Public Policy

  • December 19, 2025

    Senate Bill Would Direct Extra BEAD Funds To AI

    Congress has a lot of ideas about what should happen with funds that states were allocated as part of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, but end up not using — the newest one is turning those dollars toward workforce development related to artificial intelligence.

  • December 19, 2025

    DraftKings Beats Suit Over Calif. Gambling Ban, For Now

    A California federal judge said during a hearing Friday he plans to toss with leave to amend a proposed class action alleging DraftKings' Daily Fantasy Sports games and others violate California's ban on sports betting, while calling the case "significant" for "clearly" implicating public policy and the California penal code.

  • December 19, 2025

    Colo. Judge Rules Lumen's Claims Not Time-Barred

    A Colorado federal judge ruled that Lumen Technologies' suit against a consulting firm isn't time-barred, dismissing the firm's bid for summary judgment after it was accused of being liable for a faulty structural analysis of a building Lumen wished to purchase in Miami. 

  • December 19, 2025

    Fed Seeks Input On Limited Master Accounts For Fintechs

    The Federal Reserve Board on Friday took another step toward rolling out what are known as skinny master accounts for fintech firms, requesting public feedback on a special purpose Reserve Bank account prototype "tailored to the risks and needs of institutions focused on payments innovation."

  • December 19, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Excessive Force Suit Against Spokane Police

    The Ninth Circuit has held that police officers in Washington state could have violated the Fourth Amendment rights of a man who died in their custody during a suspected drug overdose, finding that their alleged use of force would be excessive under federal law if proven.

  • December 19, 2025

    Trump's Cannabis Order: The Impact On Hemp And Research

    President Donald Trump's executive order Thursday reignited an administrative process to reclassify marijuana as a less restricted drug, but its provisions touching on cannabis research and hemp-derived CBD are less obvious.

  • December 19, 2025

    Health Co. CEO Gets 15 Years In $1.4B Fraud Scheme

    A Florida federal judge sentenced a software company CEO to 15 years in prison Friday for participating in a scheme to coordinate illegal medical kickbacks through an internet platform, an operation that resulted in $1.4 billion worth of false billings to Medicare and other insurers for unnecessary medical products.

  • December 19, 2025

    Coinbase Sues 3 States Over Event Contract Regulation

    Illinois, Connecticut and Michigan have been sued by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase over their attempts to regulate the trading platform's prediction market offerings, with the firm arguing that the states are trying to unlawfully apply their gambling laws to federally regulated transactions that are under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

  • December 19, 2025

    23 AGs Oppose FCC's Possible AI Law Preemption

    Nearly two dozen state attorneys general joined forces to urge the Federal Communications Commission not to issue a ruling that would preempt state-level regulation of artificial intelligence technologies, arguing in a comment letter that the agency lacks such authority.

  • December 19, 2025

    NY Judge Urged To Deny Pot Club Owners' Reconsideration

    A New York federal judge shouldn't reconsider an order that allowed state law enforcement to continue conducting searches and seizures of Empire Cannabis Clubs locations and shutting them down, state officials argued Friday, saying the business owners failed to add anything new for the court to examine.

  • December 19, 2025

    4 Stories That Shaped Civil Rights, Access To Justice In 2025

    Civil rights and access to justice advocates faced mounting pressure in 2025, as President Donald Trump's return to office drove aggressive immigration enforcement, deep cuts to criminal justice funding, renewed Supreme Court scrutiny of the Voting Rights Act, and a steep increase in executions.

  • December 19, 2025

    X Can Still Sue Media Matters In Ireland, 9th Circ. Rules

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday vacated a California federal judge's injunction that blocked X Corp.'s ongoing lawsuit against left-leaning watchdog Media Matters in Ireland over an allegedly defamatory article, saying Media Matters waited too long before seeking to bring the case to the Golden State and thus prejudiced X.

  • December 19, 2025

    Mamdani Taps Ex-Biden DOL Chief For 'Economic Justice' Job

    New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Friday named Julie Su, acting labor secretary during the Biden administration, to serve as the city's first deputy mayor for economic justice, a move that was welcomed by labor unions.

  • December 19, 2025

    FTC Says Building Service Contractor Will End No-Hire Pacts

    The Federal Trade Commission is continuing to show interest in labor market issues, reaching a deal on Friday alongside New Jersey state enforcers that bars Adamas Amenity Services LLC from enforcing no-hire agreements with building owners.

  • December 19, 2025

    Squires Issues 21 More Patent Review Denials

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has denied 21 requests for America Invents Act patent reviews, while not agreeing to institute any new proceedings.

  • December 19, 2025

    Diversity Visa Pause Is Latest Hit To Legal Immigration

    The Trump administration's pause of the green card lottery after the Brown University shooting suspect was shown to have entered the U.S. through the program marks the latest in a rapid series of moves to curb legal immigration on security grounds.

  • December 19, 2025

    Court Nixes Labor Requirements From Army Corps Contract

    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims granted a construction company's request to strike negotiated labor prices and work terms from a hurricane-mitigation contract with the Army Corps of Engineers, finding the requirements were unrelated to the project's needs.

  • December 19, 2025

    Justices Let Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit Continue

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration has failed to show it will be irreparably harmed by a Fourth Circuit decision that revived immigration judges' lawsuit challenging restrictions on their ability to speak publicly.

