Public Policy

  • February 23, 2026

    Tenant Screener Didn't Hinder Disabled Man, 2nd Circ. Says

    A company that screens potential tenants' criminal and credit histories on behalf of landlords cannot be held liable under the Fair Housing Act for blocking a disabled man from moving in with his mother because it did not actually make the housing decision, a Second Circuit panel held in a precedent-setting opinion.

  • February 23, 2026

    Justices Pass On Va. Voting Rights Restoration Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Virginia's voting rights restoration system for people with felony convictions, leaving in place a Fourth Circuit decision that upheld the system as constitutional.

  • February 23, 2026

    Debt Services Firm Challenges Connecticut Banking Penalties

    An Illinois company that provides administrative services to debt adjusters has sued the Connecticut Department of Banking, challenging an administrative order to make restitution to Constitution State customers and potentially pay up to $100,000 for each alleged violation of debt adjustment and money transmission licensing rules.

  • February 23, 2026

    Wash. Ranch Asks High Court To Undo Tribal Immunity Order

    A Washington cattle ranch is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an order that dismissed its challenge over rights to a parcel of land along the Stillaguamish River, arguing that the immovable-property rule's application to tribal sovereign immunity is an issue of federal law that should be settled.

  • February 23, 2026

    Amherst Residential Legal Head Joins Morgan Lewis In DC

    The former head of legal at The Amherst Group's residential affiliate has joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office, where he will focus on securitization, asset management and corporate finance legal matters, the firm announced Monday.

  • February 23, 2026

    2nd Circ. Chief Judge To Take Senior Status

    Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston of the Second Circuit will take senior status over the summer, giving President Donald Trump another appellate seat to fill.

  • February 23, 2026

    IRS Updates Timeline On Retirement Plan Min. Distributions

    The Internal Revenue Service updated its guidance Monday on the timing of required minimum distributions from several types of individual retirement accounts that were amended by a 2022 retirement savings law.

  • February 23, 2026

    NM Legislators OK Property Tax To Pay Bonds, Interest, Costs

    New Mexico would authorize the imposition of a property tax to repay principal, interest and costs for state-issued bonds under a bill unanimously approved by state lawmakers and headed to the governor.

  • February 23, 2026

    RI Officials Seek Dismissal Of Cannabis Licensing Suit

    Rhode Island's state cannabis regulator is urging a federal court to throw out a suit challenging its social equity licensing scheme, saying the plaintiff lacks standing because his application was not denied for the reasons he's challenging.

  • February 23, 2026

    Justices Deny Review Of Consultancy's $5M SBA Loan Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that found a risk management firm's $5 million loan did not qualify for debt relief from the U.S. Small Business Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • February 23, 2026

    Judge Blocks Release Of Mar-A-Lago Classified Docs Report

    A Florida federal judge on Monday blocked the release of former special counsel Jack Smith's final report in the criminal case against President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, finding that releasing the report would violate prior orders.

  • February 23, 2026

    Justices Won't Hear Appeal Based On Miranda Rights Hearing

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from a sweepstakes machine business owner convicted of bribery who is seeking limits on law enforcement officers' ability to interrogate individuals detained during a search without first reading them their Miranda rights.

  • February 23, 2026

    Supreme Court Won't Review NRA's Qualified Immunity Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a Second Circuit ruling shielding a former New York regulator from personal liability for her campaign against the National Rifle Association, passing over a question on when obvious constitutional violations supersede qualified immunity.

  • February 23, 2026

    Justices Will Mull Future Of State Climate Torts

    The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to determine the future of climate change tort litigation brought by state and local governments against fossil fuel companies, agreeing Monday to review whether a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp. and Suncor Energy can proceed in state court.

  • February 23, 2026

    Calif. Housing Law Challenge Won't Go Before High Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a petition to review Huntington Beach's challenge to California laws requiring the city to build high-density housing despite the objections of local officials.

  • February 20, 2026

    Va. Judges Name New US Atty, But Blanche Says 'You're Fired'

    The federal judges in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday unanimously appointed veteran litigator James W. Hundley to serve as interim U.S. attorney, a decision immediately met with derision from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who purported to fire Hundley in a social media post.

  • February 20, 2026

    Centripetal Wants Squires To Erase 2022 Patent Review Order

    Centripetal Networks Inc. has asked U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires to undo a 2022 decision instituting review of a cybersecurity patent that was part of its since-vacated multibillion-dollar judgment against Cisco Systems, saying the decision conflicts with his current policies.

  • February 20, 2026

    7th Circ. Wary Of Tackling Jurisdiction In 2 'Schedule A' Suits

    Facing requests to address alleged jurisdictional shortcomings against e-commerce platforms in two mass counterfeiting cases Friday, a Seventh Circuit panel signaled that such discussion seems unwarranted in one vendor's fee appeal while resolving the issue separately for an e-commerce intermediary might be inappropriate given its unclear case record.

  • February 20, 2026

    Wireless Builders Want FCC Kibosh On Dish 'Shell Games'

    Dish Network has reneged on its promise to build a 5G network, and with that pledge rescinded, it has stopped paying the companies that were supposed to be doing the build out, placing all their operations at risk, those companies told the Federal Communications Commission.

  • February 20, 2026

    Credit One Bank Pays $10M In Calif. DAs' Suit Over Debt Calls

    Credit One Bank will pay $10.2 million to settle a lawsuit from a group of California district attorneys alleging it inundated consumers with excessive debt collection calls, even when they had no account with the bank, three years after the Ninth Circuit held that district attorneys can sue banks over such calls.

