Public Policy

  • March 17, 2026

    FCC OKs Alaska Plan Changes As Tribe Moves To New Village

    GCI Communication Corp. won't have to continue to provide service to an Alaskan Native village in the state's eroding coastal lowland after its population moved on to new territory that was gained in a land swap with the federal government, the Federal Communications Commission has ruled.

  • March 17, 2026

    SIFMA, Other Orgs Weigh In On SEC's 'Small Entity' Proposal

    The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to increase its oversight of investment advisers should it move forward with a plan to categorize more mutual funds and advisers as small entities, saying the current playing field disadvantages broker-dealers.

  • March 17, 2026

    Colo. Appeals Panel Weighs Standing In Charter Dispute

    A Colorado school district argued to a state Court of Appeals panel Tuesday that the state school board didn't have authority to revoke the district's exclusive chartering authority in a dispute over the school board's role in contract negotiations with a charter school.

  • March 17, 2026

    OFAC Fines Broker $1.1M Over Apparent Sanctions Violations

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday announced that Florida brokerage TradeStation Securities Inc. has agreed to pay more than $1.1 million to settle potential civil liability for violating the regulator's sanctions programs for Iran, Syria and Crimea.

  • March 17, 2026

    Trump Admin Accused Of Retaliation In Colo. Climate Lab Suit

    A nonprofit research consortium of 129 colleges asked a federal judge to stop the Trump administration from breaking up the climate and weather lab it operates in Boulder, Colorado, claiming the administration is acting on retribution alone in its decision.

  • March 17, 2026

    NYC Asks To Stop Defending Eric Adams In Sex Assault Suit

    New York City's law department Tuesday moved to terminate its representation of former Mayor Eric Adams in a sexual assault suit filed by a former police department colleague, arguing Adams wasn't acting within the scope of his city employment at the time of the alleged incidents. 

  • March 17, 2026

    Trump's Pipeline Order Stokes Turf War Over Energy Permits

    The Trump administration is taking executive power into uncharted territory by asserting it can override state law to restart a California oil pipeline, but such an expansion of presidential authority over energy infrastructure may invite skepticism from courts.

  • March 17, 2026

    1st Circ. Pauses 3rd-Nation Deportations Ruling During Appeal

    The First Circuit has granted the Trump administration a stay pending appeal of a Massachusetts federal court ruling that a class of noncitizens facing removal to countries to which they have no ties must receive meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise fears about being deported to those countries.

  • March 17, 2026

    Dr. Oz Claims Florida Also Has Healthcare Fraud Problem

    Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced Tuesday that he is taking his efforts to combat healthcare-related fraud to Florida, where he says millions of dollars have been wasted on schemes involving durable medical equipment.

  • March 17, 2026

    Mich. AG Joins Fair Housing Laws Fight Against HUD Guidance

    Michigan's attorney general spoke Tuesday about joining 15 states and the District of Columbia in a California federal suit claiming the Trump administration undermines enforcement of fair housing laws by threatening to halt funding for local government programs protecting people discriminated against for gender and sexual orientation, among other things.

  • March 17, 2026

    USPTO Has Eye On New Tech In Design Patent Guidance

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has significantly expanded design patent protections with its guidance for claiming computer-generated images shown using virtual reality, holograms and similar technologies, attorneys say, marking a big step forward from prior rules on the subject.

  • March 17, 2026

    China Surveillance Makes Radio Conference Harder, Senate Told

    China's ability to monitor foreign visitors from the moment they step onto its soil will make it harder for U.S. officials to navigate next year's critical treaty-making conference on radio spectrum rules in Shanghai, experts told the U.S. Senate Tuesday.

  • March 17, 2026

    Judge Blasts Admin For Shifting White House Project Claims

    A D.C. federal judge blasted top administration attorneys Tuesday for "shifting theories" of authority for the White House's East Wing ballroom project, saying the administration was likely looking for "an escape hatch" to avoid an injunction and promised to try to rule before above-ground work begins next month.

  • March 17, 2026

    NJ Justices Probe Daniel's Law Notification Requirement

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned whether a notice requirement in the state's judicial privacy law is enough to ensure that any person or entity that can be held liable under the law acted with negligence.

