Public Policy

  • August 13, 2026

    Supreme Court's Apple App Store Pause Lifted After 24 Hours

    Following the expiration of a roughly 24-hour pause on the App Store dispute between Apple and Epic Games, Apple put a 15% commission on the table Thursday to try to comply with a mandate forcing it to dramatically cut what it charges for App Store sales.

  • August 13, 2026

    CFTC Flags Lapses In Event Contract Filings On Incentives

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission staff have said they've noticed an uptick in deficiencies in applications for incentive programs on event contracts and have laid out steps it believes exchanges or platforms must fulfill when self-certifying such programs.

  • August 13, 2026

    Del. Water Supplier Sues 9 Cos. Over PFAS

    A Delaware water supplier hit nine companies with a suit in state court alleging that they released forever chemicals into the watersheds that supply water to tens of thousands of residents, seeking to recoup at least $34.6 million for the cost of ensuring safe drinking water.

  • August 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Says U. Of Wash. Is Immune From Vax Firing Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel declined on Thursday to reinstate former University of Washington employees' claims that they were wrongfully fired after refusing the COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds, concluding the university qualifies as an arm of the state that cannot be sued for civil rights violations under the relevant federal law.  

  • August 13, 2026

    ICE Again Ordered To Fix 'Inhumane' Adelanto Detention Site

    A California federal judge on Wednesday once again ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve conditions at its Adelanto detention facility in the Mojave Desert, pointing to "severe and inhumane deficiencies" in necessities including access to safe food and water and sanitary living conditions.

  • August 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives $140M Robo-Surgery Antitrust Case

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a surgical instrument repair company's antitrust suit accusing the makers of the da Vinci surgical robot of illegally blocking third parties from repairing its instruments, ruling that a district judge erred in applying the U.S. Supreme Court's Kodak factors to the dispute.

  • August 13, 2026

    8th Circ. Partially Revives Iowa Adjuster Law Challenge

    The Eighth Circuit has revived a residential contractor's claim that its First Amendment rights were violated when the Iowa Insurance Division issued warning notices pursuant to the state's public adjuster laws, while affirming that the statutes are not unconstitutional on their face and not void for vagueness.

  • August 13, 2026

    5th Circ. Nixes Fed Approval For Offshore Oil Export Port

    A Fifth Circuit panel overturned a license approval for a deepwater port off Texas, ruling that the Trump administration failed to properly consider how a pipeline serving the offshore crude oil export facility would intersect a pipeline for another approved port.

  • August 13, 2026

    Warehouse Owner Faces Manslaughter Charge In Blast Death

    For the second time, a Michigan warehouse owner on Thursday saw a judge say involuntary manslaughter charges against him should move forward, in a case over a March 2024 explosion where shrapnel struck and killed a 19-year-old man.

  • August 13, 2026

    Wash. Halts Conversion Therapy Ban For Therapist Amid Suit

    Washington state has agreed not to enforce its ban on a practice commonly known as conversion therapy against a therapist while his First Amendment challenge to the prohibition plays out in federal court, according to a stipulation entered Thursday.

  • August 13, 2026

    Kalshi Must Suspend Most Wash. Offerings, Install Geofencing

    A Washington state court judge has blocked Kalshi from offering event contracts to state residents in most of its prediction market categories while the attorney general's legal challenge unfolds, setting deadlines for the platform to institute location-based geofencing, while spurning the company's bid to maintain operations pending appeal.

  • August 13, 2026

    6th Circ. Jails Minnesota Activist Over Anti-ICE Threats

    A self-described "antifa" member from Minneapolis must return to jail on federal charges of cyberstalking and making threats against supporters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with a divided Sixth Circuit panel determining he still poses a threat to the public.

  • August 13, 2026

    DHS Defends Building New ICE Facility In Silicon Valley

    The federal government fired back in California federal court Wednesday against a bid by California and Santa Clara County to block a planned ICE office and temporary holding facility in Silicon Valley, arguing that the project's alleged environmental, health and safety impacts are speculative and unsupported.

