Public Policy

  • February 04, 2026

    Senate Committee Mulls Autonomous Vehicle Standards

    U.S. Senate lawmakers on Wednesday renewed debate over how to craft a federal regulatory framework governing autonomous vehicles in the U.S., as Tesla, Waymo and other industry executives pressed for concrete rules to help drive innovation and competition, while also defending their safety records in the face of recent incidents.

  • February 04, 2026

    NY, NJ Sue Feds Over Hudson River Tunnel Funding Pause

    New York and New Jersey have accused the U.S. Department of Transportation of unlawfully withholding $15 billion to fund the rehabilitation of aging commuter train tunnels under the Hudson River, saying the government did not give a valid reason for the decision.

  • February 04, 2026

    Wash. AG Defends 'Constitutional' Anti-Spam Law In Ulta Suit

    Washington's attorney general is defending the constitutionality of a state anti-spam law, denying arguments by beauty retailer Ulta that the statute is an undue burden on interstate commerce and runs afoul of federal law.

  • February 04, 2026

    Ore. Judge Blocks ICE From Making Warrantless Arrests

    An Oregon federal judge on Wednesday barred ICE from making warrantless immigration arrests in the state without probable cause that an individual is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained, and provisionally certified a class of people who have been or will be swept up in warrantless immigration arrests instate.

  • February 04, 2026

    'Extraordinary Circumstances': Elon Musk Faces USAID Depo

    A Maryland federal judge on Wednesday said billionaire Elon Musk must testify in litigation filed by U.S. Agency for International Development employees claiming he illegally dismantled the foreign aid agency while head of the advisory organization known as the Department of Government Efficiency, saying "extraordinary circumstances justify the deposition."

  • February 04, 2026

    Bessent Says Card Rate Cap's Effects 'Important' To Review

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to say Wednesday whether he supports President Donald Trump's proposed 10% credit card rate cap, instead telling lawmakers that reining in credit card rewards could be a way to address cost concerns.

  • February 04, 2026

    Wash. Tribes Sue Feds Over $240M Of Salmon Hatchery Funds

    Two tribes in Washington state have sued the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other federal agencies on claims the government unfairly told them they weren't eligible to apply for $240 million of Pacific salmon hatchery funds under the Inflation Reduction Act.

  • February 04, 2026

    Atty Nonprofit Claims Denver Police Withheld Discovery Info

    An attorney nonprofit organization claimed the Denver Police Department is not complying with Colorado open record laws, arguing in Colorado state court that the department denied a records request seeking information about discovery that wasn't shared with defendants in hundreds of criminal cases.

  • February 04, 2026

    USPTO Scraps Interested Party Precedent After New Ruling

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has removed the precedential status of two 2019 decisions addressing the rule that patent challengers must identify all interested parties, saying they were at odds with a decision that was made precedential last year.

  • February 04, 2026

    Texas AG Sues County Over Immigrant Legal Defense Funding

    The Texas attorney general told a state district court that Bexar County unlawfully used taxpayer dollars to fund the legal defense of unauthorized immigrants who are facing deportation proceedings, saying Wednesday the county may have allocated more than $1 million to an allegedly illegal program.

  • February 04, 2026

    Judge Says $40B Ligado Suit Looks 'Destined' For High Court

    Network company Ligado's nearly $40 billion lawsuit accusing the government of wrongly blocking its use of a certain slice of the airwaves seems likely to eventually land in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit's chief judge said Wednesday.

  • February 04, 2026

    Squires Throws Out 23 Patent Challenges, Grants 12

    The latest summary decision from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires denied 23 America Invents Act petitions and instituted 12 others, bringing his total number of patent challenges granted to 60.

  • February 04, 2026

    HPE Backs DOJ Bid For Final Merger Deal Approval

    Hewlett Packard Enterprise has endorsed the Justice Department's bid for final approval of a controversial settlement permitting the $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, telling a California federal judge that Democratic state attorneys general have nothing but "vague and inaccurate accusations" that the deal was improper.