  • March 17, 2026

    10th Circ. Considers Ask For New Trial In $5M Toll Lanes Suit

    The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday considered a contractor's request for the court to order a new trial after a Denver federal jury awarded construction design firm Aecom $5.25 million for a contract breach in a Colorado toll lanes project, questioning the contractor's litigation strategy.

  • March 17, 2026

    Biden Admin's Definition Of ERISA Fiduciary Erased

    A Texas federal judge on Tuesday vacated regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor that would have expanded the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under federal benefits law, changes that a collective of insurance groups said the federal agency didn't have the authority to make.

  • March 17, 2026

    Lawmakers Want More Oversight For Antitrust Settlements

    Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation Tuesday that would give courts more power to review settlements reached in government antitrust cases, after the U.S. Department of Justice recently cut a pair of controversial deals, including with Live Nation last week.

  • March 17, 2026

    Indicted Atty's Party Was Actually Campaign Launch, Jury Told

    Those in attendance at a March 2018 party held by BDK Law Group LLC at the center of multiple wire fraud charges expected attorney Dennis A. Bradley Jr. to announce his campaign for the Connecticut state Senate that night, even though it was billed simply as a thank-you party, a former colleague who emceed the event told a Connecticut federal jury Tuesday.

  • March 17, 2026

    Trump Can't Get 11th Circ. Redo On CNN Defamation Suit Toss

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump's bid for the full appeals court to weigh his $475 million suit against CNN over the network calling his 2020 presidential election fraud claims a "Big Lie," leaving intact a November panel ruling affirming the case's dismissal.

  • March 17, 2026

    BlackRock, State Street Want GOP States' ESG Suit Pared

    BlackRock and State Street have asked a Texas federal judge to significantly winnow antitrust claims from Republican state attorneys general accusing the asset managers of driving up coal prices, arguing that claims based on electricity buyers are too far removed from coal.

  • March 17, 2026

    House Panel Advances Bill Aimed At Curbing ERISA Litigation

    A GOP-led panel in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday advanced legislation that would raise the pleading standards for proposed class action federal benefits lawsuits and delay the start of discovery in those disputes, with Democrats on the committee voting to oppose the legislation. 

  • March 17, 2026

    5th Circ. Sends Texas' Ozone Plan Back To EPA

    The Fifth Circuit has withdrawn its opinion backing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's disapproval of Texas' plan to meet federal ozone standards, finding the agency's new cross-state emissions rule indicates it had relied on data and modeling that was unavailable to Texas before submission.

  • March 17, 2026

    Google Wants Cutoff Date For Ad Tech Rivals' Claims

    Google moved to tee up a dismissal bid aimed at cutting key targeted policies from New York federal court antitrust claims from rival advertising placement technology providers, arguing that its "sophisticated" competitors cannot get around a four-year statute of limitations pegged to the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit.

  • March 17, 2026

    4th Circ. Seems Split On Habeas In Speech Detention Case

    A Fourth Circuit panel wrestled Tuesday with whether a federal court had authority to hear a Georgetown scholar's claim that he was detained for protected speech, with one judge insisting that federal immigration law forces challenges to immigration detention through the petition-for-review process.

  • March 17, 2026

    Ga. Legislators Approve 4th Year Of Income Tax Rebates

    A one-time income tax refund worth up to $500 per household was given final approval by the Georgia Senate, and so the state's lawmakers have elected to cut across-the-board refund checks to taxpayers for a fourth straight year.  

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • 3 Key Ohio Financial Services Developments From 2025

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    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw particularly notable developments in 2025, including a significant Ohio Supreme Court decision on creditor disclosure duties to guarantors in Huntington National Bank v. Schneider, and some major proposed changes to the state's Homebuyer Plus program, says Alex Durst at Durst Kerridge.

  • Patent Eligibility Faces Widening Gap Between USPTO, Courts

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    The year 2026 opened with a profoundly altered Patent Act Section 101 ecosystem — the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has pushed eligibility as far open as it can for artificial intelligence technologies, but the courts are not on the same page, say attorneys at Skadden.

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