Public Policy

  • July 29, 2025

    Judiciary Advises Not Filling Next 10th Circ. Vacancy, For Now

    The Judicial Conference of the United States is recommending not filling the next vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and a handful of district courts, for now, citing a "consistently low per-judgeship caseload" in those jurisdictions.

  • July 29, 2025

    Reported Plan For Value-Based Patent Fees Unnerves Experts

    A proposal reportedly under consideration by the Trump administration to charge patent owners a new fee based on the value of their patents has spurred numerous questions and concerns among experts, who say the idea appears nearly unworkable and could hinder innovation.

  • July 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Renew Suit Over Wash. Ban On 'DIY' Rape Kits

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday refused to revive a constitutional challenge to Washington state's ban on self-administered DNA evidence collection kits for sexual assault survivors, concluding that the plaintiff company failed to show the law illegally restricts commercial speech.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ill. Speaker Should Serve Prison Time As Ordered, Feds Urge

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan should serve his seven-and-a-half-year corruption sentence as scheduled because he can't cite any particularly substantial appellate issues that would call for such relief, let alone convince the Seventh Circuit to reverse his entire corruption conviction, federal prosecutors argued Monday.

  • July 29, 2025

    DOD Expands Tricare's Clinical Trial Benefit

    The U.S. Department of Defense has issued a final rule that makes health insurance coverage for clinical trials aimed at treating and preventing COVID-19 and other infectious diseases permanent for military personnel, retirees and their families.

  • July 29, 2025

    Trump Calls 'Blue Slip' Process 'Probably Unconstitutional'

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday railed against the long-standing tradition for home state senators to have essentially veto power over U.S. attorney and district court nominee picks and called on U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to abandon the process.

  • July 29, 2025

    Senate Confirms DOJ Official Emil Bove To 3rd Circ.

    The Senate voted 50-49 on Tuesday night to confirm Emil Bove, one of President Donald Trump's former attorneys and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

  • July 29, 2025

    OxyChem, Nokia Tell 3rd Circ. Passaic Cleanup Deal Is Unfair

    Occidental Chemical Corp. and Nokia of America Corp. on Monday asked the Third Circuit to reverse a New Jersey federal district court's approval of a $150 million settlement to clean up the Lower Passaic River.

  • July 29, 2025

    SpaceX Backs 'Light Licensing Framework' In 37 GHz

    As the Federal Communications Commission looks into revamping the lower 37 gigahertz band, SpaceX is pushing the agency to consider a "light licensing framework" like the one it has deployed in several other satellite bands.

  • July 29, 2025

    Next-Gen TV Can Deliver Localized Emergency Info, FCC Told

    A public safety trade group called on the Federal Communications Commission to cement the next-generation TV standard into government rules, emphasizing the public interest benefits of quickly conveying advanced emergency information such as geotargeted alerts.

  • July 29, 2025

    Fight Over End To Migrant Parole May Be Moot, 1st Circ. Hints

    The First Circuit grappled Tuesday with whether the Trump administration could elect to abruptly end a Biden-era immigration parole program, even as it appeared to acknowledge that as a practical matter, the measure could die of attrition before the question is answered.

  • July 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Rescinds Ruling On Wash. Abortion Coverage Law

    A Ninth Circuit panel has walked back a published March opinion rejecting a Christian church's challenge to a Washington state law mandating employer health coverage of abortion services, saying in a Tuesday order that the federal appeals court would issue a new ruling following additional oral arguments.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ga. Urges 11th Circ. To Undo Cash Bail Reform Law Injunction

    Georgia's governor and attorney general encouraged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a district court ruling temporarily blocking enforcement of the state's cash bail reform law, arguing the lower court wrongly found the act of paying bail to be inherently expressive.

  • July 29, 2025

    Travelers Gets Trim Of Ex-Worker's Tobacco Health Fee Suit

    A Minnesota federal judge pared down claims Tuesday from a former Travelers worker's suit alleging the insurance and financial services company unlawfully imposed a surcharge on the health plans of employees who disclosed they were tobacco users and thereby violated nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law.

  • July 29, 2025

    PTAB Will Now Decide All Grounds In AIA Reviews

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday ordered administrative patent judges to address all grounds raised in America Invents Act petitions when issuing their final decisions.

  • July 29, 2025

    BofA Accuses FDIC Of $250M Rate Flip-Flop In Premiums Suit

    Bank of America has accused the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. of making a "startling" about-face in their long-running deposit insurance dispute in Washington, D.C., federal court, claiming the agency is pushing to extract hundreds of millions in extra interest after the bank paid what it says was the full $657 million judgment owed.

