Public Policy

  • March 04, 2026

    BREAKING: Supreme Court Rejects NJ Immunity Defense In NY, Pa. Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that New Jersey cannot shield its public transit system from personal injury lawsuits by out-of-state plaintiffs under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

  • March 03, 2026

    OCC Clears Faster Merger, Licensing Path For Smaller Banks

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday expanded fast-track merger review and licensing pathways for banks under $30 billion in assets, its latest move to advance the Trump administration's deregulatory push for so-called community banks.

  • March 03, 2026

    Trump Plan To Reopen Coal Plant Is Illegal, Wash. AG Says

    Washington state's attorney general and five environmental watchdogs are challenging the Trump administration's effort to reopen a decommissioned coal power plant in Chehalis, Washington, arguing that the U.S. Department of Energy lacks the authority to force the plant back into operation.

  • March 03, 2026

    Squires' Restrictions On Conflicts May Have Little Effect

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has barred patent examiners from evaluating ​applications for companies where they have any financial interest, rather than a former $15,000 cap, but attorneys raised concerns that the scope of his changes is small, and there are no consequences for not complying.

  • March 03, 2026

    EPA Fights Fluoridated Water IQ Risk Finding At 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reverse a ruling that the EPA's current "optimal" level of fluoride in drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ, arguing that the trial judge improperly held his ruling in abeyance for years to await more scientific evidence.

  • March 03, 2026

    FCC Asks If Int'l Regulatory Barriers To Space Biz Are Fair

    The Federal Communications Commission is wondering if other countries are treating U.S. satellite companies with the same equality that the United States has shown to satellite entrants from other nations and whether the agency ought to do something to level the playing field.

  • March 03, 2026

    Split 9th Circ. Tells EPA To Review Cadmium's Species Impact

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must analyze how its revised water quality standards for cadmium would affect endangered species, a split Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, upholding a conservation organization's victory in a lawsuit over the agency's guidance tripling the levels of the heavy metal allowed in U.S. waters.

  • March 03, 2026

    Tunnel Funding Freeze Fight Is In Wrong Court, 2nd Circ. Told

    New York and New Jersey's federal lawsuit challenging a freeze on Gateway Tunnel funding must be dismissed because it falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Department of Transportation argued to the Second Circuit on Tuesday.

  • March 03, 2026

    New Whistleblower Program Adds 'Bit More Stick,' DOJ Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's new whistleblower rewards program partnership with the U.S. Postal Service doesn't displace the leniency program by which companies disclose potential price-fixing and other antitrust violations, a DOJ official said Tuesday in Washington, D.C., but it is an important complement.

  • March 03, 2026

    7th Circ. Expedites Bank Appeal Of Ill. Swipe-Fee Law

    The Seventh Circuit granted banking and credit union trade groups' bid to fast-track their appeal over the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act after they asked to schedule the case for a decision before the law banning swipe fees on tax and tip payments takes effect July 1.

  • March 03, 2026

    Dems Want Investigation Into DHS Location Data Buys

    Dozens of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday asked a federal watchdog to investigate whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security restarted a program to buy location data on Americans without warrants.

  • March 03, 2026

    XAI Presses Judge To Block California's AI Disclosure Law

    XAI has told a California federal judge that the state had fallen short of its obligations to inform the court and the company if it planned to institute any enforcement actions when responding to a court order, with xAI reiterating its request for the court to block a law that would require data used to train artificial intelligence be disclosed.

  • March 03, 2026

    Judge Says Accounts Of DOJ And FEMA 'Completely Different'

    A California federal judge overseeing a lawsuit by federal worker unions, local governments and nonprofits challenging Trump administration layoffs expressed deep frustration Tuesday after a U.S. Department of Justice attorney contradicted a senior Federal Emergency Management Agency official's sworn declaration in the case.