  • August 13, 2026

    Sierra Nevada Gets FCC OK For High Frequency Flight Sensor

    The Federal Communications Commission gave the green light to Sierra Nevada Co. LLC's request to operate enhanced flight vision systems in the 92-95.5 gigahertz spectrum band.

  • August 13, 2026

    DOJ's HPE Merger Settlement Approved Over State Objections

    A California federal judge approved a controversial settlement struck by the U.S. Department of Justice to end a case challenging Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, despite concerns from state enforcers about political influence in the settlement process.

  • August 13, 2026

    States Say DOT Illegally Sought 17M CDL Driver Records

    A group of 21 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia accused the Trump administration on Thursday of illegally pressuring a nonprofit commercial driver database operator to hand over millions of Social Security numbers for immigration enforcement by threatening to cut funding for noncompliance.

  • August 13, 2026

    Vaccine Challengers Slam Connecticut's 'One-Party Rule'

    Challengers to Connecticut's mandatory school vaccination laws have accused political leaders of exercising "one-party rule" over state government, claiming the House speaker, governor and attorney general, who are all Democrats, tweaked or defended state laws specifically to stymie their religious freedom claims.

  • August 13, 2026

    7 States Urge Feds To Reject $85B UP, Norfolk Southern Deal

    Seven state attorneys general are urging the federal Surface Transportation Board to reject the planned $85 billion merger between Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., saying the rail giants have not shown how the deal would serve the public interest.

  • August 13, 2026

    Arizona, Tribes Sign Deal To Offset Coal Economy Losses

    Arizona, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation have signed an agreement that aims to boost economic growth for tribal communities that lost thousands of jobs and millions in revenue after major coal mining companies stopped or scaled back operations in the Four Corners region.

  • August 13, 2026

    Groups Say Shuttered Fla. Detention Center Threatens Wildlife

    Environmental groups have accused wildlife officials of polluting protected land through an immigrant detention center in the Everglades, alleging in an updated complaint filed in Florida federal court that the now-shuttered site continues to threaten endangered species in the area.

  • August 13, 2026

    SEC May Vote To Ease Pay-To-Play Rules This Year

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has informed the White House that it could soon move forward with plans to loosen the rules around political contributions made by investment advisers, regulations that SEC Chair Paul Atkins has recently called "a trap for the unwary."

  • August 13, 2026

    White House Aims Customs AI Tool At Chinese Tariff Evasion

    The White House identified Thursday over 40 countries from which imports carry a heightened risk of transshipment, an illegal practice of misrepresenting goods entering the U.S. that originate elsewhere such as China, and government officials are working on a new artificial intelligence enforcement tool to address those concerns.

  • August 13, 2026

    CFPB Brass Accused Of 'Sham' Probe Of Union Leader

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is conducting a "sham" investigation into an employee who is active in the staff's union, the union's president said, taking the agency's new leader to task for its probe of the data scientist and National Treasury Employees Union local activist.

  • August 13, 2026

    FCC Told Foreign Drone Ban Could Hinder Public Safety Work

    A nonprofit that donates drones to public safety agencies and science programs has urged the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider a potential ban on foreign-made military-grade drones.

  • August 13, 2026

    NJ Takes Labor Peace Pact Fight In Pot Case To 3rd Circ.

    New Jersey cannabis regulators filed a notice Thursday that they would appeal a federal court's recent ruling that a state rule requiring marijuana businesses enter into labor peace agreements with unions in order to secure a license is preempted by federal law.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

  • EEOC Enforcement Plan Signals DEI, Religious Bias Scrutiny

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    In light of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently publishing its national enforcement plan covering through fiscal year 2029, employers should expect increased scrutiny of practices that conflict with the administration's positions on diversity, equity and inclusion, national origin discrimination, and religious accommodations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Immigration Order Raises Customer ID Stakes For Banks

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    Following a recently issued immigration-related executive order, financial institutions should expect and prepare for increased scrutiny of customer due diligence and identification, suspicious activity monitoring, and consumer lending, as well as accompanying supervisory shifts and rising fair lending risks, says Douglas Weissinger at Butler Snow.