  • February 04, 2026

    Minn. Judge Skeptical Of Widespread Refugee Detention

    A Minnesota federal judge on Wednesday appeared to doubt the necessity of sweeping detentions of refugees in Minnesota who have not yet secured their green cards, questioning the Trump administration's powers to return refugees to federal custody.

  • February 04, 2026

    CFTC Withdraws Proposal To Ban Sports, Election Contracts

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Chair Michael Selig on Wednesday withdrew a 2024 proposed rule that would have banned trading on the outcome of elections and sporting events, saying the agency will instead float a new rule that promotes "innovation" in derivatives markets.

  • February 04, 2026

    Partisan Permit Reform Won't Last In Long Run, Dem Says

    A Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday called for bipartisan reform of state and local broadband permitting laws, saying a GOP approach that excludes the other side could stymie the legislation.

  • February 04, 2026

    EPA Can't OK Calif. Engine Emissions Rules, 9th Circ. Told

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to determine whether California's plan to set tighter emissions rules for off-road engines warranted a Clean Air Act waiver before giving the go-ahead to the Golden State, industry groups have told the Ninth Circuit.

  • February 04, 2026

    U.S. Supreme Court Won't Halt New Calif. Congressional Map

    The U.S. Supreme Court will not block California's new, voter-approved congressional districts before they can be used in this year's midterm election while California Republicans appeal their previous failed bid to block the redrawn map that they argue constitutes illegal racial gerrymandering with Democratic officials "maximizing Latino voting strength."

  • February 04, 2026

    Clemency Was 'Broken' Long Before Trump. Can It Be Fixed?

    President Donald Trump has transformed what has historically been a bureaucratic process for seeking federal pardons and commutations into a more freewheeling affair with few clear rules — and no easy solutions for reform, experts say.

  • February 04, 2026

    Ex-Fox News Host Decries Judge Pick's Arbitration Stance

    Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor and a leading advocate for ending forced arbitration of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, has come out against a federal judicial nominee for Louisiana for her past comments on the issue.

  • February 04, 2026

    3rd Circ. Asks If Death Scene Photo Row Is Privacy Matter

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday pondered whether the mother of a man who jumped from a bridge to his death was entitled to privacy after a Philadelphia police officer shared a photo of the man's death scene, focusing its questioning on whether there was a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning a public death.

  • February 04, 2026

    NJ Panel Backs Approval Of Orthodox Girls' School Campus

    A New Jersey appellate panel affirmed on Wednesday a township planning board's green light for a private Orthodox Jewish girls school campus, concluding that nearby homeowners failed to show the board acted arbitrarily, capriciously or under any improper influence when it approved the project.

  • February 04, 2026

    'Cop City' Protester Says He Was Arrested Over Ideology

    A man who protested the construction of a police and fire training facility in the Atlanta metro area nicknamed "Cop City" has brought a lawsuit in Georgia federal court against Cobb County and two police officers, alleging he was arrested during a 2024 demonstration because of his political ideology and values.

  • February 04, 2026

    Minn. Tax Court Lowers Tax Value Of Recreational Lot

    A vacant recreational lot in Minnesota should have its market value lowered because a mass appraisal conducted by the county was not reliable, the state Tax Court ruled. 

  • February 04, 2026

    US To Work With Mexico, Others On Trade Of Critical Minerals

    U.S. officials will coordinate efforts with Mexico, the European Union and Japan to secure critical minerals and develop trade policies around those resources, according to announcements Wednesday by the U.S. Trade Representative's Office.