  • February 20, 2026

    State Privacy Watch: 4 Legislative Developments To Know

    In the first weeks of 2026, state lawmakers pushed policy initiatives aimed at protecting consumers' most sensitive personal data, with two states moving closer to banning companies from selling location data and South Carolina becoming the latest to establish enhanced digital safeguards for minors despite continued industry pushback. 

  • February 20, 2026

    DHS Pitches Overhaul Of Work Permits For Asylum Seekers

    The Trump administration on Friday proposed changes to a procedure that allows asylum seekers to apply for employment authorization while they wait, noting that the changes could close the door to such work permits for "many years" to come.

  • February 20, 2026

    Squires Sinks 2 PTAB Challenges, Including 1 He Instituted

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has reversed his own decision and another made by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to institute a pair of America Invents Act petitions, citing what he called the challengers' inconsistent claim construction.

  • February 20, 2026

    Feds Seek To Strip Citizenship From Ex-North Miami Mayor

    Immigration officials have brought a civil denaturalization action in Florida federal court against the former mayor of North Miami, alleging he fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship through a sham marriage and lied about his identity. 

  • February 20, 2026

    Feds Step Up Scrutiny Of Immigrant Truck Drivers' Licensing

    The U.S. Department of Transportation said Friday that it would soon draft new rules and step up enforcement against "chameleon carriers," as well as training schools that churn out drivers seeking nondomiciled commercial driver's licenses, which are issued to immigrants.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down Expense Allocation In Mixed-Use Properties

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    Rapid increases in condominium fees and special assessments, driven by multiple factors such as rising insurance costs and expanded safety requirements, are contributing to increased litigation, so equitable expense allocation in mixed-use properties requires adherence to the governing documents, says Mike Walden at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    Minn. Can Still Bring State Charges In Absence Of Fed Action

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    After two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota's role isn't waiting to see if the federal government brings criminal charges, but independently weighing state homicide charges and allowing the judiciary to decide whether the subject conduct falls within the narrow protections of supremacy clause immunity, says Sheila Tendy at Tendy Law.

  • 4 Lessons From FTC's Successful Bid To Block Edwards Deal

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent victory in blocking Edwards Lifesciences' acquisition of JenaValve offers key insights for deals in life sciences and beyond, including considerations around nonprice dimensions and clear skies provisions, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Limiting Worker Surveillance Risks Amid AI Regulatory Shifts

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    With workplace surveillance tools becoming increasingly common and a recent executive order aiming to preempt state-level artificial intelligence enforcement, companies may feel encouraged to expand AI monitoring, but the legal exposure associated with these tools remains, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Can OCC State Banking Law Preemption Survive The Courts?

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    While two December proposals from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seek to foreclose pending consumer litigation against national banks related to residential mortgage lending, it's unclear whether this aggressive approach will withstand judicial scrutiny under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 rulings in Cantero and Loper Bright, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • How Selig May Approach CFTC Agricultural Enforcement

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    As the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission begins a new chapter under recently confirmed Chairman Michael Selig's leadership, a look back at the agency's actions in agricultural markets over the past six years sheds light on what may lie ahead for enforcement in the area, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Assessing Factors Behind Biosimilar Uptake And Competition

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    As biosimilar uptake remains uneven and questions linger over whether the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act can deliver robust competition between biologics and biosimilars, a case study of Humira and its biosimilars illustrates how many factors, including payor reimbursement and formulary strategy, collectively shape competitive dynamics, say analysts at Analysis Group.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Illinois

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    In 2025's last quarter, Illinois’ appellate courts weighed in on overlapping homeowners coverages for water-related damages, contractual suit limitation provisions in uninsured motorist policies, and protections for genetic health information in life insurance underwriting, while the Department of Insurance sought nationwide homeowners' insurance data from State Farm, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • How 3 CFTC Letters Overhauled Digital Asset Guidance

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently issued three letters providing guidance for the use of digital assets in derivatives markets, clarifying the applicability of CFTC regulations across numerous areas of digital asset activities and leading to the development of standards to allow market participants to post digital assets as collateral, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Ruling Helps Clarify FERC's Post-Jarkesy Enforcement Power

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    A North Carolina federal court's recent ruling in American Efficient v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may be a step in providing clarity on FERC's enforcement authority under the Federal Power Act in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • Aerospace And Defense Law: Trends To Follow In 2026

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    Some of the key 2026 developments to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law stem from provisions of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, a push to reform procurement, executive orders that announced Trump administration priorities, the upcoming Artemis space mission and continuing efforts to deploy artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Aviation Watch: Busy Skies, Tough Market For Airlines In 2026

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    After a turbulent year in the U.S. commercial aviation sector, demand for air travel and premium service shows no signs of slackening in 2026, with airlines facing the need to compete in a saturated market, while seeking opportunities for consolidation and pursuing other avenues to profitability, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Viewing The Merger Landscape Through An HPE-Juniper Lens

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    If considerations beyond antitrust law were taken into account to determine whether Section 7 of the Clayton Act was violated in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise-Juniper Networks deal, then legal practitioners advocating deal clearance may now have to argue that deals should be justified by considerations not set forth in the merger guidelines, says Matthew Cantor of Shinder Cantor.

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