Public Policy

  • August 20, 2026

    Colo. County's Union-Law Suit Tossed Over Lack Of Standing

    A Colorado federal judge dismissed a county board of commissioners' complaint Thursday for lack of standing after finding that the county sought prospective relief only from a state law expanding county employees' right to unionize and that the county failed to allege any potential injury.

  • August 20, 2026

    Colo. Court Affirms Boulder Stormwater Fees Aren't Taxes

    Stormwater fees in Boulder, Colorado, that were used in part to repay $66 million in bonds are not taxes subject to voter approval under the state's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, an appeals court said Thursday, affirming a state district court.

  • August 20, 2026

    Nintendo Customer Fights To Keep Tariff Refund Suit Alive

    A Washington federal court should deny Nintendo's attempt to escape a proposed class action seeking reimbursement of costs that customers paid toward President Donald Trump's since-invalidated global tariff regime now that the company is pursuing refunds, a customer told the court.

  • August 20, 2026

    Latest Squires Order Grants 2 Patent Petitions, Denies None

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has issued a brief bulk order instituting a pair of America Invents Act petitions, including a Google challenge to a Valtrus Innovations patent, and saying he would assess the merits of four other patent challenges.

  • August 20, 2026

    Quakers Say Everglades ICE Site Teardown Needs Review

    A southeastern regional Religious Society of Friends group filed a brief Wednesday in the ongoing suit over the now-shuttered immigrant detention center in the Everglades, arguing that environmental review is just as necessary when tearing the facility down as when it was being built.

  • August 20, 2026

    Dems Push For Probe Of LNG Tanker Tax Breaks At IRS

    Democratic senators Thursday urged a government watchdog to investigate whether the Internal Revenue Service has determined that liquefied natural gas exporters who use the fuel to propel their tankers can claim an alternative fuel tax credit.

  • August 20, 2026

    DOJ Pot Shift Changes LA Licensing Challenge, 9th Circ. Told

    A California attorney who has challenged state and local cannabis licensing policies across the country on the grounds that they discriminate against out-of-state entrants told the Ninth Circuit that recent federal shifts on medical marijuana mean the dormant commerce clause should apply to the once-federally illicit industry.

  • August 20, 2026

    Tax Biz Owner Charged In Scheme That May Have Bilked $65M

    A federal grand jury charged an Alabama tax preparation business owner with preparing and filing fraudulent returns for clients and himself in a scheme that may have caused the federal government a tax loss of more than $65 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

  • August 20, 2026

    Customs Must Free 1 Of 2 Chinese Tire Shipments, CIT Says

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection must release one of two Chinese tire shipments it withheld for years initially due to a lack of identifying requirements, according to a Thursday opinion by the U.S. Court of International Trade.

  • August 20, 2026

    Ethics Complaints Barred In Mass. Sheriff's Pot Extortion Trial

    The government cannot use records of past state ethics commission complaints against a Massachusetts sheriff in an extortion trial set to get underway next week, a federal judge said Thursday.

  • August 20, 2026

    Illinois Must Face US Suit Over Immigrant Protection Laws

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to move ahead with its legal challenge to two state laws allowing private parties to sue civil immigration officers and barring civil immigration arrests at courthouses, saying the government has plausibly alleged that the threat of personal liability could impede officers charged with enforcing federal law.

  • August 20, 2026

    Commerce Orders Duties On Aussie, Norwegian Silicon Metal

    The U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday ordered antidumping and countervailing duties on silicon metals from Australia and Norway after the goods were found to be sold at unfair prices and to be harming domestic industry.

  • August 20, 2026

    New Risks For Importers As US Steps Up Tariff Enforcement

    Importers and trade lawyers have seen an upswelling of tariff enforcement efforts that is transforming the compliance relationship between businesses and the government since President Donald Trump took office a second time.

  • August 20, 2026

    Jury Finds Okla. Highway Contractor Guilty Of Price-Fixing

    A federal jury in Oklahoma found a highway runoff contracting business and two of its employees guilty of antitrust violations for a price-fixing conspiracy that allegedly impacted $100 million in publicly funded construction contracts in the state.

  • August 20, 2026

    Ex-SMU Basketball Player Challenges NCAA Transfer Rules

    A former player for the Southern Methodist University women's basketball team told a Texas federal judge that the National Collegiate Athletic Association's rules for athletes seeking to switch schools breach antitrust laws, saying she should be allowed to play for another team.

  • August 20, 2026

    Senator Questions CBP Over Lifted Ban On Dominican Sugar

    The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee asked the Customs and Border Protection commissioner on Thursday why President Donald Trump's administration chose to allow imported sugar products from the Dominican Republic that were previously prohibited due to the company's alleged use of forced labor.

  • August 20, 2026

    Trump Taps DOJ Official, ND Solicitor General For Judgeships

    President Donald Trump announced Thursday he's tapping Jesus Osete, a top U.S. Department of Justice official, to serve on the Western District of Missouri and Philip Axt, solicitor general of North Dakota, for the District of North Dakota.

  • August 19, 2026

    Social Media Use Has Addiction Hallmarks, Meta Jury Told

    A psychologist told a Tennessee jury considering claims against Meta on Wednesday that it's well accepted in his field that social media use can cause behavior that looks like addiction, and social media is a challenging presence in the lives of 15% to 20% of his patients.

  • August 19, 2026

    Zuckerberg Can't Be Trusted On Kids' Safety Online, Jury Told

    A Meta whistleblower testified Wednesday in a California federal jury trial over states' claims Meta hid social media's harms that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ignored calls for Meta to prioritize kids' safety while publicly touting Meta's safety practices, saying "I feel that you just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids."

  • August 19, 2026

    Convicted Ex-Atty Deserves Redemption, Pardoned Client Says

    A former Connecticut attorney under suspension for the past decade over his role in a $3 million stock pump-and-dump scheme deserves reinstatement and redemption, a client of his pardon consulting firm told a state bar admissions committee on Wednesday.

  • August 19, 2026

    Nonprofits Urge Court To Block HHS From Sharing Aid Data

    Counsel for a group of nonprofits on Wednesday asked a Brooklyn federal judge to block the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from sharing personal information, including immigration status, of recipients of financial assistance with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, saying the proposed disclosure has "no statutory authority whatsoever."

  • August 19, 2026

    German Entrepreneur's Dad Can't Nix SEC Tab, 1st Circ. Rules

    The First Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a judgment against the father of German billionaire Michael Gastauer, saying the parent "waited too long" to object to a lower court's personal jurisdiction over him as a relief defendant in a case concerning his son's alleged participation in an international pump-and-dump scheme.

  • August 19, 2026

    Colo. Sues GEO Group To Allow Tuberculosis Probe At ICE Camp

    Colorado sued private prison operator GEO Group in state court Wednesday, accusing it of failing to comply with a public health order seeking compliance with a tuberculosis investigation in the only immigration detention camp in the state.

  • August 19, 2026

    CFPB Pursues Early Win In Hagens Berman Lender Docs Suit

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to beat Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP's suit accusing the agency of illegally withholding information about any investigations into mortgage lender Veterans United, arguing that acknowledging any such probe could thwart the bureau's law enforcement efforts.

  • August 19, 2026

    FTC Warns Secret Personalized Prices Likely To Draw Scrutiny

    Retailers and other businesses that use consumers' personal data to set individualized prices are likely to face regulatory backlash if these practices aren't clearly disclosed, the Federal Trade Commission cautioned in a proposed policy statement issued Wednesday that vowed the agency would "aggressively" enforce such misconduct.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.

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