Public Policy

  • May 14, 2026

    Mich. Court Freezes $2.5M In Grants Meant For Baseball Parks

    A Michigan court has granted a preliminary injunction ordering the state Department of Labor and Economic Development to halt disbursements of $2.5 million in community enhancement grants to two minor-league baseball stadiums pending the outcome of a Mackinac Center for Public Policy suit claiming earmark funds were illegally appropriated.

  • May 14, 2026

    Ex-Immigration Judge Says DOJ Targeted Dissenters, Others

    A former immigration judge in Massachusetts said in a lawsuit brought Thursday that he was fired in a purge of those with "political ideologies contrary to those held" by the Trump administration in violation of his First Amendment rights.

  • May 14, 2026

    Ill. Rep.'s Ex-Aide Pleads Not Guilty To COVID Relief Fraud

    An Illinois congressman's former deputy district chief accused of securing fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits through a COVID-19 pandemic relief program pled not guilty to the charges Thursday in federal court.

  • May 14, 2026

    High Court Must End Colo. Climate Suit, Oil Cos. Say

    Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil urged the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to reverse a Colorado Supreme Court ruling allowing local communities to pursue state law tort claims for climate change damages, arguing their claims are "avowedly interstate and international in scope."

  • May 14, 2026

    FDIC Signs Off On Stellantis Industrial Bank Bid

    Stellantis, the company behind Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge cars, has received Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. clearance to open a U.S. industrial bank, a move that will put all of Detroit's "Big Three" automakers on track to own federally insured lenders.

  • May 14, 2026

    High Court Maintains Abortion Pill Access Amid Circuit Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday extended a stay preserving telehealth access to the abortion medication mifepristone while the Fifth Circuit weighs a challenge to the mail-order distribution of the pill.

  • May 14, 2026

    Advocacy Groups, Dems Seek To Restore Digital Equity Fund

    A year after the Trump administration abruptly pulled funds set aside for digital equity grants, Democratic lawmakers are joining with public interest groups in trying to block a budget proposal that would permanently stamp out the program.

  • May 14, 2026

    Sen. Whitehouse Warns Colleagues Of Privilege 'Creep'

    A key Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee issued a call to arms to his fellow members about the executive branch chipping away at the committee's oversight authority.

  • May 14, 2026

    Infrastructure Can't Support ICE Detention Center, Ga. City Says

    Social Circle, a Georgia city of about 5,000, has asked a federal judge to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from rapidly converting an empty warehouse into a 10,000-bed detention center, arguing the agency shirked its duty to consider the impacts.

  • May 14, 2026

    7th Circ. Presses Trans CTA Driver On Bias Evidence

    A Seventh Circuit panel Thursday pressed counsel for a former Chicago Transit Authority bus driver on whether the record showed he was fired because he is transgender, rather than because he failed to follow procedures for taking leave, as he seeks to revive discrimination claims against the agency and union.

  • May 14, 2026

    Railroads Say Taxing Train But Not Truck Fuel Violates Law

    Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation told a Georgia federal court in a lawsuit against the state Department of Revenue and its commissioner that the state's suspension of an excise tax on highway diesel fuel without extending the suspension to locomotive diesel fuel is "discriminatory taxation" that must be enjoined.

  • May 14, 2026

    Texas AG Says Dallas Sheriff Must Cooperate With ICE

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened legal action against Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown over her refusal to enter into a cooperative agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorizing local officers to enforce federal immigration law.

  • May 14, 2026

    Texas Panel Nixes Ex-Atty's Defamation Suit Against City

    A Texas appeals court dismissed a former attorney's suit against the city of Shenandoah on Thursday because he waited too long to make the city a defendant in lieu of city employees.

  • May 14, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Tribe Can Reclaim Boarding School Remains

    The U.S. Army must repatriate the remains of two Indigenous children from a former Indian boarding school cemetery in Pennsylvania, a split Fourth Circuit panel determined Thursday, saying the site qualifies as a holding or collection under a federal law designed to protect Native American burial sites.

  • May 14, 2026

    DOJ Asserts Broad Power In BigLaw Executive Order Appeal

    A Trump administration attorney told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that the courts have no authority to review the president's decision to revoke someone's security clearance for any reason, including race, religion, or even refusal to pay a $1 million bribe.

  • May 14, 2026

    Rural Carrier To Pay $80K For Breaking FCC Rules

    A rural telephone company in Colorado has agreed to pay $80,000 and create a compliance plan to resolve a Federal Communications Commission probe into whether it provided unauthorized service.

  • May 14, 2026

    DC Beneficiary Can't Get Recordation Tax Refund, Court Says

    A trust beneficiary is not eligible for a refund of a Washington, D.C., recordation tax that was paid when a property was transferred upon the dissolution of the trust, a district appellate court ruled Thursday. 

  • May 14, 2026

    Feds Must Return Colombian Deported To Congo, Judge Says

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a 55-year-old Colombian woman the government deported to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in April, ruling that her removal likely violated federal immigration law.

  • May 14, 2026

    NYC Bar Endorses Random Audits For Law Firm Accounts

    The New York City Bar Association's Professional Discipline Committee on Thursday threw its support behind a statewide bill to institute a random audit program for law firm financial accounts.