Expert Analysis

  • New Biotech Nat'l Security Controls May Have Blunted Impact

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    While the newly enacted federal prohibition against contracting with certain biotechnology providers associated with countries of concern may have consequences on U.S. companies' ability to develop drugs, the restrictions may prove to be less problematic for the industry than the significant publicity around their passage would suggest, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • Takeaways From The DOJ Fraud Section's 2025 Year In Review

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    Former acting Principal Deputy Chief Sean Tonolli of the U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section, now at Cahill Gordon, analyzes key findings from the section’s annual report — including the changes implemented to adapt to the new administration’s priorities — and lays out what to watch for this year.

  • New State Regs On PFAS In Products Complicate Compliance

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    The new year brought new bans and reporting requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in half a dozen states — in many cases, targeting specific consumer product categories — so manufacturers, distributors and retailers must not only monitor their own supply chains, but also coordinate to ensure compliance, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Bid Protest Data Contradicts Claims That System Is Inefficient

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    Recently released data debunks the narrative that the federal procurement system is overwhelmed by excessive or meritless bid protests, revealing instead that the process is healthy and functioning as intended, says Joshua Duvall at Duvy Law.

  • Opinion

    Congress Should Lead On AI Policy, Not The States

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    There needs to be some limits on how far federal agencies go in regulating artificial intelligence systems, but Congress must not abdicate its responsibility and cede control over this interstate market to state and local officials, say Kevin Frazier at the University of Texas School of Law and Adam Thierer at the R Street Institute.

  • Breaking Down Expense Allocation In Mixed-Use Properties

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    Rapid increases in condominium fees and special assessments, driven by multiple factors such as rising insurance costs and expanded safety requirements, are contributing to increased litigation, so equitable expense allocation in mixed-use properties requires adherence to the governing documents, says Mike Walden at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    Minn. Can Still Bring State Charges In Absence Of Fed Action

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    After two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota's role isn't waiting to see if the federal government brings criminal charges, but independently weighing state homicide charges and allowing the judiciary to decide whether the subject conduct falls within the narrow protections of supremacy clause immunity, says Sheila Tendy at Tendy Law.

  • 4 Lessons From FTC's Successful Bid To Block Edwards Deal

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent victory in blocking Edwards Lifesciences' acquisition of JenaValve offers key insights for deals in life sciences and beyond, including considerations around nonprice dimensions and clear skies provisions, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Limiting Worker Surveillance Risks Amid AI Regulatory Shifts

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    With workplace surveillance tools becoming increasingly common and a recent executive order aiming to preempt state-level artificial intelligence enforcement, companies may feel encouraged to expand AI monitoring, but the legal exposure associated with these tools remains, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Can OCC State Banking Law Preemption Survive The Courts?

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    While two December proposals from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seek to foreclose pending consumer litigation against national banks related to residential mortgage lending, it's unclear whether this aggressive approach will withstand judicial scrutiny under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 rulings in Cantero and Loper Bright, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • How Selig May Approach CFTC Agricultural Enforcement

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    As the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission begins a new chapter under recently confirmed Chairman Michael Selig's leadership, a look back at the agency's actions in agricultural markets over the past six years sheds light on what may lie ahead for enforcement in the area, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Assessing Factors Behind Biosimilar Uptake And Competition

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    As biosimilar uptake remains uneven and questions linger over whether the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act can deliver robust competition between biologics and biosimilars, a case study of Humira and its biosimilars illustrates how many factors, including payor reimbursement and formulary strategy, collectively shape competitive dynamics, say analysts at Analysis Group.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Illinois

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    In 2025's last quarter, Illinois’ appellate courts weighed in on overlapping homeowners coverages for water-related damages, contractual suit limitation provisions in uninsured motorist policies, and protections for genetic health information in life insurance underwriting, while the Department of Insurance sought nationwide homeowners' insurance data from State Farm, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • How 3 CFTC Letters Overhauled Digital Asset Guidance

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently issued three letters providing guidance for the use of digital assets in derivatives markets, clarifying the applicability of CFTC regulations across numerous areas of digital asset activities and leading to the development of standards to allow market participants to post digital assets as collateral, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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