Public Policy

  • April 13, 2026

    NC High Court Snapshot: State Retirees Fight To Retain Class

    The North Carolina Supreme Court in April will tackle a long-simmering fight over the state's obligations to provide health insurance to retired public employees, who are battling to keep their class status.

  • April 13, 2026

    Ireland To Cut Energy Taxes Amid Blockades By Protesters

    Ireland will spend €505 million ($592 million) on further cuts to fuel taxes, deferring a carbon tax increase and offering financial aid to fuel-intensive industries after protesters blockaded infrastructure over rising costs linked to the U.S. and Israel's war in Iran, according to the government.

  • April 10, 2026

    Sens. Urge CFTC To Probe 'Unusual' Oil Trading Patterns

    U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., called on the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate "unusual trading patterns" in oil futures that took place right before President Donald Trump announced talks with Iran, including the recently announced ceasefire.

  • April 10, 2026

    Ariz. Prediction Markets Regulation, Kalshi Charges Halted

    A Phoenix federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Arizona from enforcing its gambling laws against federally regulated prediction markets, saying the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission are likely to succeed on their claims that Arizona's laws are preempted by federal law.

  • April 10, 2026

    ​​​​​​​Apple Asks To Keep Stay In Epic Case During High Court Bid

    Apple has asked the Ninth Circuit not to undo its order staying a decision in Epic Games Inc.'s favor while Apple petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling that largely affirmed an injunction barring Apple from charging developers "prohibitive" commissions on iPhone app purchases.

  • April 10, 2026

    Texas Justices Say Telecom Contracts Must Follow The Law

    When the Texas Legislature changes the laws that govern how much public utilities can charge telecommunications companies to attach things to their poles, contracts that are already in effect have to fall in line, the state supreme court declared Friday in resolving a decades' long dispute involving San Antonio.

  • April 10, 2026

    Big Banks Say They Were Victims Of Tricolor Fraud Scheme

    JPMorgan, Barclays and Fifth Third have urged a New York federal judge to toss an investor suit claiming the banks ignored flaring red flags and helped conceal a sprawling subprime auto loan fraud by Tricolor Holdings, arguing that they were also victims of the fraud and not aware of the scheme despite being sophisticated financial institutions.

  • April 10, 2026

    Chest Binders Become Latest Front In Anti-Trans Litigation

    Chest binders — medical devices that can be used by individuals experiencing gender dysphoria or who want a more gender-neutral alternative to bras — have emerged as the newest target in an unfolding regulatory and legal climate that transgender advocates describe as an overtly partisan political attack against a type of product that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed the least risky.

  • April 10, 2026

    SEC To Craft Exemption For Foreign Bail-In Transactions

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said Friday that he has directed staff to draft an exemption for securities offered and sold as part of certain foreign bail-in processes, announcing the plans as the agency said it won't take action over bail-in transactions directed by the Bank of England.

  • April 10, 2026

    FCC Says Current 'Audible Crawl' Rule Doesn't Work

    The Federal Communications Commission is thinking about ditching a requirement that video service providers ensure that nontext emergency information that pops up during a TV broadcast comes with an auditory translation for the visually impaired.

  • April 10, 2026

    Texas Judge Blocks State From Enforcing New Hemp Rules

    A Texas state court on Friday blocked state agencies from enforcing new rules restricting the sale of certain hemp products, after hemp industry groups sued the agencies over claims they illegally went past what the legislature allowed them to ban.

  • April 10, 2026

    2nd Circ. Says Skipped Appeal Dooms Deportation Challenge

    An Ecuadorian facing felony criminal charges for reentering the United States after being deported following a conviction for reckless assault cannot challenge his original deportation order because he didn't originally appeal it, the Second Circuit said Thursday.

  • April 10, 2026

    CFTC Taps Latham, Sidley Attys For Innovation Task Force

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has tapped alumni of Latham & Watkins LLP, Sidley Austin LLP and advisory firm Patomak Global Partners LLC for its task force developing regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and prediction markets.

  • April 10, 2026

    ICE Quietly Changes I-9 Offenses, Raising Employer Fine Risk

    Employers are staring down bigger fines for I-9 violations after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly redefined substantive violations to include common administrative errors that were previously correctable without penalty.

  • April 10, 2026

    Colo. Governor Claims Immunity In Tribe's Park Access Suit

    Colorado's governor has claimed sovereign immunity in a federal lawsuit by the Ute Indian Tribe, which alleged it is being discriminated against due to its exclusion from a state law that gives members of its sister tribes free entrance to state parks on ancestral lands.

  • April 10, 2026

    DC Circ. Scraps Foley's Atty Fee Win In 13-Year IRS Saga

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday vacated a district court ruling giving Foley & Lardner LLP first dibs on nearly $800,000 in fees for representing a conservative nonprofit in a 13-year-old suit against the Internal Revenue Service, giving Bopp Law Firm a chance to argue for a larger cut of the pie.

  • April 10, 2026

    FCC Fines Are Just Paper, But 'Still Tigers,' High Court Told

    AT&T and Verizon told the U.S. Supreme Court that no matter how the Federal Communications Commission portrays its fines, they amount to binding orders that run afoul of the Seventh Amendment because there's no clear path to challenge them in court.

  • April 10, 2026

    Texas REIT Discloses $53M RealPage Settlement With Renters

    A Texas-based real estate investment trust has reached a $53 million class action settlement for multidistrict litigation in Tenneseee federal court that accused the REIT and multiple landlords of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s revenue management software for rent price-fixing.