  • July 29, 2025

    Miami Defends Election Delay, Cites State Law Supremacy

    The city of Miami on Tuesday defended its decision to push municipal elections back by a year via ordinance, telling a state appeals court that the move is authorized by three state laws that supersede the city and county charters.

  • July 29, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says DOL H-2A Case Should Have Been In Fed. Court

    A New Jersey farm was entitled to have a federal court weigh in on the U.S. Department of Labor's allegations that it flouted H-2A visa program requirements, the Third Circuit ruled Tuesday, finding the DOL improperly relied on in-house administrative proceedings to impose over $580,000 in fines.

  • July 29, 2025

    FDA Recommends Federal Restrictions On Kratom Extract

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it recommends placing federal restrictions on 7-Hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, an opioid-like alkaloid compound derived from the kratom leaf that the agency said had a strong potential for abuse.

  • July 29, 2025

    DOJ Drops Challenge Of Amex GBT's $570M Deal For CWT

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that enforcers have agreed to drop their case challenging American Express Global Business Travel Inc.'s planned $570 million purchase of corporate travel management rival CWT Holdings LLC.

  • July 29, 2025

    Sens. Introduce Aviation Safety Bill 6 Months After DCA Crash

    Republican senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would mandate aircraft-tracking technology in civilian and military aircraft, alongside fresh audits of Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Army practices, six months after January's deadly midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet near Washington, D.C.

  • July 29, 2025

    Economists Decry Federal Budget's Looser Interest Deduction

    It's regrettable that Congress loosened rules allowing companies to deduct interest costs from tax liabilities in its latest budget, which as a whole is poised to worsen the country's fiscal trajectory while prompting higher interest rates, a panel of economists said Tuesday.

  • July 29, 2025

    EEOC Retreat On Trans Bias Enforcement Illegal, Suit Says

    A Maryland-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organization alleged in a lawsuit Tuesday that recent steps taken by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to walk back enforcement of protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination violate federal civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution.

  • July 29, 2025

    Trump To Make Call On Further Delay Of Higher China Tariffs

    President Donald Trump will decide whether to extend a tariff delay another 90 days for Chinese imports after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese officials to discuss trade matters, the officials told reporters Tuesday in Stockholm.

  • July 29, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Block NC Vape Regs As Vape Cos. Appeal

    The Fourth Circuit won't issue an injunction blocking a North Carolina law that would prohibit the sale of vape products not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as vape interests appeal a lower court ruling denying an identical injunction.

Expert Analysis

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

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    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Despite Dark Clouds, Outlook For US Solar Has Bright Spots

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    While tariff, tax policy and bankruptcy news seemingly portends unending challenges for the U.S. solar energy industry, signs of continued growth in solar generating capacity and domestic solar manufacturing suggest that there is a path forward, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Assessing New Changes To Texas Officer Exculpation Law

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    Consistent with Texas' recent modernization of its corporate law, the recently passed S.B. 2411 allows officer exculpation, streamlines certificate of formation amendments, authorizes representatives to act on shareholders' behalf in mergers and makes other changes aimed toward companies seeking a more codified, statutory model of corporate governance, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations

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    As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Rising Enforcement Stakes For Pharma Telehealth Platforms

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    Two pieces of legislation recently introduced in Congress could transform the structure and promotion of telehealth arrangements as legislators increasingly scrutinize direct-to-consumer advertising platforms, potentially paving the way for a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy with bipartisan support, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

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    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Navigating Antitrust Risks When Responding To Tariffs

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    Companies should assess competitive perils, implement compliance safeguards and document independent decision-making as they consider their responses to recent tariff pressures, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Breaking Down Part 3 Of The Copyright Office's AI Report

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    On May 9, the U.S. Copyright Office published a prepublication version of the third and final part of its three-part report on artificial intelligence, offering key insights on the unauthorized use of copyrighted material by AI systems, says Courtney Sarnow at CM Law.

  • 8 Insurer Takeaways From Sweeping Georgia Tort Reform

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    Insurers should take note of several critical components of Georgia's tort litigation overhaul — including limitations on damages anchoring, procedural rules governing dismissals, and liability standards in negligent security cases — and adapt claims-handling strategies to reduce litigation risk, says Lucy Aquino at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting

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    A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    FCPA Shift Is A Good Start, But There's More DOJ Should Do

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines bring a needed course correction amid overexpansive enforcement, but there’s more the DOJ can do to provide additional clarity and predictability for global companies, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

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