Public Policy

  • January 07, 2026

    ISS Asks Judge Not To Stall Ruling On Texas ESG Law

    Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. is pushing back on Texas' request to delay a ruling on the constitutionality of a law requiring proxy advisory firms to disclose when voting recommendations are based on environmental, social or governance factors, arguing that the state hasn't shown how additional discovery "will make any difference" to the case.

  • January 07, 2026

    FCC Won't Extend Time To Comment On Wireless Reg Redo

    The Federal Communications Commission dashed the hopes of nearly two dozen cities on Wednesday, including the District of Columbia, when it refused to grant them more time to respond to the agency's plans to change rules surrounding wireless site deployment.

  • January 07, 2026

    STB Eyes Easier Shipper Access Mandates Across Railways

    Showing "anticompetitive conduct" would no longer be a requirement for shippers seeking to force rail carriers to work together to ferry their goods, under a proposed rulemaking Wednesday that the Surface Transportation Board said would shift such petitions back to consideration on a case-by-case basis.

  • January 07, 2026

    Calif. Bill Proposes 4-Year AI Toy Ban To Mull Safety Rules

    California Sen. Steve Padilla has introduced what would be the nation's first moratorium on the sale of toys containing artificial intelligence chatbot features, with the aim of giving lawmakers time to implement regulatory guardrails to protect children from potentially dangerous AI interactions.

  • January 07, 2026

    Ga. Republicans Outline $16B Plan To End State Income Tax

    Georgia Republican lawmakers laid out a $16 billion proposal Wednesday to abolish the state's income tax, a plan that would gradually reduce the levy over the next six years with a goal of complete elimination by 2032.

  • January 07, 2026

    Judge Seeks Assurance That PFAS Deals Are Good For NJ

    A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday asked attorneys for the state to assure that two proposed deals with 3M and E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. worth nearly $3 billion to resolve its claims over contamination by "forever chemicals" are in the best interest of the state's residents despite a number of objections.

  • January 07, 2026

    3rd Circ. Says Visa Omission Of Kids Sinks Naturalization Bid

    In a precedential opinion Wednesday, the Third Circuit ruled that a green card holder attempting to gain U.S. citizenship was properly denied naturalization for failing to list his two children on the original visa paperwork, an omission that made his permanent residence unlawful.

  • January 07, 2026

    Conn. Regulator Clears Avangrid Unit In Fatal Electrocution

    An Avangrid Inc. subsidiary is not responsible for the death of a Connecticut man who grabbed a downed power line while clearing a fallen tree from a golf course driveway in August, but it should make changes to the way it responds to potentially life-threatening situations, the state's utility regulator said Wednesday.

  • January 07, 2026

    Trump Admin Asks Judge Not To Toss Boston Sanctuary Suit

    The Trump administration on Wednesday urged a judge not to dismiss its lawsuit against the city of Boston over its sanctuary immigration policies, saying the ordinance at issue is preempted by federal law.

  • January 07, 2026

    Philadelphia Settles Cops' OT Suit 6 Days Before Trial

    A group of mid-ranking officers in Philadelphia's police department have settled an overtime lawsuit against the city and the department's leaders, less than a week before it could have gone to trial.

  • January 07, 2026

    NJ Town Blasts 'Litigation Tactic' In Mall Sunday Sales Suit

    The New Jersey borough that's home to the American Dream megamall has asked a state judge to dismiss another municipality's lawsuit challenging Sunday sales there, arguing that the complaint failed to articulate any legally cognizable claim against the borough.

  • January 07, 2026

    Chief Cook Co. Judge Highlights First Month's Reforms

    In his first month on the job, Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach has restructured the court to create three new deputy chief judge positions and has taken steps to review the court's pretrial electronic monitoring practices.

  • January 07, 2026

    FCC Plans To Raise Power Limits For Unlicensed 6 GHz Use

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote this month on whether to expand unlicensed uses of the 6 gigahertz airwaves, aiming to make more room for Wi-Fi, the Internet of Things and augmented and virtual reality.

  • January 07, 2026

    FERC Defends Grid Planning Policy Revamp At 4th Circ.

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has told the Fourth Circuit that the overhaul of its regional transmission planning policy was needed to address a pervasive failure to efficiently build out the U.S. electric grid, and that allegations the agency acted unlawfully are meritless.

  • January 07, 2026

    Jones Day Adds Ex-SEC Deputy Enforcement Director In Ga.

    Jones Day has added to its Atlanta investigations and white collar defense practice a former deputy enforcement director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm announced on Wednesday.

  • January 07, 2026

    FCC Urged To Revisit AT&T-UScellular Spectrum Deal OK

    Consumer advocates are teaming up with rural wireless carriers to call for the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its recent approval of a $1 billion deal for AT&T to snap up spectrum held by broken-up UScellular.

  • January 07, 2026

    Ind. House Bill Would Stop Property Taxes And Assessments

    Indiana would bar political subdivisions from assessing and taxing tangible property and instead allow school corporations to impose an annual fee to attempt to make up revenue under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives. 

  • January 07, 2026

    Law Firms Step Up To Navigate Biz Opportunities In Venezuela

    Law firms are gearing up to assist clients exploring potential business opportunities in Venezuela following President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. would "run" the country for the time being after the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on narco-conspiracy charges.