  • March 03, 2026

    Iran War Has Oil & Gas Dealmakers Holding Their Breath

    Oil and gas dealmakers are cautiously optimistic they can ride out any immediate energy market volatility caused by the U.S. and Israel-Iran war, but the potential for disrupted transactions will grow if the conflict drags on, or continues to provoke Middle East neighbors.

  • March 03, 2026

    Iridium Challenges 'Spectrum Hoarder' Ligado's SkyTerra Plan

    Iridium has urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject Ligado Networks' push for a carveout from licensing rules to allow AST to build a new satellite constellation in the L-band airwaves, saying it could interfere with other users.

  • March 03, 2026

    Fla. House Passes Land Use Bill With Local Preemptions

    The Florida House on Tuesday passed a bill weakening local government control over land use law with steps that its sponsor said are necessary to address a housing affordability crisis but that critics decried as a handout to developers.

  • March 03, 2026

    House OKs Effort To Ease Broadband Builds On Federal Land

    The U.S. House voted Tuesday to direct land management agencies to study how they can ease the process for allowing broadband infrastructure to run through public lands.

  • March 03, 2026

    Apple Asks 9th Circ. To Rethink Part Of App Store Injunction

    Apple asked the Ninth Circuit to reconsider part of a panel decision that largely affirmed an injunction in the case being brought by Epic Games Inc. that blocked the tech giant from charging developers "prohibitive" commissions on iPhone app purchases made outside its payment systems.

  • March 03, 2026

    Mass. Sheriff Must Face Pot Extortion Charges

    A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by a Massachusetts sheriff to toss charges that he used his position to obtain pre-initial public offering shares in a cannabis dispensary and a refund when their value dropped.

  • March 03, 2026

    Ex-FDA Leaders Rebut Contraception Rollbacks At 3rd Circ.

    Former FDA commissioners argued that Trump-era religious exemptions for birth control coverage jeopardize public health and distort medical science, in an animus brief filed Monday with the Third Circuit.

  • March 03, 2026

    NC Town Must Face Firefighter's Retaliation, Free Speech Suit

    A former part-time fire chief who accused a North Carolina town of terminating him after he sought to improve firefighter pay and benefits can proceed with his retaliation lawsuit, as a North Carolina federal court said it's too early to know if his ex-employer is immune from the suit.

  • March 03, 2026

    Conn. Beats Challenge To Open Carry Ban, Handgun Limits

    Two gun owners and an Idaho-based nonprofit lack standing to sue a Connecticut prosecutor in an effort to invalidate the state's open carry ban and its three-per-month limitation on handgun purchases, a federal judge has ruled.

  • March 03, 2026

    Wash., Cities Say Pandemic Eviction Moratoria Suit Is Too Late

    Washington and a host of municipal governments throughout the state urged a federal court to toss landlords' suit challenging several pandemic-era eviction moratoria, arguing the claims are barred by a three-year statute of limitations.

  • March 03, 2026

    GOP Pushes For DHS Funding Amid War With Iran

    Republicans are putting pressure on Democrats to support funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as the U.S. and Israel-Iran war continues.

  • March 03, 2026

    5th Circ. Unsure Grid Hookup Request Cap Hurts States

    A Fifth Circuit panel appeared skeptical that Louisiana and Mississippi utility regulators deserve an exemption from the cap on the number of electricity generation projects in a regional grid operator's interconnection request queue, asking Tuesday if any state had previously enjoyed a waiver.

Expert Analysis

  • What US Arms Sales Reforms Mean For Defense Industry

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    A recent executive order with the goal of increasing U.S. arms sales transparency, speed and government-industry collaboration carries both promise and risk for the defense industry as the government seeks to leverage the private sector and use commercial products for defense purposes, say attorneys at Fluet.

