Public Policy

  • November 18, 2025

    NTSB Flags Vessel's Loose Wire In Key Bridge Collapse Probe

    A single loose wire triggered a power failure aboard the container carrier that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year, and the absence of an effective warning system didn't give construction workers enough time to clear the collapsing bridge, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday.

  • November 18, 2025

    Judge Says Texas, Toronto Exchange Logos Seem Dissimilar

    A Texas federal judge expressed skepticism that the Toronto Stock Exchange has much of a leg to stand on in its attempt to get the Texas Stock Exchange to change its logo, saying during a hearing Tuesday that the logos look dissimilar enough for most people to tell the difference.

  • November 18, 2025

    Colo. High Court Weighs Test For Political Donor Disclosures

    Colorado Supreme Court justices pushed attorneys Tuesday on how the court should measure a political organization's spending and efforts on ballot measures in determining whether a conservative political group fined for not disclosing donors after spending millions on state ballot questions in Colorado's 2020 election qualifies as an "issue committee" that must disclose its donors.

  • November 18, 2025

    Trump Admin May Be Overpromising WOTUS Clarity

    The Trump administration says its proposal to shrink the Clean Water Act's reach would reduce regulatory burdens and provide clarity to farmers, homebuilders and other businesses, but it could face court challenges and potential reworking by future administrations.

  • November 18, 2025

    FDIC Says Capital One Is 'Turning Back Time' With Fee Fight

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has accused Capital One of trying to "turn back time" by retroactively distributing $56 billion and claiming it was erroneously included in the FDIC's fee calculations, in order to dodge roughly $99 million in special assessments tied to the 2023 regional bank crisis.

  • November 18, 2025

    Colo. Justices Unsure On Limits For Borrowing Claims Rule

    Colorado Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grappled with when an attorney has satisfied their requirements under Colorado law to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" when including pleadings from other litigation during oral arguments in CenturyLink's petition to have a securities class action dismissed for including anonymous claims from a different lawsuit.

  • November 18, 2025

    Over-Detentions Are Jail's 'Worst-Kept Secret,' Judge Told

    An attorney for people who allege they were unlawfully kept at a county jail for days after a court ordered their release told a Michigan federal judge Tuesday not to dismiss their due process claims, saying that release delays were the "worst-kept secret."

  • November 18, 2025

    Severe SC Abortion Bill Falters in Committee

    A South Carolina bill that would have further criminalized abortion and subjected patients and doctors to up to 30 years in prison failed to advance out of a Senate committee on Tuesday, with antiabortion committee members raising concerns that the bill went too far.

  • November 18, 2025

    Groups Seek More Time To Comment On SEC's RMBS Plan

    The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is among those calling for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to grant more time to provide feedback on a plan that could change how the agency regulates residential mortgage-backed securities, citing the recent government shutdown as a reason for extending the deadline. 

  • November 18, 2025

    Flagstar Urges 9th Circ. Redo For Escrow Interest Ruling

    Flagstar Bank pushed the entire Ninth Circuit to reconsider its prior ruling in a putative class action that accused the bank of violating a California law that requires banks to make interest payments for escrow accounts connected to certain types of residential mortgage loans, arguing that the court deciding that the state law is not preempted by the National Bank Act clashes with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a similar case.

  • November 18, 2025

    6th Circ. Revives Deadly Force Suit Against Mich. Police

    A divided Sixth Circuit panel found Tuesday that a pair of Lansing, Michigan, police officers are not entitled to qualified immunity for shooting and killing a man outside his home, reviving an excessive force claim against the officers.

  • November 18, 2025

    NJ Justices Asked How 'Beneficial Use' Should Affect Zoning

    A Garden State town urged the New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday to provide a blueprint for how municipal zoning boards should evaluate variance applications under a nearly three-decade-old amendment to the state's land use law, arguing that a lower court did not give the update proper consideration when it overturned the town's denial of a senior living facility.

  • November 18, 2025

    OCC Clears Banks To Hold Crypto For Blockchain Fees

    Banks may hold digital assets required to pay crypto transaction fees and test new crypto platforms, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirmed in a Tuesday interpretive letter.

  • November 18, 2025

    Court Says Keeping Tribe's Suit Alive Respects Federal Law

    An Oklahoma city can't dodge a jurisdictional challenge by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, a federal judge determined Tuesday, saying, "The boundary between state authority and tribal sovereignty in Indian Country was marked long before the dispute arose, and nothing in the record suggests Congress has moved it."