  • April 10, 2026

    House Dems Push To Halt Russian Oil Sales, Adopt Sanctions

    Two U.S. Democratic representatives have introduced a bill to reverse the Trump administration's decision to authorize the sale of Russian oil, arguing Russia will use the proceeds to fund its war against Ukraine.

  • April 10, 2026

    Tech's AI Coding Boom On Collision Course With Copyright

    Tech companies embracing generative tools to write their software code — and boasting about it — may be running into a gap in copyright protection: the more they rely on them, the harder it may be to claim exclusive rights when that code is copied or leaked.

  • April 10, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Appears Skeptical Of Steel Co.'s Duty Challenge

    In over two hours of oral arguments across three cases on Friday, a Federal Circuit panel scrutinized a Turkish company's attempts to challenge a duty order against Turkish steel, raising concerns ranging from its failure to file a protectionary appeal to overall issues with protestations over calculations.

  • April 10, 2026

    USPTO Launches Pilot Aimed At Reducing Exam Backlog

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it will launch a pilot program requiring some applicants at the national stage to request examination of their patent applications.

  • April 10, 2026

    Kansas City Open To Talking To Royals About $1.9B Ballpark

    Officials in Kansas City, Mo., have begun the process of talking with Major League Baseball's Royals about building a new $1.9 billion downtown ballpark, two years after voters rejected a tax hike for a stadium project.

  • April 10, 2026

    $68M Colony Ridge Deal To Proceed Without Court's Blessing

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday said it will move forward with a $68 million settlement reached with land developer Colony Ridge Development LLC without seeking court oversight after a Texas federal judge raised concerns about the deal.

  • April 10, 2026

    Trump Taps Personal Atty For 2nd Circ.

    President Donald Trump announced on Friday evening he's tapping Matthew Schwartz, his attorney in the New York hush money case, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 

Expert Analysis

  • 8 Tariff Refund Questions For Restructuring Professionals

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    For restructuring and turnaround professionals, seeking refunds following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act raises several questions about how to capture legitimate recoveries while protecting an enterprise from the consequences of its own history, says Jonny Frank and Laura Greenman at StoneTurn, and Andrew Popescu at Province.

  • Defense Deals Can Trigger Extra HSR Filing With The DOD

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    Certain aerospace, defense and national security M&A transactions will require a concurrent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act filing to the U.S. Department of Defense, and practice tips for navigating this extra filing include early analysis of competitive implications of sector deals and planning for concurrent filings, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Navigating Life Sciences Deals Amid Heightened Scrutiny

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    With pricing reform initiatives, national security legislation and evolving trade policy currently contributing to meaningful uncertainty for life sciences companies, it is important to proactively structure deals to avoid downstream complications, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

  • NY Bill Elevates Criminal Risk For 'Shadow' Crypto Firms

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    New York's proposed CRYPTO Act would expose unlicensed digital asset operators to criminal penalties ranging from state misdemeanor charges to felony convictions, potentially marking a significant shift in how New York — already among the most aggressive crypto regulators — oversees virtual currency businesses, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Opinion

    AVOID Act Creates 3rd-Party Litigation Risks For Transpo Cos.

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    New York's Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay Act, which takes effect next month, will require new risk management strategies from transportation companies as it attempts to drastically change the scope of third-party litigation while failing to address practical realities of civil disputes, says Steven Saal at Lucosky Brookman.

  • Nippon Case Illustrates Challenges Of Proving Antitrust Injury

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    A recent California federal court decision dismissing challenges to Nippon Steel's purchase of U.S. Steel underscores the longtime antitrust precedent that while the limitations of injury are critical for defendants sued under U.S. antitrust laws, showing that the harm is real is the key, says Cameron Regnery at Freeman Mathis.

  • New Orphan Drug Law Provides A Key Fix For Pharma Cos.

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    The Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted last month restores the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's long-standing interpretation of "same disease or condition," related to orphan drug exclusivity, resolving years of regulatory uncertainty and litigation that have discouraged rare disease research, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Stablecoin Yield Reform Raises Stakes For Community Banks

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    Risks for community banks are heightened by the Clarity and Genius Acts, which establish stablecoin market parameters and may lead to traditional bank fund withdrawals in the long term, but a recent Senate amendment to the former bill could prevent deposit runoff, says Thomas Walker at Jones Walker.

  • How Iran War Might Reshape Proxy Contests This Year

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    The Iran war may function as a short-term poison pill for proxy contests, not because it strengthens corporate defenses, but because it increases the risks associated with activist commitments, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    PTAB Needs Reform To Protect Inventors From Larger Cos.

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    The Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act is necessary because it will impose additional requirements on patent validity challenges and prevent large corporations from taking advantage of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to overwhelm small inventors with repeated litigation, says Eb Bright at ExploraMed Development.

  • What To Watch At The 2026 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition among developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

  • FDA User Fee Talks Offer Clues On Upcoming Reforms

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    As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration undergoes the User Fee Act reauthorization process and renegotiates its user fee agreements over the next several months, the agency's consultation meetings with relevant industries can shed light on the FDA's priorities, and provides stakeholders an opportunity to participate in the reform process, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Changes Coming To The SBIR And STTR Programs

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    Legislation recently approved by Congress to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs includes changes focused on national security that would improve transparency but also increase applicants' administrative burdens, slow the awards process and likely increase litigation, say attorneys at Fluet & Associates.

  • What FINRA Enforcement Changes Mean For Investigations

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    It is essential for in-house counsel and compliance officers to familiarize themselves with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's recently announced changes to its enforcement program, which offer both clearer visibility into FINRA's expectations and a valuable opportunity to strengthen regulatory readiness, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

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