Public Policy

  • August 18, 2026

    5th Circ. Rejects Texas Water Case Against River Authority

    The Fifth Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a private water utility's antitrust case targeting Texas' San Jacinto River Authority contract fees designed to reduce groundwater use, concluding that the contract was not designed to fix prices.  

  • August 18, 2026

    ATF's Ghost Gun Rule Found Unconstitutional By Texas Judge

    A Texas federal judge has ruled that a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule restricting so-called ghost gun kits violates the Second Amendment because it runs counter to America's colonial tradition of home gunsmithing.

  • August 18, 2026

    Trump Admin Moves To Cut Roadless Rule Forest Protections

    The U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday said it's moving ahead with a plan to repeal a decades-old rule that has protected tens of millions of acres of national forest from road building and logging, asserting it has unacceptably hampered efforts to reduce wildfire risk.

  • August 18, 2026

    Trump Names 9 Judicial Picks Across 6 States

    President Donald Trump announced nine nominees Tuesday for judicial spots in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Alaska. 

  • August 18, 2026

    Squires Says RPIs Must Be Named If They Can Control Cases

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director explained why he rejected Viance LLC's challenge of a Koppers Performance Chemicals Inc. patent, faulting Viance for failing to disclose real parties in interest and writing that a company's mere ability to control a challenger makes it an RPI.

  • August 18, 2026

    Conn. Pans DOJ's Injury Claims In Use-Of-Force Law Dispute

    The state of Connecticut has challenged the U.S. Department of Justice's attempt to invalidate recent laws on use of force, identification and face covering that two state officials said could affect federal officers, arguing the DOJ failed to allege "concrete harm" or validly claim federal officers can't be prosecuted for crimes.

  • August 18, 2026

    Ex-Meta Worker Says His EB-2 Letter Concerns Got Him Fired

    A former Meta Platforms Inc. product design manager sued the social media giant and his former supervisor in New Jersey federal court, claiming that he was fired after refusing to sign an immigration support letter for a colleague because he believed it contained inaccurate or unsupported facts.

  • August 18, 2026

    House GOP Still Pushing For Broadband Permit Bill This Year

    Despite months of delays, Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are still pressing for legislation that would compel local governments to act faster on broadband permit applications, a top congressional aide said Tuesday.

  • August 18, 2026

    Alaska Judge Voids 500-Acre Land Swap For Refuge Road

    A district court judge vacated an Interior Department decision to exchange 500 acres to allow road construction on Izembek National Wildlife Refuge lands for failing to comply with the provision of a federal Alaskan land law, saying in a Tuesday order that the transaction has no "force or effect."

  • August 18, 2026

    10th Circ. Revisits Banks' Challenge To Colo. Opt-Out Law

    The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday reconsidered a challenge from banking groups to a Colorado law intended to curb high-cost lending by out-of-state banks, pressing counsel on the practicality of Colorado's law and the history of a federal interest rate law.

  • August 18, 2026

    Exchanges Ask SEC To Delay Trade-Through Rule Withdrawal

    Some of the largest stock exchanges are urging the SEC to hold off on eliminating a rule that prohibits exchanges from executing trades at lower prices than the best displayed price available on other exchanges, saying the agency should first consider how the rule's elimination could impact broader market structure.

  • August 18, 2026

    Are Trump Diamond Tariff Breaks Tied To Gift? Wyden Asks

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Tuesday demanded answers about President Donald Trump granting a tariff exemption for diamonds shortly after being given a gem-coated watch, claiming the circumstances may be tantamount to bribery, while also raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest in a separate duty investigation.

  • August 18, 2026

    NCUA Board Left Sitting Empty As Trump Pick Waits In Wings

    The National Credit Union Administration has entered its second week with an empty governing board, an unusual leadership vacuum that could limit the agency's ability to take certain formal actions until President Donald Trump's newly confirmed board pick assumes office.

  • August 18, 2026

    Pennsylvania Now Requires Local Approval For Data Centers

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday he has signed an executive order imposing additional requirements on developers seeking to build data centers in the state, including a mandate that projects must obtain approval by local municipalities before the state will allow them to advance.

  • August 18, 2026

    DOJ Says 'Heroes' Garden Too Hypothetical To Support Suit

    The Trump administration's plans to install a National Garden of American Heroes in the capital's West Potomac Park remain too much of a preliminary concept to support a challenge brought by conservation and historic preservation groups, the U.S. Department of Justice told a Washington, D.C., federal judge.

  • August 18, 2026

    DEA Blasts Marijuana Foes' Objections To Rescheduling

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday told an administrative law judge that federal restrictions should be loosened on marijuana and that opponents of cannabis reform brought a meritless challenge to health regulators' assessment of the drug's medical use.

  • August 18, 2026

    Dems Urge DOJ To End 'Mega Master' Immigration Hearings

    Democratic lawmakers from Illinois urged the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday to cease scheduling dozens of immigrants for hearings at the same time in Illinois and other states, a practice they say fuels the administration's "mass deportation campaign."