  • November 18, 2025

    Feds Tell DC Circ. Congress OK'd Quick Removal Of Parolees

    The Trump administration urged the D.C. Circuit to undo a federal judge's order placing limits on expedited removals, arguing that its hands are being tied in lawful efforts to deport noncitizens who were paroled into the country.

  • November 18, 2025

    Asst. Gets New Try At Religious Bias Suit Over Wash. Vax Rule

    A divided Washington state appeals court panel said Tuesday a lower court was wrong to dismiss a legal assistant's lawsuit accusing the Washington State Attorney General's Office of wrongfully refusing her request for a religious accommodation to the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, reopening the suit.

  • November 18, 2025

    Noem Says US Security Behind Job Denial, Not Religious Tea

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem countered a job applicant's lawsuit alleging religious discrimination, telling a Florida federal court that the judiciary system lacks the authority to scrutinize the department's national security decisions.

  • November 18, 2025

    Trump Can't Revive $475M Libel Suit Against CNN At 11th Circ.

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld a ruling Tuesday tossing President Donald Trump's $475 million lawsuit alleging CNN defamed him by repeatedly calling Trump's 2020 presidential election fraud claims a "Big Lie," agreeing with the lower court that Trump failed to adequately allege CNN's "subjective" statements about Trump's conduct were false.

  • November 18, 2025

    Texas Redistricting Blocked Over Racial Gerrymandering

    A Texas federal judge on Tuesday struck down Texas' newly redrawn congressional map, ruling that the state likely engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering and ordering the state to revert to its 2021 map for next year's midterm elections.

  • November 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts Suit Over Seattle's Response To BLM Protest

    The Ninth Circuit appeared skeptical Tuesday about reviving claims that the city of Seattle violated the constitutional rights of two businesses by abandoning several city blocks during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, with one judge questioning whether city officials put them in a "more dangerous situation" than others in the neighborhood.

  • November 18, 2025

    FCC's Carr Backing Universal Service Reform After Court Win

    Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Carr told rural network providers Tuesday that he's working closely with lawmakers on long-term fixes for the Universal Service Fund, which supports connectivity across the country.

  • November 18, 2025

    States Can Intervene Over DOJ's HPE Merger Deal

    A California federal court granted a request on Tuesday from state enforcers asking to participate in a review of the U.S. Department of Justice's controversial settlement allowing Hewlett Packard Enterprise to move ahead with its $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks.

  • November 18, 2025

    Senate Dem Slams FCC's Carr Over Cybersecurity Plan

    A top Senate Democrat on telecom issues blasted Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, on Tuesday for seeking to roll back an FCC cybersecurity ruling issued late in the Biden administration responding to the Salt Typhoon cyberattack.

  • November 18, 2025

    Polaris Hits Back At 'Settled Expectations' Fed. Circ. Fight

    Polaris PowerLED says Sandisk Technologies Inc.'s Federal Circuit challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's denial of patent reviews based on a patent owner's "settled expectations" is not any different from similar cases that have been rejected by the circuit court.

  • November 18, 2025

    4th Circ. Restores Trade Secrets Suit Against Insurance Execs

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived insurer Sherbrooke Corp.'s claims of trade secrets theft against three former executives, disagreeing with a district judge who found that the company had not made enough of an effort to guard the software in question.

Expert Analysis

  • Breaking Down Article 12 Of The Uniform Commercial Code

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    Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code, providing the alternative to perfection by control of assets like cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, but before accepting these assets as collateral, lenders and creditors should consider how to best maintain priority, say attorneys at Miller Nash.

  • Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

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    With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.

  • How Litigating Antitrust Fix Helped GTCR Prevail In Court

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    An Illinois federal judge's recent denial of the Federal Trade Commission's injunction request in the GTCR acquisition of Surmodics joins a developing series of cases in which deal parties have prevailed against government antitrust challenges by proposing a post-complaint fix and litigating the as-amended deal, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

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    As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

  • Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

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    Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • Wading Into NY Wetland Regs' 2025 Changes And Challenges

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    Solar developers in New York should keep a weather eye on litigation challenging the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s recently expanded authority to regulate wetlands and waterways, which could erode the impact of a new permitting process meant to streamline solar development on protected wetlands, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Takeaways As Justices Let 5th Circ. Pollution Ruling Stand

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent certiorari denial leaves intact a Fifth Circuit ruling that environmental justice organizations have standing to pursue a civil rights challenge to a parish's land-use practice, underscoring the importance of local governments proactively engaging with communities to address cumulative impacts of development, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

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