Public Policy

  • September 11, 2025

    BREAKING: Nadine Menendez Gets 4½ Years In Bribery Case

    A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday sentenced Nadine Menendez to 4.5 years in prison following her conviction at trial for aiding her husband Bob Menendez's corruption by acting as the go-between for bribe payments made to the senator to help further the business and personal interests of three New Jersey businessmen.

  • September 10, 2025

    Feds Barred From Axing 30-Year Noncitizen Services, For Now

    A Rhode Island federal judge Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enacting a policy change requiring immigration status checks for a number of federally funded community services, saying a coalition of Democratic-led states is likely to succeed in its assertion that the move is unconstitutional, as well as arbitrary and capricious.

  • September 10, 2025

    Long Island Town Hit With Another Pot Shop Suit Over Zoning

    The Long Island town of Southampton, New York, was hit with another lawsuit accusing it of weaponizing its zoning to block marijuana shops from opening, with the latest suit claiming it changed its laws at the last minute to prohibit an all but ready-to-open retail shop, wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars the cannabis entrepreneur spent.

  • September 10, 2025

    Cannabis Co. Says Battle With Activists Was Tossed Too Soon

    A multistate cannabis company told a New Jersey state appeals court on Wednesday that its lawsuit against local opponents of a cultivation facility was prematurely dismissed, while the activists countered that the case amounted to a strategic lawsuit against public participation cloaked in land-use litigation.

  • September 10, 2025

    NC Justice Probes 'Scalia-Style' View Of Waste Fee Law

    A North Carolina Supreme Court justice probed the expansiveness of counsel's argument over a county's solid waste ordinance Wednesday, wondering if channeling a "Justice Scalia"-style reading of the text suggests that a property owner could hire a private waste collector just once a year to sidestep an annual fee.

  • September 10, 2025

    FCC's Carr Says Agency Clawbacks Save More Than $9M

    The Federal Communications Commission will be clawing back more than $9 million in overpayments that it says it mistakenly made to telecoms and discovered as part of an audit of the "antiquated high-cost program."

  • September 10, 2025

    DHS Moves To End Suit Over Protected Status Terminations

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urged a California federal judge to end a lawsuit challenging her termination of temporary protection statuses for immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal seeking refuge from environmental and political crises, arguing Tuesday the court lacks jurisdiction since her determinations are shielded from judicial review.

  • September 10, 2025

    DOJ Retreats From Reunification Claim In Kids Removal Suit

    A government attorney told a D.C. federal judge Wednesday she couldn't contest a Guatemalan government report undercutting the Trump administration's claim that it tried to deport 76 unaccompanied minors over Labor Day weekend to reunite them with their parents.

  • September 10, 2025

    FCC Sticks With Nearly $1M Pirate Radio Fine

    A New York City area man was slapped with a nearly $1 million Federal Communications Commission fine Wednesday for operating an illegal radio station, after the agency says he ignored the notice warning that they intended to fine him for nearly a year.

  • September 10, 2025

    Fla. Rep. Accuses Primary Rival Of Defamation In $1M Suit

    A Florida member of Congress sued a primary challenger and is seeking at least $1 million in damages after alleging he defamed her in various campaign statements posted to the internet and in published newspaper columns. 

  • September 10, 2025

    FCC Calls Preemption The Way To Rush Telecom Deployment

    The Federal Communications Commission is considering making a "rocket docket" for permitting disputes and blocking states and localities from denying small cell wireless permits based on aesthetic concerns, according to a rule update the agency is proposing.

  • September 10, 2025

    Trump Admin's Push To Sunset Energy Regs Faces Hurdles

    Legal obligations and practical challenges may hamstring the Trump administration's efforts to wipe out as many energy regulations as possible, making the moves vulnerable to lawsuits while creating uncertainty for the energy industry.

  • September 10, 2025

    Texas Gov. Issues Executive Order On Hemp Products For Kids

    Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an executive order requiring state agencies to implement rules restricting the sale of hemp-derived psychoactive products to anyone under the age of 21.

  • September 10, 2025

    Md. Appeals Court Says Psychoactive Hemp Wares Illegal

    A Maryland appeals court on Tuesday ruled that products containing psychoactive compounds derived from hemp are illegal, delivering a blow to a coalition of hemp interests that brought a constitutional challenge to the state's recreational marijuana legalization law.

  • September 10, 2025

    Airbnb Presses Bid To Toss Conservative Shareholders' Suit

    Airbnb Inc. is urging a Delaware federal judge to reject a lawsuit from two conservative institutional shareholders, arguing that delivery of the groups' shareholder proposals to the company's mail room doesn't suggest executives sought to exclude the submissions from the company's 2025 proxy materials.

  • September 10, 2025

    3rd Circ. Questions NJ's Bid To Block Kalshi's Sports Bets

    The Third Circuit seemed prepared on Wednesday to block New Jersey from enforcing a sports gambling ban on trading platform KalshiEx, with at least one judge arguing the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority to regulate the event contracts space "seems quite broad."

  • September 10, 2025

    Calif. Gig Worker Union BIll Sent To Newsom's Desk

    A plan to give gig drivers in California the right to unionize and negotiate certain job terms and conditions is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk less than two weeks after state leaders reached a deal with Uber and Lyft to facilitate its passage.

  • September 10, 2025

    FTC Warns Healthcare Employers About Noncompetes

    The Federal Trade Commission has sent letters warning healthcare employers and staffing companies not to include overly broad noncompete restrictions in their employment contracts and urged them to conduct a review to ensure they comply with the law.

