Public Policy

  • August 26, 2025

    Standard General's Racial Bias Claims Against FCC Fall Flat

    Hedge fund manager Soo Kim has failed to convince a D.C. federal judge that the Federal Communications Commission and a cadre of media players were part of a racist conspiracy to kill his $8.6 billion merger with broadcaster Tegna.

  • August 26, 2025

    Fed Pushes To Dismiss Trump Ally's Suit Over Meeting Access

    Federal Reserve officials and members of the Federal Open Market Committee have urged a D.C. federal judge to toss a suit brought by an investment firm led by a supporter of President Donald Trump that seeks public access to monetary policy meetings, arguing they are not covered by the federal Sunshine Act as the investment firm claims.

  • August 26, 2025

    Denver Says Sanctuary Policies Not Undone By Federal Law

    Denver and Colorado told a federal judge in two motions to dismiss on Monday that local laws prohibiting using city or state resources for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement are not preempted by federal law.

  • August 26, 2025

    USDOT Threatens States With Funding Cuts Over Truck Safety

    The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday threatened to withhold funds from California, Washington and New Mexico over their apparent failures to enforce federal mandates that all commercial truck drivers be proficient in the English language.

  • August 26, 2025

    AI Copyright Licensing Is Helping To Fuel Tech's Evolution

    While courts wrestle with fair use questions around artificial intelligence training, legal experts say the growing number of licensing deals between tech companies and copyright owners is setting market norms for accessing the troves of content needed across rapidly evolving AI applications.

  • August 26, 2025

    DOJ Can't Throw Out Kidnapping Charges, DC Circ. Says

    The D.C. Circuit has ruled federal prosecutors used an improper mechanism when trying to toss portions of a kidnapping conviction for a man as part of a bid to retrofit his plea deal.

  • August 26, 2025

    Farmers Defend Climate Superfund Law Against Challenges

    Farmers and environmentalists are asking a Vermont federal judge to toss the U.S. government's, industry groups' and red states' lawsuits challenging the state's climate change Superfund law, saying it's a lawful method to pay for damages caused by the phenomenon.

  • August 26, 2025

    FOIA Results Wanted Before Ruling In DOGE Disclosure Suit

    A D.C. federal judge said he wants to see how the Trump administration responds to Freedom of Information Act requests submitted in February before deciding on the government's motion to dismiss an environmental group's suit claiming that DOGE teams working in federal agencies have violated transparency laws.

  • August 26, 2025

    Hemp Interests Say Conn. Policy Inconsistent With Federal Law

    A group of Connecticut hemp farmers and product manufacturers alleged in a federal lawsuit Tuesday that the state's crackdown on hemp products is incompatible with the federal law that legalized it.

  • August 26, 2025

    FCC Ordered To Turn Over More DOGE Docs

    A D.C. federal judge ruled Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission must produce more documents related to its communications with Elon Musk's government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency.

  • August 26, 2025

    Artist Seeking Copyright Of AI Image Equates Use To Cameras

    A Colorado man who used artificial intelligence to create an image that won an art award at a state fair told a federal judge that he should be allowed to copyright the image just as those who used technology such as cameras and cellphones had been allowed to copyright their works.

  • August 26, 2025

    Atty In Voting Machine Case Tries To Delay Discipline Hearing

    Michigan lawyer Matthew DePerno, who is facing felony charges accusing him of illegally accessing voting machines after the 2020 election, urged an attorney disciplinary panel on Monday to push back his September misconduct hearing, claiming he is having trouble finding counsel to represent him.

  • August 26, 2025

    Christian Clinic Says Mich. Stance On Bias Law Still Unclear

    The state of Michigan should be forced to clarify if it believes a Christian medical clinic's opposition to gender-affirming care and its pronoun policy is discriminatory under state civil rights law, the clinic told a Michigan federal judge. 

  • August 26, 2025

    Puerto Rico Utility Bondholders Say They'll End Reorg Deal

    A group of Puerto Rican electric utility bondholders have told a New York federal judge they will pull out of a three-year-old deal to support the utility's proposed restructuring plan if it is not confirmed by October.

  • August 26, 2025

    Commerce Announces Final Steel Duty Rates For 10 Countries

    Brazilian and Vietnamese corrosion-resistant steel products entering the U.S. could face triple digit antidumping duties, according to final rates the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday for 10 trading partners.

  • August 26, 2025

    Feds Look To Dismiss Calif. Tribe's $700M Casino Dispute

    The U.S. Department of the Interior, with the backing of two tribes and the California Gaming Association, is looking to dismiss a lawsuit over its decision to temporarily nix eligibility for a proposed $700 million casino and hotel project, arguing it doesn't constitute a final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.

  • August 26, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Fed. Law Explicitly Bars Ex-CEO's NCUA Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday refused to revive a former Texas credit union CEO's constitutional challenge to an enforcement action the National Credit Union Administration had brought against him for alleged banking misconduct, saying in a published opinion that federal law explicitly stripped a district court's jurisdiction over the matter.