  • May 14, 2026

    Guidelines For Tariff Offsets Treat Truck Parts Like Auto Parts

    Imported parts used in manufacturing various trucks are treated like automobile parts in guidelines that the U.S. International Trade Administration issued Thursday for U.S. manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles looking to qualify for a program that allows a discount on duties paid for such parts.

  • May 14, 2026

    NJ Lawmakers Slam Attacks On Judiciary At State Bar Panel

    A bipartisan panel of New Jersey lawmakers condemned partisan attacks on judges and the judiciary on Wednesday, urging Garden State attorneys to uphold their oath to the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law and to "step back from the keyboard."

  • May 14, 2026

    Fla. AG Blasts State Atty Over Lenient Felony Punishments

    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier this week criticized State Attorney Monique Worrell over her application of a Sunshine State law that allows "youthful offenders" to receive less severe punishments, calling her use a "policy of excessive leniency."

  • May 14, 2026

    Gov't Asks 6th Circ. To Reverse FedEx's $89M Tax Credit Win

    The U.S. government urged the Sixth Circuit to reverse a Tennessee federal court's decision that invalidated foreign tax credit regulations and allowed FedEx an $89 million refund, arguing that the rules reflect Congress' intent to prevent windfalls under the 2017 tax overhaul.

  • May 14, 2026

    New Bill Would Ban Chinese Point-Of-Sale Tech For DOD

    The U.S. Department of Defense would be banned from using any Chinese-made point-of-sale technology — devices like those that allow people to tap their cards to pay — in its buildings, if one Republican congressman gets his way.

  • May 14, 2026

    Water Utilities Urge DC Circ. To Toss EPA PFAS Regs Suit

    A trade association for local public clean water utilities is urging the D.C. Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a suit from a group of farmers alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn't adequately regulated so-called forever chemicals, saying the plaintiffs' suit risks interfering with their ability to do their jobs.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • NY Opioid Antagonist Mandate Leaves Employers Guessing

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    A recently enacted New York law will require employers that are federally mandated to maintain first-aid supplies to now include an opioid antagonist, but being that it is subject to a complicated Occupational Safety and Health Administration analysis, employers face several unanswered compliance questions, say attorneys at Conn Maciel.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Repair USPTO's Inter Partes Review Process

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    To challenge recent changes to the inter partes review process issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Congress must establish clear statutory guardrails, transparency and meaningful judicial review so that questionable patents receive proper scrutiny, say Sean Tu at the University of Alabama, Arti Rai at Duke University and Aaron Kesselheim at Harvard.

  • Calif. Case Raises Questions For Medical Practice Investors

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    The California attorney general's amicus brief in Art Center v. WCE and the California Medical Association's response highlight how the California appeals court's ruling could significantly affect the structure and enforceability of succession arrangements in medical practice ownership, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Previewing FDA Preapproval Access In Psychedelics EO

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    The second of two pathways for psychedelic drug access outlined in President Donald Trump's recent executive order constitutes an unprecedented expansion of the Right to Try Act, which could fundamentally alter the psychedelic access landscape while presenting significant regulatory, operational and legal challenges, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Data Center Accounting May Draw Enforcement Scrutiny

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    As public and media scrutiny of the data center industry intensifies, regulators, enforcement authorities and Congress will likely focus on accounting judgments that rely on aggressive assumptions, opaque financing structures or rapidly evolving collateral classes, heightening the risk of investigations and inquiries, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • NY's Growing Enviro Reg Framework Will Transform Projects

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    Three closely connected environmental rulemakings in New York state — concerning greenhouse gas reporting, remediation standards and amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act — have reached critical stages, and taken together, they will have major impacts on business operations, construction project timelines and transactional risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Main St. Bank Bill Could Spur Lending, Ease Barriers To Entry

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    Recently approved by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, the Main Street Capital Access Act, if passed, would provide senior bank leadership with a framework that could influence how banks pursue growth, particularly at community and regional midsize institutions, says Melody Charlton at FBT Gibbons.

  • Previewing FDA National Priority Vouchers In Psychedelics EO

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order on psychedelic drug access represents a watershed moment in federal drug policy, but its significance lies in two distinct regulatory pathways, the first being the Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers, which offer a significant opportunity to compress U.S. Food and Drug Administration review, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Odette Hauke at Odette Alina.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Why Product-Based Public Nuisance Claims May Be Waning

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    The Maryland Supreme Court's recent decision in Express Scripts v. Anne Arundel County is the latest in a national trend of rulings rejecting product-based public nuisance claims — but other forms of government litigation against companies that allegedly increase the cost of public services are likely to continue, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • How Banks And Fintechs Can Build COPPA-Ready Youth Apps

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    Recent Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and state law activity expanding children's data protections underscore compliance considerations for bank-fintech partnerships offering digital financial tech products for youth, including age-gating, data minimization and parental control, says Erin Illman at Bradley Arant.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Illinois

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    Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey discusses notable insurance developments in Illinois, including the state Supreme Court's highly anticipated Griffith Foods v. National Union Fire Insurance ruling, two bulletins from the Department of Insurance directed at public adjusters and a Seventh Circuit decision precluding a "super excess" tier of coverage.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • How To Gear Up For Trump's Pharma Tariffs

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    President Donald Trump's proclamation establishing tariffs on certain pharmaceutical products holds a few areas of ambiguity that companies should review and prepare for before the tariffs come into effect later this year, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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