  • August 18, 2026

    Publishers Target Google's 'Fake Privilege' In Ad Tech MDL

    A group of website publishers targeting Google's advertising placement technology dominance in a wider multidistrict litigation asked a New York federal judge Monday to force discovery into corporate policies allegedly hiding evidence that have continuously haunted the technology giant across antitrust cases from government and private plaintiffs.

  • August 18, 2026

    Charlotte Transit Lost Millions To Fare Evasion, Auditor Says

    The public transit system in Charlotte, North Carolina, lost millions of dollars on riders who don't pay for tickets and left $1.7 million in unspent safety dollars on the table, according to a state watchdog report penned in response to the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman on the city's light rail system last year.

  • August 18, 2026

    Judge Rejects Bid To Stop Plan To Fully Paint EEOB

    A federal judge has denied a preservationist law firm's request for a preliminary injunction in its bid to stop the Trump administration from fully painting over a historic granite office building near the White House.

  • August 18, 2026

    Tax Court's Petition Deadline Isn't Flexible, 1st Circ. Rules

    The deadline for filing a petition in the U.S. Tax Court isn't a jurisdictional bar that prevents the court from hearing a Maine company's late-filed challenge of a transferee liability notice for unpaid taxes, but the deadline can't be extended to create fairness, the First Circuit said.

  • August 18, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs Block On ICE Actions At Houses Of Worship

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a district court injunction blocking a 2025 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that loosened prior restrictions on immigration enforcement in houses of worship, finding it likely burdens the free exercise of religion.

  • August 18, 2026

    11th Circ. Affirms Kickback Convictions For Pain Doc, Salesman

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the conviction and sentences of a Florida pain doctor and a salesman found guilty of participating in a kickback conspiracy for prescribing a fentanyl spray, ruling prosecutors had "overwhelming" evidence the men knowingly participated in "sham" drug promotion events.

  • August 18, 2026

    FCC Seeks Public Input On AT&T's Bid To End Copper Service

    The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public input on AT&T's application to stop providing domestic legacy voice service amid a push toward a wireless system.

  • August 18, 2026

    High Court Told It Must Block Ballroom To Balance Power

    The U.S. Supreme Court must deny President Donald Trump's bid to lift a ban on construction of a White House ballroom, a historical preservation nonprofit told the justices Tuesday, contending that a ruling in the president's favor would wrongly enable him to continue usurping Congress' authority and dodging judicial review.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • How To Brace For A Potential Democratic Oversight Push

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    With the possibility of a shift in congressional control after the November midterm elections, companies and their general counsel should prepare now by mapping oversight exposure, reviewing government interactions, preserving records and developing coordinated communications strategies, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Opinion

    Labor Contract Bill Would Introduce Sweeping Risks For Cos.

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    The House-approved Faster Labor Contracts Act would force rapid first-contract bargaining, subject businesses to binding arbitration over key workplace terms, and create major uncertainty for nonunion companies, making it crucial for employers to assess their exposure and mitigate the risks now, say attorneys at FBT Gibbons.

  • Fed Autonomy Rests On Narrow Exception After Justices Rule

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter expand presidential removal power while temporarily preserving the Federal Reserve’s independence, but there is uncertainty about which of the Fed’s authorities fall within the court’s narrow monetary-policy exception, says Keith Bradley at Squire Patton.

  • Assessing New Risks After The End Of The SEC's Gag Rule

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rescission of its long-standing no‑deny gag rule marks a transition from a regime of enforced silence to one of strategic communication, meaning the question is no longer simply whether to settle, but how to manage the narrative that follows, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • New Pipeline Repair Rules Shift Burden To Engineer Judgment

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    A proposal from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to allow operators more flexibility to make analysis-informed repair choices, rather than hew to long-standing prescriptive criteria, could make documenting the engineer’s decision-making process as important to compliance as the ultimate repair performed, says Ahuva Battams at Beatty & Wozniak.

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

  • What Ga. Stablecoin Licensing Law Means For Payments Cos.

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    Georgia recently enacted one of the first state-level licensing frameworks for stablecoin issuance aligned with the Genius Act, which may appeal to eligible companies by making licensure accessible to nondepository entities and potentially offering easier access to regulatory guidance, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Illinois Audit Law Will Make AI Clauses Actually Enforceable

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    A law recently enacted in Illinois creates a first-in-the-nation requirement for artificial intelligence developers to undergo annual audits, providing objective standards that can be incorporated into private contracts and addressing the problem of defining responsible AI use, says William Tanenbaum at Moses & Singer.

  • Opinion

    Shareholder Derivative Litigation Needs A Better Framework

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    Uncoordinated, multiforum shareholder derivative litigation is a growing issue for corporate defendants that have little to no recourse for organizing and consolidating actions, but several commonsense steps should be utilized to preempt such disputes, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • How Justices' TPS Ruling Affects Workforce Planning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Mullin v. Doe that courts lack jurisdiction to review temporary protected status determinations greenlights the end of TPS for thousands of Syrian and Haitian nationals, and means employers must reevaluate TPS-designees' employability while avoiding discriminatory document practices, says attorney Richard Herman.

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