  • Trade Secret Practice Tips From The 1st Half Of 2026

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    Intellectual property attorneys should consider what several significant developments in 2026 thus far mean for how they protect, litigate and value trade secrets, focusing on new state noncompete bans, cases scrutinizing how plaintiffs identify trade secrets and federal rulings on damages doctrines, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • High Court Rulings Could Alter Agency Strategy For Cos.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook mark major turning points in the law of independent agencies and in how regulated companies should think about federal enforcement, rulemaking and agency-facing strategy, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

  • How CME Suit May Reshape CFTC's Crypto Derivatives Rules

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    CME Group's recent lawsuit over the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's approval of a Kalshi application to offer a bitcoin perpetual contract as a futures product could have cascading consequences for crypto derivatives regulation, highlighting why policy ambitions do not override statutory text or substitute for reasoned decision-making, says attorney Tamara de Silva.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Parole Ruling Degrades Green Card Holders' Rights

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blanche v. Lau, holding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can parole a returning lawful permanent resident without clear and convincing evidence of a crime, weakens the statutory and practical protections Congress intended, say attorneys at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners.

  • NEPA Reforms Can Fix Permitting Without Weakening Review

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    Recent National Environmental Policy Act reforms, in tandem with a Senate bill proposing faster permitting reviews and greater agency coordination, mark a long overdue move toward more efficient energy and infrastructure permitting that does not sacrifice environmental assessment, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • 2 Microsoft Matters Could Help Shape AI Antitrust Outlook

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    A pending federal court case and investigation focusing on Microsoft's allegedly anticompetitive conduct in the deployment of artificial intelligence tools are testing whether antitrust law can distinguish ordinary competition to supply the AI ecosystem from conduct that distorts how that competition unfolds, says Kylie Kim at Massey & Gail.

  • Preparing For Next Congress With Eye On Investigation Risk

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    Rod Rosenstein, Brian Whisler and Bruce Linskens at Baker McKenzie offer advice for organizations seeking to build a proactive response plan to potential congressional oversight as the election looms.

  • Asylum Ruling Signals Larger Separation Of Powers Battle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that border officials may turn away asylum-seekers without inspection is part of a broader conversation about the reach of institutional safeguards that subject governmental authority to legal constraint, says Dree Collopy at American University's Washington College of Law.

  • Solar's Momentum At Mid-2026 Will Help It Overcome Snags

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    The rapid expansion of U.S. solar development in the first half of 2026 is likely to continue its pace, even amid ongoing shifts in federal trade policy and supply chain regulations, obstacles to permitting reform, and an increasing divide between states enacting policies to encourage or stymie project development, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • The Debanking Minefield: Navigating Fair Access In 2026

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    Federal regulators' recent elimination of reputational risk from bank supervision, alongside a growing patchwork of state fair access laws, is reshaping how banks make account and service decisions and ushering in a new compliance era requiring individualized, objective and risk-based access determinations, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Carbon Health Settlement Highlights Why Evidence Is Key

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    The California Attorney General's Office's first-of-its-kind settlement with Carbon Health, imposing penalties for alleged corporate practice of medicine violations, shows that friendly professional corporation challenges usually hinge not on the parties' management services agreement, but on whether the operational record matches it, says Ben Dubin at VC Expert Services.

  • What PE Practitioners Need To Know About New Del. ABC Act

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    Delaware's new Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors statute represents a structural shift in how companies backed by private equity can be wound down and provides a more streamlined tool for managing sponsor liability without the public visibility of a bankruptcy proceeding, says Evelyn Meltzer at Troutman Pepper.

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