Try our Advanced Search for more refined results

Public Policy

January 29, 2026
USPTO Asked For Clarity On Proposed Foreign Applicant Rule

A trade group representing intellectual property owners wants clarity on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed requirement for all foreign patent owners to be represented by a domestic-registered patent practitioner and suggested steps to "promote fairness."
January 29, 2026
9th Circ. Says Noem Can't 'Smuggle In' TPS Vacaturs

The Ninth Circuit has ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to vacate temporary protected status for Venezuela and Haiti, saying her attempt to do so flouts both Congress' design of the TPS statute and the law's language.
January 29, 2026
Minn. County Appeals 3,000-Acre Land Trust Order At 8th Circ.

A Minnesota county and two of its townships are appealing to the Eighth Circuit a lower court's order that dismissed a challenge to a U.S. Department of the Interior decision to take more than 3,000 acres into trust for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
January 29, 2026
Bondi Elevates Pa. US Atty Amid Appointments Scrutiny

The first assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania is being retained and elevated to full U.S. attorney by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, his office announced Thursday, though the appointment will have to remain temporary or he could face the same questions about his appointment as other top prosecutors in President Donald Trump's administration.
January 29, 2026
ADA Settlement Brings Changes To Detroit Courthouses

A settlement in an Americans with Disabilities Act class action brought by two attorneys and a community activist will lead to ADA-compliant upgrades like private bathrooms, accessible voting machines and new signage at municipal buildings serving Detroit and Wayne County.
January 29, 2026
GOP-Led Crypto Bill Clears Senate Panel In Party-Line Vote

The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a Republican-led proposal to regulate crypto markets on Thursday with a vote that fell starkly along party lines after Democrats made clear they would not support the bill without provisions to prevent public officials from profiting from crypto ventures.
January 29, 2026
Interior Dept. Says NY Can't Overcome Offshore Wind Halt

The Trump administration has urged a D.C. federal court to reject New York's attempt to undo the suspension of an Ørsted subsidiary's offshore wind project, saying the state has only claimed distant and derivative economic harm.
January 29, 2026
Immigrants' Attys Say Detention Center Must Ease Access

Counsel for a proposed class of individuals detained at an immigration detention facility in the Everglades urged a Florida federal court Thursday to lift restrictions on attorney access, arguing that they violate detainees' freedom of association under the First Amendment.
January 29, 2026
Ga. Gov. Hopeful Wants 11th Circ.'s Take On Cash Limits

Georgia Secretary of State and gubernatorial hopeful Brad Raffensperger said Wednesday he would ask the Eleventh Circuit to review a federal judge's decision from the day before shooting down yet another challenge to a state law allowing a rival in the race to rake in unlimited campaign cash.
January 29, 2026
Dispensaries Sue Hawaii Over Criminalizing Hemp Products

Two dispensary owners are suing Hawaii's attorney general and the Hawaii State Department of Health, alleging that the state's new law regulating hemp products is preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill and violates the supremacy clause by criminalizing conduct Congress legalized.
January 29, 2026
U. Of Edinburgh Repatriates Historic Muscogee Remains

Scotland's University of Edinburgh is returning the remains of six Muscogee (Creek) Nation individuals in what it says it believes is the first international repatriation of Native American ancestral remains to the United States' mainland.
January 29, 2026
4th Circ. Wary Of Kicking Up 'Sandstorm' On Deferred Comp.

The Fourth Circuit appeared reluctant Thursday to revive a proposed class action brought against Bank of America and Merrill by an ex-financial adviser who said he was shorted deferred compensation, as judges questioned whether federal benefits law applied to payments that looked like bonuses.
January 29, 2026
Pasadena Settles Tenants' Wildfire Contamination Claims

The California city of Pasadena has agreed to settle claims filed by local residents who alleged in California state court that the city failed to conduct "adequate inspections" for homes that were contaminated with "toxic smoke, ash and soot" caused by the Eaton wildfires that occurred in January 2025.
January 29, 2026
Mass. AG Sues 9 Towns To Enforce Housing Law

The Massachusetts attorney general on Jan. 29 sued nine towns that have not complied with a controversial state housing initiative requiring them to allow multifamily housing in at least a portion of their communities.
January 29, 2026
Clemency Favors White Collar Offenders, New Study Shows

White collar criminal defendants are more likely than other types of offenders to receive presidential pardons, especially under the Trump administration, a new analysis of clemency actions shows, raising concerns about a system one expert called "broken."
January 29, 2026
Utah House Bill Would Require Tax Hike Notice, Set Limits

