't Halt Tobacco Ruling Amid Ninth Circuit Fight

    A California federal court won't order the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to remove the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians from a noncompliance list over the alleged sale of cigarettes to non-Native customers while the tribe appeals the decision to the Ninth Circuit.

  • August 01, 2025

    Del. Bankruptcy Judge Will Retain Ga. Dorm Operator's Ch. 11

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge refused to move the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of dorm operator Corvias Campus Living-USG LLC to Georgia, entering an order Friday denying a bid by the University System of Georgia's board of regents to relocate the proceedings.

  • August 01, 2025

    7th Circ. Tosses Rehab's Zoning Row With Ind. Town

    The Seventh Circuit affirmed an Indiana town's win on Friday in an Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act suit lodged by companies that wanted to convert a local nursing home into a rehab facility.

  • August 01, 2025

    En Banc 9th Circ. Backs LA Schools In Vax Mandate Fight

    A majority en banc Ninth Circuit has affirmed a lower court's decision upholding Los Angeles Unified School District's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees, while two partially dissenting judges disagreed with the majority's conclusion that the policy passes constitutional muster.

  • August 01, 2025

    Village Ordinance Wrongly Bans Wind Farms, Ill. Panel Says

    An Illinois state appellate court majority on Friday reversed a village's summary judgment win in a lawsuit targeting an ordinance purportedly setting wind power generation limits, saying the ordinance effectively bans commercial wind farms without statutory authority.

  • August 01, 2025

    Normal Wear Is On Landlord's Dime, Not Renters', Court Says

    Massachusetts' highest court on Friday concluded that landlords cannot ding a tenant's security deposit for normal wear and tear like scuffs on walls, nor can they force a tenant to pay for professional cleanings during a moveout.

  • August 01, 2025

    States Urge High Court To Keep NIH Grant Funds Flowing

    A coalition of 16 states pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to reject the Trump administration's push to resume the mass termination of scientific research grants, saying a district judge had authority to pause the cuts.

  • August 01, 2025

    1st Circ. Doubtful Of Trump's Stance On Birthright Citizenship

    The First Circuit on Friday seemed inclined to say that the children of unauthorized immigrants are citizens if they were born on U.S. soil, citing both the 14th Amendment and a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling and pushing back on an argument by President Donald Trump's administration.

  • August 01, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Richmond PD Bias Claims Can't Sink Indictment

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday restored a federal grand jury indictment against a driver who fled police in Richmond, Virginia, finding a district court overstepped in blaming purported racial bias by the Richmond Police Department for the otherwise justifiable traffic stop.

  • August 01, 2025

    Texas Judge Says States Can Pursue BlackRock Coal Suit

    A Texas federal judge Friday gave Texas and other states the go-ahead to pursue claims that BlackRock Inc. and other asset managers used market muscle to decrease coal production, saying the states plausibly showed that the asset managers breached antitrust laws.

  • August 01, 2025

    Dems Want Probe Of DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement

    A quartet of Senate Democrats called Friday for the U.S. Department of Justice's internal watchdog to look for "improper business and political considerations" in the settlement permitting Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks.

  • August 01, 2025

    Alaskan Tribe's Breach Claim Axed In Gold Mine Permit Fight

    An Alaska judge threw out a breach of trust claim against the federal government and a mining company in a challenge to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to issue a permit for an open gold mine near the Yukon border.

  • August 01, 2025

    Senate Bill Would Ramp Up Oversight Of FCC Broadband Map

    A bipartisan pair of lawmakers filed a bill to ensure the Federal Communications Commission keeps tabs on the accuracy of broadband maps used to pinpoint where funding is needed for high-speed internet service.

  • August 01, 2025

    US Defends Bulk Denial Of Worker Credits At 9th Circ.

    An Arizona federal court was right to deny a request by tax services firms to stop the IRS from issuing batch denials of thousands of pandemic-era worker credit claims, the U.S. told the Ninth Circuit, defending the agency's system for handling problems administering the tax credit.

