Public Policy

  • February 09, 2026

    Ex-NC City Council Member Enters Plea Deal For COVID Fraud

    A former Charlotte, North Carolina, councilwoman pled guilty Monday in federal court to one count of wire fraud conspiracy as part of an alleged scheme with her daughters to file sham small-business loan applications for COVID-19 relief funds during the pandemic.

  • February 09, 2026

    Mass. Justices Urged To Keep Rent Control Initiative Off Ballot

    Opponents of a proposed Massachusetts ballot measure to limit rent increases asked the state's top court to defeat the initiative before it reaches voters.

  • February 09, 2026

    US Backs Bid To Halt Line 5 Shutdown On Wis. Tribal Lands

    The government is backing a bid by Enbridge Energy Inc. to stay an order requiring the partial removal of its Line 5 pipeline that runs through Wisconsin tribal lands, saying that while it has an interest in protecting federal trust lands, the case implicates significant interests in foreign affairs.

  • February 09, 2026

    Neb. Lawmakers OK Rule Changes For Property Tax Hearings

    Nebraska would change who is required to attend public hearings on proposed property tax increases under a bill unanimously approved by state lawmakers and presented to the governor.

  • February 06, 2026

    5th Circ. Backs Trump Admin On Immigrants' Bond Ineligibility

    A split Fifth Circuit on Friday blessed the Trump administration's policy calling for immigrants who entered the U.S. without authorization to remain in detention without a bond hearing, saying the administration is acting within its "full enforcement authority."

  • February 06, 2026

    Citing Feds' 'Lies,' Judge Orders 3 Families Returned To U.S.

    The Trump administration must return three immigrant families wrongly deported in violation of a family separation settlement agreement, a California federal judge said Thursday, stating the removals were unlawful and "involved lies, deception, and coercion."

  • February 06, 2026

    SEC Seeks To Enforce $27M Order In NFL, NBA Player Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge to order a broker-dealer and its sole director to comply with a 2015 commission order requiring them to pay over $27 million in disgorgement and other fines that stemmed from allegations that they ran a Ponzi scheme that swindled NFL and NBA clients out of $12 million.

  • February 06, 2026

    Paycheck Advances Aren't Loans, Fintech Orgs Tell 9th Circ.

    Fintech trade groups on Friday urged the Ninth Circuit to rein in class litigation over earned wage access products, arguing it should recognize the products as distinct from credit under federal lending laws or risk upending a popular, safer alternative to traditional loans.

  • February 06, 2026

    Trump Admin, States Reach Agreement In School DEI Fight

    The Trump administration has agreed not to condition federal education funding for state and legal education agencies on what a coalition of nearly 20 states alleged was an incorrect interpretation of law in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion, according to a Friday filing in Massachusetts federal court.

  • February 06, 2026

    Squires Rules Inconsistent Claim Constructions Doom 3 IPRs

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has undone three decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board instituting inter partes reviews, finding that the patent challengers made conflicting claim construction arguments in the reviews and in court.

  • February 06, 2026

    News-Rating Biz Escalates Fight Against 'Retaliatory' FTC Deal

    News-rating organization NewsGuard took aim Friday at a Federal Trade Commission settlement barring merging ad-buying giants from doing business with it, challenging that deal and an FTC subpoena in a D.C. federal court lawsuit alleging that both are "part of a broader retaliatory campaign" against NewsGuard and other sites.

  • February 06, 2026

    'Very Bizarre': Trump's Funding Freeze Appeal Vexes DC Circ.

    D.C. Circuit judges struggled Friday with whether to unblock a federal funding freeze carrying multitrillion-dollar implications, as a Trump administration lawyer disclaimed interest in a vast spending halt but also dodged opportunities to rule it out unequivocally.

  • February 06, 2026

    11th Circ. OKs Immunity Denial In Fla. Excessive Force Case

    The Eleventh Circuit ruled Friday that two Florida police officers named in a civil lawsuit should not be granted qualified immunity for their conduct during a Baker Act arrest of a person they knew to be mentally unwell.

  • February 06, 2026

    Lenovo Accused Of Illegaly Sharing Data With Chinese Parent

    Lenovo Group's U.S. subsidiary illegally shares American consumers' data with its Chinese parent company in violation of a U.S. Department of Justice regulation restricting bulk transfers of sensitive information to foreign adversaries, according to a proposed class action filed Thursday in California federal court.