  • September 10, 2025

    Fla. Panel Says State's Open-Carry Ban Is Unconstitutional

    A Florida appeals court on Wednesday unanimously struck down a state law that restricted the open carry of firearms, saying the statute was incompatible with the Second Amendment because it was at odds with a "historical tradition of firearms regulation" in the U.S.

  • September 10, 2025

    Unions' Challenge To Fed. Layoffs, Reorganizations Proceeds

    The Trump administration must continue facing a union-backed challenge to its federal worker layoffs and agency reorganizations, a California federal judge ruled, tossing the administration's argument that the U.S. Supreme Court cast enough doubt on the suit's legitimacy by pausing an injunction to justify dismissing the case.

  • September 10, 2025

    Fla. Judge Gets First Dem Vote Of Trump's 2nd Term

    Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday became the first Democrat to vote for a judicial nominee of President Donald Trump's second term.

  • September 10, 2025

    4th Circ. Hears Neb. Tribe's Fight For Children's Repatriation

    The U.S. Army can't say that the remains of two children entombed in a former Pennsylvania Indian boarding school are not part of a collection or holding, counsel for a Nebraska tribe told a Fourth Circuit panel on Wednesday in seeking the return of the remains to their tribe, arguing that they were buried and re-buried without tribal consent.

  • September 10, 2025

    FTA Probes Charlotte Transit After Fatal Light Rail Stabbing

    The Federal Transit Administration has launched itself into the fray surrounding the stabbing death of a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee on a city light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina, announcing on Wednesday that it is investigating the city transit system's compliance with federal safety regulations.

  • September 10, 2025

    Longtime Mich. Resident In ICE Custody Gets Bond Hearing

    A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to give a longtime resident a bond hearing or release him from detention within seven days, finding the government has been inappropriately keeping him in custody under a section of law that applies to those trying to enter at the border.

  • September 10, 2025

    FERC Urged To Drop 'Ill-Conceived' Pipeline Review Updates

    Gas industry groups urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to accept Secretary of Energy Chris Wright's request to scrap plans for greater environmental reviews for pipeline approvals, agreeing that they exceed FERC's authority and undermine regulatory certainty.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me a Better Lawyer

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    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • 2 Calif. Cases Could Reshape Future Of Trap-And-Trace Suits

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    A California federal judge's recent dismissal of two California Invasion of Privacy Act cases demonstrates an inherent contradiction in pen register and trap-and-trace claims, teeing up a Ninth Circuit appeal that could either breathe new life into such claims or put an end to them outright, says Matthew Pearson at Womble Bond.

  • How FDIC Appeals Plan Squares With Fed, OCC Processes

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    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent proposal to revise its appeals process merits a fresh comparison to the appeals systems of the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and would provide institutions with greater transparency and independence, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • New Tax Rules Complicate M&A Golden Parachute Planning

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    Deal teams should evaluate the effect of a recent seemingly technical change to U.S. international tax law on the golden parachute analysis that often plays a critical part of many corporate transactions to avoid underestimating its impact on an acquirer's worldwide taxable income following a triggering transaction, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Debut Of Atkins' 'New Day'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory flex agenda, published last week, demonstrates a clear return to appropriately tailored and mission-focused rulemaking, with potential new rules applicable to brokers, exchanges and trading, among others, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Restored Charging Project Funds Revive Hope For EV Market

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    While 2025 began with a host of government actions that prompted some to predict the demise of the U.S. electric vehicle market, the Trump administration's recent restoration of federal funding for EV charging infrastructure under new terms presents market participants with reason for optimism, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • A Changing Playbook For Fighting Records Requests In Del.

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Wong v. Amazon, reversing the denial of an inspection demand brought by a stockholder, serves as a stark warning to corporations challenging books and records requests, making clear that companies cannot defeat such demands solely by attacking the scope of their stated purpose, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Tesla Verdict May Set New Liability Benchmarks For AV Suits

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    The recent jury verdict in Benavides v. Tesla is notable not only for a massive payout — including $200 million in punitive damages — but because it apportions fault between the company's self-driving technology and the driver, inviting more scrutiny of automated vehicle marketing and technology, says Michael Avanesian at Avian Law Group.

  • Insuring Against FCA Risk In Shifting Trade Landscape

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    In today's heightened trade enforcement environment, companies should proactively assess whether their insurance programs are positioned to respond to potential False Claims Act or customs-related claims, including reviewing directors and officers, professional liability, and representations and warranties policies for key terms, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • What To Expect As Trump's 401(k) Order Materializes

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    Following the Trump administration’s recent executive order on 401(k) plan investments in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies and real estate, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will need to answer several outstanding questions before any regulatory changes are implemented, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • RI Menopause Law Brings New Considerations For Employers

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    Rhode Island becoming the first state to provide express antidiscrimination and accommodation protections for employees' menopause-related conditions may be a bellwether for similar protections in other jurisdictions, so employers should consider that while such benefits may improve recruitment and retention, complications may arise from voluntarily adding them, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • A Foreign Currency Breach Won't Always Sink EB-5 Cases

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    Recent court decisions show that, while EB-5 investors must be able to show the lawfulness of their funds and methods of transfer, a third-party currency exchanger's violation of another country’s currency export control law does not, by itself, taint the funds for purposes of U.S. investment, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

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