  • December 19, 2025

    NLRB Prosecutors Drop Challenge To SpaceX Severance Pact

    National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have dropped a challenge to SpaceX's severance agreement that spurred a fight over the agency's constitutionality, telling a Texas federal judge that "further proceedings would not effectuate the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act."

  • December 19, 2025

    Veolia Hit With $4M Overcharge Claim By NJ Borough

    A Garden State municipality is suing Veolia Water New Jersey Inc. and two affiliated entities in state court, alleging the private water provider orchestrated a yearslong scheme to falsify consumption data, manipulate meter readings and induce the town into paying millions more for water than it actually used.

  • December 19, 2025

    Calif. Appeals Court Upholds Los Angeles' Mansion Tax

    A property transfer tax that adds 4% to 5.5% to the cost of Los Angeles real estate deals of more than $5 million is legal under the U.S. and California constitutions, a state appeals panel ruled, upholding a trial court.

  • December 19, 2025

    Green Groups Sue Over Interior's Environmental Policy Shift

    Two conservation groups are asking a Northern California federal district court to vacate an interim U.S. Department of the Interior final rule that rescinds decades-old environmental policies concerning the public's right to participate in reviews for logging, drilling and other industrial projects on public lands.

  • December 19, 2025

    Bill Shields Public Housing Tenants Using Legal Pot

    A pair of Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate have introduced a bill that would prohibit landlords who take federal funding from evicting tenants or denying applicants just because they use or possess marijuana in a state where it is legal.

  • December 19, 2025

    Medical, School Groups Seek Order Halting $100K Visa Fee

    A medical practice in rural North Carolina and other employers asked a federal judge Friday to block enforcement of the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, arguing the "massive" fee hike will inflict irreparable harm on their communities.

  • December 19, 2025

    Judge Weighs Trump's Immunity Claim In Riot Lawsuit

    Pres. Donald Trump's immunity from liability for his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was once again argued in D.C. federal court Friday, this time in the civil context as lawmakers suing Trump fought his bid to exit their long-running suit.

Expert Analysis

  • Del. Dispatch: Key 2025 Corporate Cases And Trends To Know

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    The Delaware corporate legal landscape saw notable changes in 2025, spurred by amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, ubiquitous artificial intelligence fervor, boardroom discussion around DExit, record shareholder activism activity and an arguably more expansive view of potential Caremark liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

  • 2025 Brought A New Paradigm For Federal Banking Regulation

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    A series of thematic shifts defined banking regulation in 2025, including a fundamental reform of prudential supervision, a strategic easing of capital constraints, steps to streamline merger reviews, and a new framework for fair access and entrants seeking to offer banking services, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • What 2025 Transpo And Logistics Legal Trends Mean For 2026

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    2025 was challenging for the transportation and logistics sector, with emergent trends including dramatic federal policy shifts, developments in tort risk, and a host of mergers and acquisitions — but a review of these themes offers a useful playbook for where the industry is headed in 2026, says Jonathan Todd at Benesch.

  • How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

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    Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • 2025 State AI Laws Expand Liability, Raise Insurance Risks

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    As 2025 nears its end, claims professionals should be aware of trends in state legislation addressing artificial intelligence use, as insurance claims based on some of these liability-expanding statutes are a certainty, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

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    Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.

  • Crypto In 2025: From Federal Deregulation To State Action

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    The cryptocurrency enforcement landscape evolved in 2025, marked by federal deregulatory trends and active state attorney general enforcement, creating both opportunity and risk for businesses navigating the digital asset market, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • How CFTC Enforcement Shifted In 2025 And What's Next

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pivoted sharply under acting Chairman Caroline Pham in 2025, resulting in a pared-back enforcement docket, sweeping policy changes intended to provide greater transparency, and a renewed focus on fraud prevention and maintaining market integrity for the CFTC's core markets, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Learning From 2025 FCA Trends Targeting PE In Healthcare

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    False Claims Act enforcement trends and legislative developments from this year signal intensifying state and federal scrutiny of private equity's growing footprint in healthcare, and the urgency of compliance, says Lisa Re at Arnold & Porter.

  • Reviewing 2025's State And Federal AI Regulations

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    In light of increasing state and federal action to oversee the use of artificial intelligence, companies that develop or deploy the technology should keep abreast of current and forthcoming AI laws and consider their applicability to their business activities, says Jessica Brigman at Spencer Fane.

  • Software Patents May Face New Eligibility Scrutiny

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    November guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, along with recent litigation trends from the Federal Circuit, may encourage new challenges in the USPTO and district courts to artificial intelligence and software patents that rely on generic computing functions without concrete details, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What Trump Order Limiting State AI Regs Means For Insurers

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    Last week's executive order seeking to preclude states from regulating artificial intelligence will likely have minimal impact on insurers, but the order and related congressional activities may portend a federal expectation of consistent state oversight of insurers' AI use, says Kathleen Birrane at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

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    To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • Investment Advisers Should Stay Apprised Of New AI Risks

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently issued annual examination priorities reiterate a host of regulatory implications for investment advisers using artificial intelligence tools, highlighting that meaningful ongoing due diligence can help mitigate both operational and regulatory surprises amid AI's rapid evolution, says Christopher Mills at Sidley.

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