  • January 07, 2026

    Cruz Tells House Speaker To Move On Judicial Impeachments

    Ahead of a hearing on impeachment of "rogue judges" on Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, increased pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to advance impeachment proceedings against federal judges in D.C. and Maryland.

  • January 07, 2026

    Tax Funding Oil Spill Cleanups Has Expired, IRS Clarifies

    The Internal Revenue Service clarified Wednesday that the part of an added tax on crude oil and petroleum products earmarked for an oil spill cleanup fund expired at the end of 2025.

  • January 07, 2026

    Trump Says He Wants To Ban Wall Street From Buying Houses

    President Donald Trump announced in an online post Wednesday he plans to ask Congress to endorse coming steps from his administration to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes in the U.S.

  • January 07, 2026

    Feds Say Rubio Has Authority To Halt Ally Visa Processing

    The federal government defended its authority to suspend visa processing for Afghan and Iraqi allies even though a final court order requires prompt action, arguing that the secretary of state can override the court.

  • January 07, 2026

    NC Panel Backs GOP In Judicial Appointment Power Clash

    A split panel in North Carolina's intermediate appeals court Wednesday sided with Republican lawmakers in an ongoing constitutional battle over the governor's appointment powers, finding the Legislature can restrict his ability to fill judicial vacancies in the state appellate courts.

  • January 07, 2026

    Objector To PACER Overcharge Settlement Faces Uphill Battle

    An objector to a $125 million settlement to end class claims alleging the federal government overcharged nonprofits and other lawyers to access court documents faced a skeptical Federal Circuit panel Wednesday, with judges indicating they had not found legal errors in the district court's approval of the deal.

  • January 07, 2026

    DOJ Seeks Nod For HPE Merger Deal Over State Objections

    The U.S. Department of Justice has requested court approval for its settlement that would end a challenge of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's acquisition of a networking equipment rival, despite objections raised by state enforcers over allegations of improper lobbying influence.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Watch As NY LLC Transparency Act Is Stuck In Limbo

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    Just about a month before it's set to take effect, the status of the New York LLC Transparency Act remains murky because of a pending amendment and the lack of recent regulatory attention in New York, but business owners should at least prepare for the possibility of having to comply, says Jonathan Wilson at Buchalter.

  • 1st Trial After FCPA Pause Offers Clues On DOJ Priorities

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    After surviving a government review of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, the U.S. v. Zaglin case reveals the U.S. Department of Justice still appears willing to prosecute individuals for conduct broadly consistent with classic priorities, despite the agency's new emphasis on foreign policy priorities, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Opinion

    Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

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    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Unique Aspects Of Texas' Approach To AI Regulation

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    The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act — which will soon be the sole comprehensive artificial intelligence law in the U.S. — pulls threads from EU and Colorado laws but introduces more targeted rules with fewer obligations on commercial entities, say attorneys at MVA Law.

  • Wells Process Reforms Serve SEC Chair's Transparency Goals

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    Enforcement policy changes U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins recently set forth will help fulfill his stated goal of making Division of Enforcement investigations more fair and transparent by changing the Wells process to provide recipients earlier consultations with SEC staff, greater evidence access and more time to file responses, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Contradictory Rulings Show Complexity Of Swaps Regulation

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    Recent divergent rulings, including two by the same Nevada judge, on whether the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling laws when applied to event contracts traded on U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated markets illustrate the uncertainty regarding the legality of prediction markets, say attorneys at Akin.

  • How New Law Transforms Large-Load Power Projects In Texas

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    S.B. 6 — the new Texas law that revises state regulations for large electrical loads and related behind-the-meter projects — introduces higher up-front costs for developers and more flexible operating models for large-load customers, but should provide the certainty needed for greater investment in generation, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Cos. Should Prepare For Prop 65 Listing Of Bisphenols

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    California regulators are moving toward classifying all p,p'-bisphenol chemicals as causing reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65, which could require warning notices for a vast range of consumer and industrial products, and open the floodgates to private litigation — so companies should proactively review their suppy chains, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

  • 8th Circ. Decision Shipwrecks IRS On Shoals Of Loper Bright

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    The Eighth Circuit’s recent decision invalidating transfer pricing regulations in 3M Co. v. Commissioner may be the most significant tax case implementing Loper Bright's rejection of agency deference as a judicial tool in statutory construction, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

  • Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

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    Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

  • Series

    My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

  • When Mortgage Data Can't Prove Discriminatory Lending

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    As plaintiffs continue to use Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data as grounds for class actions, attorneys must consider the limits of a statistics-only approach and the need for manual loan file review to confirm indications of potential discriminatory lending, say Abe Chernin, Shane Oka and Kevin Oswald at Cornerstone Research.

  • Justices' Ruling Will Ease Foreign Arbitral Award Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization suggests that U.S. courts can constitutionally decide whether to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards in accordance with U.S. treaty obligations, regardless of the award debtor's connections to the U.S., says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.

  • Surveying The Healthcare Policy Landscape Post-Shutdown

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    With last week's agreement to reopen the federal government, at least through the end of January, key healthcare legislation that has been in limbo since a December 2024 spending bill fell apart may recapture the attention of Congress, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • FDA Biosimilar Guidance Should Ease Biologics Development

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    New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, indicating that the agency may no longer routinely require comparative efficacy studies when other evidence provides sufficient assurance of biosimilarity, underscores the FDA's trust in analytical technology as a driver of biologics access, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

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