  • Prepping For The Future Of No Surprises Act Enforcement

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    This year is expected to be a transition point for the No Surprises Act framework from regulatory delay to operational enforcement, so stakeholders should use this time to stress-test systems, clean up processes and prepare for enforcement, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • A Tale Of 2 Self-Disclosure Policies: How SDNY, DOJ Differ

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    Though the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s recently announced corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy shares many similarities with that of the U.S. Department of Justice, the two programs differ in meaningful ways, including subject matter scope and timeline to declination, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Aligning Microsoft Tools With NYC Bar AI Recording Guidance

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    The New York City Bar Association’s recently issued formal opinion, providing ethical guidance on artificial intelligence-assisted recording, transcription and summarization, raises immediate questions about data governance and e-discovery for companies that use Microsoft 365 and Copilot, say Staci Kaliner, Martin Tully and John Collins at Redgrave.

  • What Employers Should Know About Calif. PAGA Proposal

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    Recently proposed regulations concerning the Private Attorneys General Act evidence an intent by California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency to play a greater role in the prosecution of PAGA actions, including more oversight over the exhaustion notices and settlement process, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • FTC Focus: Antitrust Spotlight On 'Acqui-Hires,' Noncompetes

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    A recent Federal Trade Commission focus on labor issues, like 'acqui-hire' deals, in which only a company's workforce is acquired, and noncompetes, shows that the agency is scrutinizing these issues on a case-by-case basis, necessitating a meaningful look at these transactions, particularly in the technology and artificial intelligence industries, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • FDA's Biosimilarity Guidance Holds Uncertain Implications

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new draft guidance aimed at simplifying the biosimilarity demonstration process may not be enough to overcome the barriers that have historically constrained biosimilar competition, and could affect biosimilar access in unexpected ways, say analysts at Analysis Group.

  • Unpacking Key Themes From NY's New Healthcare Strategy

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    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2026 State of the State agenda, read together with the state's fiscal year 2027 executive budget, reflect a clear framework to utilize Medicaid as the state's operating platform for healthcare reform, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • A Single DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy Raises Questions

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's soon-to-be-released uniform corporate criminal enforcement policy could address the challenges raised by the current decentralized approach, but it will need to answer a number of potential questions amid scant details, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • WTO Most‑Favored‑Nation Reform May Hold Promise

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    When the World Trade Organization meets this month, it is expected to debate changing the most-favored-nation rule, a carefully calibrated loosening of which may be justified if it enables deeper liberalization and regulatory cooperation, says Alan Yanovich at Akin.

  • Navigating Exclusion Decisions After SEC's No-Action Change

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    Following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's November changes to the Rule 14a-8 no-action letter process, shareholder proponents have turned to litigation if companies excluded their proposals under the new framework, with three recent cases offering useful lessons for companies navigating exclusion decisions this proxy season, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • 5 Different AI Systems Raise Distinct Privilege Issues

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    A New York federal court’s recent U.S. v. Heppner decision, holding that a defendant’s use of Claude was not privileged, only addressed one narrow artificial intelligence system, but lawyers must recognize that the spectrum of AI tools raises different confidentiality and privilege questions, says Heidi Nadel at HP.

  • Fed's Abbreviated Supervisory Statement Packs A Big Punch

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    Language used in a recent three-page statement from the Federal Reserve Board charts a very clear shift in the supervision of banks and bank holding companies, departing from traditional "Fed speak" and emphasizing material financial risks in exams, says Joseph Silvia at Duane Morris.

  • After Learning Resources: A Practical Guide For US Importers

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Feb. 20 decision in Learning Resources v. Trump, U.S. importers and consumers on whom tariffs were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act can seek relief through existing administrative procedures or a yet-to-be-determined bespoke refund mechanism, and should plan for more changes in the tariff landscape, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • State, Federal Policies Complicate Fuel And Carbon Markets

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    As federal and state regulators advance a complex web of mandatory and voluntary programs and incentives that shape how transportation fuels are produced, traded and valued, new compliance obligations present both risks and opportunities for fuel market and carbon market participants alike, says Sarah Grey at Arnold & Porter.

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