  • August 01, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs Prison Warden's Firing Over Facebook Memes

    The Seventh Circuit has refused to revive a deputy prison warden's suit claiming he was terminated in retaliation for sharing memes online denigrating Muslims, Black people, liberals and the LGBTQ community and calling the Confederate flag "our flag," saying the corrections department's interest as a public employer outweighs his speech interests.

  • August 01, 2025

    Senate Dem Pitches Way To Keep TikTok Online Without Sale

    U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is floating a proposal that would require TikTok to be transparent about how it displays content and limit foreign access to user data in order to allow the app to escape a legislative mandate to cut ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a nationwide ban.

  • August 01, 2025

    Texas Bill Seeks Permanent Limit For Property Tax Increases

    Texas would establish a permanent cap on increases in the appraised value of real property other than residence homesteads for property tax purposes if voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing the cap, as part of legislation filed in the state House of Representatives.

  • August 01, 2025

    Judge Says NJ Comptroller Can Subpoena Bistate Agency

    A New Jersey federal judge tossed the Delaware River Port Authority's suit claiming that the Garden State's comptroller unlawfully attempted to force it to comply with two investigative subpoenas, ruling that there is nothing to bar the comptroller from unilaterally issuing subpoenas to the New Jersey-Pennsylvania bistate transit agency.

  • August 01, 2025

    ECJ Strikes Down Italy's Tax On Cross-Border Dividends

    The Italian government breached the European Union's double-taxation protections for an Italian bank by taxing the bank's cross-border dividends via two separate levies, the EU's top court ruled Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation

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    A new law in Florida enhances the flexibility of using limited liability companies as the entities of choice for most privately held businesses, moving Florida into a small group of states with reliable uniform protected series legislation for series LLCs, says Louis Conti at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter saw California become a more active protector of consumers in response to federal regulatory pullback, with regulators proposing a licensing framework for digital asset businesses, ending an enforcement exemption and otherwise signaling further expansions of oversight and enforcement, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    New USPTO Leadership Must Address Low-Quality Patents

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    With John Squires in line to become the new director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the agency has an opportunity to refocus its mission on prioritizing quality in patent examination and taking a harsher stance against low-quality patents and patent trolls, says Jill Crosby at Engine Advocacy & Foundation.

  • Harmonized Int'l Framework May Boost Advanced Aircraft

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    International differences in the certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft make the current framework insufficient — but U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's recent announcement of a standards harmonization effort may help promote these innovative aviation technologies, while maintaining safety, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Capital One Deal Approval Lights Up Path For Bank M&A

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    The federal banking regulators' recent approval of Capital One's acquisition of Discover signals the agencies' willingness to approve large transactions and a more favorable environment generally for bank mergers under the Trump administration, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Bills' Defeat Means Brighter Outlook For Texas Renewables

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    The failure of a trio of bills from the recently concluded Texas legislative session that would have imposed new burdens on wind, solar and battery storage projects bodes well for a state with rapidly growing energy needs, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Must Probe Misconduct Claims, Even If It's The AG

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    The Florida Bar’s recent refusal to look into misconduct allegations against Attorney General Pam Bondi is dangerous for the rule of law, and other lawyer disciplinary bodies must be prepared to investigate credible claims of ethical lapses against any lawyer, no matter their position, say attorneys James Kobak and Albert Feuer.

  • New FCPA Guidance Creates 5 Compliance Imperatives

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    In light of new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines that mark a fundamental shift in enforcement priorities, companies should consider several specific steps to ensure compliance, from enhanced due diligence to robust whistleblower protections, says Andrew Wirmani at Reese Marketos.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Employer Tips As Deepfakes Reshape Workplace Harassment

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    As the workplace harassment landscape faces the rising threat of fabricated media that hyperrealistically depict employees in sexual or malicious contexts, employers can stay ahead of the curve by tracking new legal obligations, and proactively updating policies, training and response protocols, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    In the second quarter of the year, New York utilized every available tool to fill gaps left by federal retrenchment from consumer finance issues, including sweeping updates to its consumer protection framework and notable amendments to cybersecurity rules, say attorneys at Steptoe.

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