Public Policy

  • February 02, 2026

    'Doesn't Make Sense': DOJ Irks Judge In Merger Fight With AGs

    A California federal judge said Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice must hand over certain discovery materials to Democratic attorneys general challenging the DOJ's controversial settlement greenlighting the $14 billion merger of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks, telling the DOJ that its argument that discussions of alternative remedies are shielded from discovery "doesn't make sense."

  • February 02, 2026

    Calif. Cities Challenge DOJ Rules For Child Exploitation Funds

    San Diego and San Jose have sued the U.S. Department of Justice over new requirements for Internet Crimes Against Children program grant recipients, claiming that the federal government is unconstitutionally trying to force its immigration and diversity agendas on local governments and other grant recipients.

  • February 02, 2026

    EPA Slow To Intervene In Flint Water Crisis, Expert Tells Court

    A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official testified Monday in Michigan federal court that the agency should have intervened in the Flint water crisis a year before issuing its warning over high lead levels.

  • February 02, 2026

    Ex-Goldstein Employee Claims Accountants Made Mistakes

    Defense attorneys for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein presented evidence Monday that his firm's tax accountants made serious mistakes in tax filings for Goldstein's wife, Amy Howe, in 2021.

  • February 02, 2026

    COVID-Era Eviction Pause Was Illegal, Wash. Landlords Claim

    Moratoriums that shielded Washington renters from eviction during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic unconstitutionally forced property owners to house tenants who otherwise had no right to remain in their units, according to a lawsuit removed to federal court in Tacoma Friday by one of the local governments being sued.

  • February 02, 2026

    DC Circ. Gets History Lesson As Tribe Fights For Utah Land

    The D.C. Circuit got a lesson in tribal history dating back to the 19th century as lawyers for the federal government and a Native American tribe argued Monday whether a congressional act gives the tribe compensable title to 1.5 million acres of Utah land where an oilfield lies.

  • February 02, 2026

    Nevada Judge Temporarily Halts Polymarket Sports Contracts

    A Nevada state judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Polymarket from offering sports contracts in the state for two weeks, finding that the platform's offerings constitute "gaming" under state law.

  • February 02, 2026

    'Star Trek'-Citing Judge Says Moderna Can't Ax $5B Vax IP Suit

    Moderna Inc. will have to face most of a rival mRNA vaccine developer's $5 billion patent suit over the company's COVID-19 vaccines at a trial in Delaware, a federal judge ruled on Monday, invoking "Star Trek" in a summary judgment order that left issues like patent invalidity up to the jury.

  • February 02, 2026

    Mich. AG Can't Toss Fire Policy Challenge, Property Co. Says

    A property owner urged a Michigan federal court to allow its proposed class action over the constitutionality of the state's Fire Insurance Withholding Program to go forward, saying the state attorney general's bid to dismiss the suit is untimely and improper as an intervening party.

  • February 02, 2026

    First Woman Justice Elected To Wash. High Court To Retire

    Washington State Supreme Court Justice Barbara A. Madsen, the first woman to be voted onto the court and the second-longest serving justice in state history, said Monday she plans to retire this spring after 33 years on the bench.

  • February 02, 2026

    Custodians Tell NJ Justices COVID Law Doesn't Preempt CBA

    School custodians urged the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday to reinstate an award of extra money for their in-person work during the pandemic, arguing an arbitrator had a reasonably plausible interpretation of a state statute when he determined it didn't preempt the custodians' collective bargaining agreement.

  • February 02, 2026

    Offshore Wind Crowns Courtroom Sweep With Sunrise Restart

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday lifted the Trump administration's halt of the Sunrise Wind project, the final victory for five East Coast offshore wind farms that all convinced courts to block the government's stop-work orders.

  • February 02, 2026

    Colo. Justices Strike Down Laws Governing County Appeals

    The Colorado Supreme Court found two sections of Colorado law unconstitutional Monday because they allowed final judgments in county court cases to be appealed directly to the Colorado Court of Appeals.

  • February 02, 2026

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    U.S. enforcers reached three new merger settlements, while the Federal Trade Commission successfully blocked a $945 million heart valve deal and lodged an appeal for its case targeting Meta's past acquisitions.

  • February 02, 2026

    NHTSA To Redo Heavy-Duty Pickup Truck Fuel Economy Rule

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told auto manufacturers Friday that it's preparing to retool fuel economy standards for heavy-duty trucks, as the Trump administration presses ahead with its dismantling of Biden-era policies that sought to bolster the adoption of electric-vehicle fleets.

  • February 02, 2026

    FCC's Phone Subsidy Fund Aims To Improve Nat'l Verifier

    As the Federal Communications Commission responds to reports from its internal auditors of widespread fraud in Lifeline phone services, the program's administrator has said progress is underway to strengthen a national system to verify beneficiaries.

  • February 02, 2026

    2nd Circ. Partially Revives Suit Over NY Foster Care Rules

    A group of New York City children who were taken from their parents and placed into foster care have standing to challenge the legality of state rules preventing them from being placed with relatives with criminal histories, a Second Circuit panel determined on Monday.

  • February 02, 2026

    Curaleaf Can't Ditch All Ill. Whistleblower Act Claims

    An Illinois magistrate judge on Monday mostly denied a bid from Curaleaf Inc. to throw out a former regional director's Illinois Whistleblower Act claims, saying the complaint is sufficient to allege that he was retaliated against for reporting compliance violations to the state government.