  • August 26, 2025

    Doctors Press 5th Circ. To Reverse Surprise Billing Ruling

    Three physician trade associations urged the full Fifth Circuit to reverse a panel's ruling on how qualifying payments are calculated under the No Surprises Act, writing that the current decision harms underserved communities by narrowing provider networks.

  • August 26, 2025

    HPE's Trump-Tied Lobbyists Cast 'Pall' Over Merger Review

    The firing of two senior officials in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division who complained after being forced to accept a merger clearance settlement has caused many practitioners to question whether the traditional separation between competition enforcement and other White House priorities is a thing of the past.

  • August 26, 2025

    Brewer Can't Challenge Home Distilling Ban, US Tells 6th Circ.

    A brewery owner who wants to make his own whiskey can't bring a suit challenging the tax code's prohibition on home distilleries because he hasn't shown that he's likely to start making spirits or that the government would come knocking if he does, the U.S. Treasury Department told the Sixth Circuit.

  • August 26, 2025

    FERC Urged To Ignore Ill. Grid Project Policy Fight

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been told that it shouldn't second-guess Illinois lawmakers and courts to declare that incumbent utilities in the state have a right of first refusal to build new, regionally planned transmission projects.

  • August 26, 2025

    CFTC's Last Dem Member Departing Agency

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's sole remaining Democrat, Kristin Johnson, announced Tuesday that she will be departing the agency next week, leaving it in the hands of acting Chair Caroline Pham.

  • August 26, 2025

    Judge Axes Habeas Suit, Tells DOJ To Use 'Proper' Forum

    A Virginia federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit challenging a standing order from Maryland federal judges temporarily pausing the removal of noncitizen detainees who have filed habeas petitions, telling the U.S. Department of Justice that if it wants to challenge the court policy, it must follow the "proper" channels.

  • August 26, 2025

    Texas AG To Probe Heavy Metals In Baby Foods

    The Texas attorney general on Tuesday announced an investigation into leading baby food makers that may have deceptively advertised and sold products containing dangerously high levels of heavy metals, such as arsenic.

  • August 26, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Tossing Undated Mail Votes Is Unconstitutional

    The Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that Pennsylvania discarding mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates violates voters' constitutional rights, reasoning that preventing the loss of votes outweighed any claimed benefits of enforcing the state's date requirement.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement Will Help US Compete

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    The U.S. Department of Justice settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise clears the purchase of Juniper Networks in a deal that positions the U.S. as a leader in secure, scalable networking and critical digital infrastructure by requiring the divestiture of a WiFi network business geared toward small firms, says John Shu at Taipei Medical University.

  • How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

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    Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Assessing Impact Of USPTO's New Patent Policies

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    Recent data shows how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new patent policies are affecting America Invents Act trial institution rates, including spurring an uptick in discretionary denials, say attorneys at Armond Wilson.

  • What US Medicine Onshoring Means For Indian Life Sciences

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    Despite the Trump administration's latest moves to onshore essential medicine manufacturing, India will likely remain an indispensable component of the U.S. drug supply chain, but Indian manufacturers should prepare for stricter compliance checks, says Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.

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    The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Series

    Ohio Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    Ohio's financial services sector saw several significant developments in the second quarter of 2025, including a case that confirmed credit unions' setoff rights, another that established contract rights between banks and cardholders, and the House passage of a digital asset bill, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

  • Building Better Earnouts In The Current M&A Climate

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    In the face of market uncertainty, we've seen a continued reliance on earnouts in M&A deals so far this year, but to reduce the risk of related litigation, it's important to use objective standards, apply company metrics cautiously and ensure short time periods, among other best practices, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A Deep Dive Into 14 Nixed Gensler-Era SEC Rule Proposals

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month formally withdrew 14 notices of proposed rulemaking, including several significant and widely criticized proposals that had been issued under former Chair Gary Gensler's leadership, signaling a clear and definitive shift away from the previous administration, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • A Look At Trump 2.0 Antitrust Enforcement So Far

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    The first six months of President Donald Trump's second administration were marked by aggressive antitrust enforcement tempered by traditional structural remedies for mergers, but other unprecedented actions, like the firing of Federal Trade Commission Democrats, will likely stoke heated discussion ahead, says Richard Dagen at Axinn.

  • Reform Partly Modernizes Small Biz Stock Gains Exclusion

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    Changes to the Internal Revenue Code in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act update the qualified small business stock gains exclusion to reflect inflation, but the regime would be more in line with current business realities if Congress had also made the exemption available to additional business structures, says Mark Parthemer at Glenmede.

  • Breaking Down Novel Va. Social Media Law For Minors

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    While a Virginia bill passed in May is notable for setting a one-hour daily limit on minors' use of social media, other provisions create compliance burdens for social media operators and app store providers, and increase privacy and security risks associated with the collection of sensitive information to prove identity, says Jenna Rode at Hunton.

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