Utah would require taxing entities to provide notice of their intent to levy a property tax rate above a statutorily defined base rate and impose limits on property tax increases under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
January 28, 2026
ICE Violated Nearly 100 Court Orders, Minn. Judge Says

The Minnesota federal court's chief judge admonished U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday for violating nearly 100 court orders concerning the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota while another judge, on the same day, temporarily blocked ICE from unlawfully arresting and detaining refugees in the North Star State.
January 28, 2026
Mid-America Inks $53M Deal In RealPage Landlord MDL

Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. revealed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that it will pay $53 million to settle out of multidistrict antitrust litigation alleging some of the largest landlords in the country used RealPage Inc.'s software to fix rent prices for residential properties.
January 28, 2026
Trade Secret Filings Hit Record High In 2025, Report Finds

Trade secret litigation reached an all-time high in 2025, with more than 1,500 federal cases filed for the first time ever, according to a new report by legal analytics firm Lex Machina, which also highlights trends about damages, the busiest courts and the law firms most frequently involved.
January 28, 2026
Powell Says Cook Case May Be 'Most Important' In Fed History

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court bid to oust Fed Gov. Lisa Cook represents "perhaps the most important" case in the history of the central bank, defending his move to attend the high court's recent hearing on the matter.
January 28, 2026
Unions Say FEMA Staff Cuts Threaten Disaster Readiness

A coalition of unions, nonprofit organizations and local governments that are challenging the Trump administration's federal worker layoffs and agency reorganizations asked a California federal judge Tuesday for permission to add the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a defendant, saying ongoing staff cuts threaten its legally mandated responsibility to respond to disasters.
January 28, 2026
Subcontractor Says Fluor Shut It Out Of Work On NM Wildfires

A subcontractor has told a Texas federal court that Fluor Corporation was in cahoots with another subcontractor to push it out of the disaster relief staffing market relating to the 2022 New Mexico wildfires, saying Fluor violated federal antitrust law.
January 28, 2026
NJ Prep School Can't Arbitrate Student's Sex Assault Suit

A New Jersey appeals court on Wednesday refused to send to arbitration a suit seeking to hold the prestigious Lawrenceville School liable for the sexual assault of a student, saying a federal statute that bars arbitration for certain sexual assault cases renders irrelevant the school's argument about a later-signed agreement.
January 28, 2026
Ex-Detainees Detail Conditions At Florida Immigration Facility

Former detainees testified Wednesday in Florida federal court about conditions at an Everglades immigration facility, recalling that they weren't able to speak with attorneys and had to write down phone numbers for counsel using bars of soap.
January 28, 2026
Dems Call For Release Of 5-Year-Old Detained By ICE In Texas

A coalition of Texas elected officials and community leaders called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday to immediately release a father and his 5-year-old son from an immigration detention facility in southern Texas after they were detained last week in Minnesota.

Expert Analysis

2025 Legal Milestones That Will Shape Psychedelics Sector

As 2025 draws to a close, psychedelic drug development stands at an inflection point, experiencing unprecedented momentum through recent sweeping regulatory changes and landmark clinical milestones, amid rapidly evolving regulatory expectations, say Odette Hauke at Odette Alina LLC and Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.
M&A Midmarket Shows Resilience Amid 2025 Challenges

Midmarket mergers and acquisitions showed a slight decline in volume but climbed in value for much of 2025, particularly in the private equity space, indicating that the middle market M&A environment is cautious but steady heading into 2026, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.
Del. Dispatch: Key 2025 Corporate Cases And Trends To Know

The Delaware corporate legal landscape saw notable changes in 2025, spurred by amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, ubiquitous artificial intelligence fervor, boardroom discussion around DExit, record shareholder activism activity and an arguably more expansive view of potential Caremark liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.
2025 Brought A New Paradigm For Federal Banking Regulation

A series of thematic shifts defined banking regulation in 2025, including a fundamental reform of prudential supervision, a strategic easing of capital constraints, steps to streamline merger reviews, and a new framework for fair access and entrants seeking to offer banking services, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
What 2025 Transpo And Logistics Legal Trends Mean For 2026

2025 was challenging for the transportation and logistics sector, with emergent trends including dramatic federal policy shifts, developments in tort risk, and a host of mergers and acquisitions — but a review of these themes offers a useful playbook for where the industry is headed in 2026, says Jonathan Todd at Benesch.
How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
2025 State AI Laws Expand Liability, Raise Insurance Risks

As 2025 nears its end, claims professionals should be aware of trends in state legislation addressing artificial intelligence use, as insurance claims based on some of these liability-expanding statutes are a certainty, say attorneys at Wiley.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.
Crypto In 2025: From Federal Deregulation To State Action

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

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

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

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

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

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.