  • February 02, 2026

    State Dept. Accused Of Overreach With 75-Country Visa Pause

    A group of U.S. citizens, nonprofits and foreign workers sued the Trump administration on Monday over its pause of immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries over public charge concerns, arguing that the executive branch can't rewrite federal immigration law.

  • February 02, 2026

    FTC Says Bezos, Amazon Execs Hid Evidence Via Signal App

    The Federal Trade Commission asked a Washington federal judge to assume Amazon.com Inc. used auto-deleting Signal chats to hide the "anticompetitive nature" of rules that allegedly created an artificial pricing floor across online retail, escalating a long-simmering evidentiary fight that implicates Jeff Bezos and general counsel David Zapolsky.

  • February 02, 2026

    Oklahoma Governor Urges Repeal Of Medical Marijuana

    Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday called for voters to pass a measure repealing medical marijuana legalization in the state.

  • February 02, 2026

    DOJ Opposes Google's Bid For Partial Search Remedy Pause

    The U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers are opposing Google's bid to pause parts of the remedies imposed after a D.C. federal court found it monopolized the search market, while the tech giant appeals the ruling to the D.C. Circuit.

  • February 02, 2026

    What Prison Killings Exposed About NY Death Reviews

    New York has moved to change how deaths in prisons and jails are investigated with a new law prompted by the killings of two men at the hands of prison guards, even as many government reports on custodial deaths raise different questions about care and oversight at correctional facilities.

  • February 02, 2026

    DOJ Defends NJ US Atty Office Funding Amid Scrutiny

    Defending the three-person leadership structure of New Jersey's federal prosecution operations since the departure of Alina Habba, an administrator told a federal court that two of the attorneys running the office are paid through the office's budget and the third is funded through the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • February 02, 2026

    Trump, Modi Say US-India Trade Deal Reached

    President Donald Trump said Monday he reached a trade deal with India following a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that includes lowering the tariff rate on Indian goods entering the U.S. from 50% to 18%.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • How CFTC Enforcement Shifted In 2025 And What's Next

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pivoted sharply under acting Chairman Caroline Pham in 2025, resulting in a pared-back enforcement docket, sweeping policy changes intended to provide greater transparency, and a renewed focus on fraud prevention and maintaining market integrity for the CFTC's core markets, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Learning From 2025 FCA Trends Targeting PE In Healthcare

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    False Claims Act enforcement trends and legislative developments from this year signal intensifying state and federal scrutiny of private equity's growing footprint in healthcare, and the urgency of compliance, says Lisa Re at Arnold & Porter.

  • Reviewing 2025's State And Federal AI Regulations

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    In light of increasing state and federal action to oversee the use of artificial intelligence, companies that develop or deploy the technology should keep abreast of current and forthcoming AI laws and consider their applicability to their business activities, says Jessica Brigman at Spencer Fane.

  • Software Patents May Face New Eligibility Scrutiny

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    November guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, along with recent litigation trends from the Federal Circuit, may encourage new challenges in the USPTO and district courts to artificial intelligence and software patents that rely on generic computing functions without concrete details, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What Trump Order Limiting State AI Regs Means For Insurers

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    Last week's executive order seeking to preclude states from regulating artificial intelligence will likely have minimal impact on insurers, but the order and related congressional activities may portend a federal expectation of consistent state oversight of insurers' AI use, says Kathleen Birrane at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

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    To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • Investment Advisers Should Stay Apprised Of New AI Risks

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently issued annual examination priorities reiterate a host of regulatory implications for investment advisers using artificial intelligence tools, highlighting that meaningful ongoing due diligence can help mitigate both operational and regulatory surprises amid AI's rapid evolution, says Christopher Mills at Sidley.

  • New Rule Shows NRC Willing To Move Fast To Reform Regs

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    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to forgo public comment and immediately rescind certain rules governing adjudicatory procedures, federal tort claims and disclosure of licensee information signals the agency's intent to accelerate the regulatory streamlining efforts ordered by the president this spring, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • AG Watch: Texas Junk Fee Deal Shows Enforcement Priorities

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent $9.5 million settlement with online travel agency website Booking Holdings for so-called junk fee practices follows a larger trend of state attorneys general who have taken similar action and demonstrates the significant penalties that can follow such allegations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • 10th Circ. Dissent May Light Path For Master Account Access

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    While the Tenth Circuit's majority in Custodia Bank v. Federal Reserve Board recently affirmed Federal Reserve banks' control over master account access, the dissent raised constitutional questions that could support banks seeking master accounts in future litigation, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Calif. AG's No-Poach Case Reflects Tougher Antitrust Stance

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    This month, California’s attorney general resolved the latest enforcement action barring the use of no-poach agreements, underscoring an aggressive antitrust enforcement trend with significant increases in criminal and civil penalties, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • A Look At The Wave Of 2025 Email Marketing Suits In Wash.

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    Since the Washington Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy in April, more than 30 lawsuits have alleged that a broad range of retailers across industries sent emails that violate the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act, but retailers are unlikely to find clear answers yet, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • 3 Defense Strategies For Sporadically Prosecuted Conduct

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    Not to be confused with selective prosecutions, sporadic prosecutions — charging someone for conduct many others do without consequences — can be challenging to defend, but focusing on materiality, prosecutorial motivations and public opinion can be a winning strategy, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • 2025 Noncompete Developments That Led To Inflection Point

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    Employers must reshape their approaches to noncompete agreements following key 2025 developments, including Delaware's rejection of blue-penciling and the proliferation of state wage thresholds, say attorneys at Gunderson Dettmer.

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