  • February 06, 2026

    STB Pledges 'Rigorous Review' Of UP, Norfolk Southern Deal

    The Surface Transportation Board has reassured lawmakers that it will "conduct a rigorous and comprehensive review" of Union Pacific's proposed $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern, as the board weighs a flurry of comments from industry stakeholders on the deal's sweeping implications for the U.S. economy.

  • February 06, 2026

    Ex-Fla. Rep., Lobbyist Want Maduro To Testify At Trial

    A former Florida congressman and a lobbyist who allegedly secretly represented Venezuela in the U.S. said their upcoming trial should include the testimony of the country's former president, Nicolás Maduro.

  • February 06, 2026

    DC Circ. Wary Of Drone Maker's Chinese Gov't Ties

    The D.C. Circuit appeared skeptical of a drone manufacturer's claim that a 2021 recognition from the Chinese government no longer carries weight, while acknowledging that much of the U.S. government's evidence for labeling the company as a "Chinese military company" remains classified.

  • February 06, 2026

    India, US Outline Commitments Toward Trade Deal

    India has agreed to remove tariffs on U.S. industrial exports and several agricultural products, including soybean oil, tree nuts and fruit, in exchange for further U.S. tariff relief, according to a joint statement issued Friday afternoon by the White House.

  • February 06, 2026

    Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    Groups lobbying the Federal Communications Commission started the year off with concerns ranging from environmental reviews for broadband projects to submarine cable licensing headaches, controversy over EchoStar's spectrum deals with AT&T and SpaceX, and more.

  • February 06, 2026

    NY Judge Allows Funding For $16B Tunnel To Continue

    A Manhattan federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from halting funding for a tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, after the states called the move an unlawful attempt to "punish political rivals" over immigration policy disagreements.

  • February 06, 2026

    CFTC Updates Crypto Collateral Letter For Bank Stablecoins

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday tweaked an earlier no-action letter on the use of tokenized collateral to clarify that stablecoins issued by national trust banks are among the list of approved digital assets.

  • February 06, 2026

    Tampa Bay Rays Unveil New MLB Stadium Renderings

    Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays revealed new renderings for its proposed 31,000-seat stadium and mixed-use district project that's planned to be located at the Florida city's Hillsborough College, the team has announced.

  • February 06, 2026

    Feds Want 2020 Ballot Case Paused, Citing Fulton FBI Raid

    The federal government on Friday asked a judge to stay its suit attempting to force the clerk of courts in Fulton County, Georgia, to hand over 2020 presidential election ballots, citing a recent FBI raid that removed those records from the clerk's possession.

  • February 06, 2026

    Trump's BigLaw Executive Order Appeals Consolidated

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday consolidated the government's appeals of losses in four cases BigLaw firms launched against the White House and Justice Department over executive orders against them related to the clients they represent.

  • February 06, 2026

    Squires Revives Dish Patent Over Pornhub RPI Error

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has vacated the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's invalidation of a Dish Technologies LLC streaming patent, saying it took too long to disclose a real party in interest.

Expert Analysis

  • Bid Protest Data Contradicts Claims That System Is Inefficient

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    Recently released data debunks the narrative that the federal procurement system is overwhelmed by excessive or meritless bid protests, revealing instead that the process is healthy and functioning as intended, says Joshua Duvall at Duvy Law.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Lead On AI Policy, Not The States

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    There needs to be some limits on how far federal agencies go in regulating artificial intelligence systems, but Congress must not abdicate its responsibility and cede control over this interstate market to state and local officials, say Kevin Frazier at the University of Texas School of Law and Adam Thierer at the R Street Institute.

  • Breaking Down Expense Allocation In Mixed-Use Properties

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    Rapid increases in condominium fees and special assessments, driven by multiple factors such as rising insurance costs and expanded safety requirements, are contributing to increased litigation, so equitable expense allocation in mixed-use properties requires adherence to the governing documents, says Mike Walden at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    Minn. Can Still Bring State Charges In Absence Of Fed Action

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    After two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota's role isn't waiting to see if the federal government brings criminal charges, but independently weighing state homicide charges and allowing the judiciary to decide whether the subject conduct falls within the narrow protections of supremacy clause immunity, says Sheila Tendy at Tendy Law.

  • 4 Lessons From FTC's Successful Bid To Block Edwards Deal

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent victory in blocking Edwards Lifesciences' acquisition of JenaValve offers key insights for deals in life sciences and beyond, including considerations around nonprice dimensions and clear skies provisions, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • 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.

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