Public Policy

  • June 09, 2025

    Squires Dodges Trump Questions, Emphasizes AI For Backlog

    The Trump administration's nominee for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director avoided answering whether Joe Biden won the 2020 election, how to describe defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and whether he would follow an illegal directive from the president, along with addressing concerns about USPTO resources and artificial intelligence in post-hearing responses to senators.

  • June 09, 2025

    Judge Rebukes Navy Vet's Counsel In VA Malpractice Trial

    A Washington federal judge narrowed the scope of a Navy veteran's medical malpractice case against the federal government on Monday, chiding her counsel for trying to change a years-old expert opinion on the eve of a long-awaited bench trial and "wasting" time on unnecessary questioning.

  • June 09, 2025

    OCC Rebuffs State Bankers' Call To Rescind Preemption Rules

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Monday that it is standing by its regulations that purport to exempt banks it oversees from a swath of state-law limitations, swatting down a request from state regulators that want these rules overturned.

  • June 09, 2025

    Unions Win Injunction In OPM, DOGE Privacy Suit

    A New York federal judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction bid against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in a lawsuit accusing it of unlawfully disclosing employees' personal information to the Department of Government Efficiency, saying OPM granted broad access to the information despite there being no "credible need."

  • June 09, 2025

    Trump Executive Order Revamps US Cybersecurity Policy

    President Donald Trump has moved to "reprioritize" the nation's cybersecurity efforts by issuing an executive order scrapping the provisions of prior directives issued by the past two Democratic administrations while focusing on measures such as mandating more secure software development and the latest encryption protocols. 

  • June 09, 2025

    Newsom Sues Trump Over 'Illegal' National Guard Deployment

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued President Donald Trump on Monday over the administration's "illegal" takeover of the state's National Guard unit in response to protests in Los Angeles sparked by federal immigration raids, saying the move exceeded "the bounds of lawful executive authority."

  • June 09, 2025

    SEC's Atkins Floats 'Innovation Exemption' For Crypto

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said Monday that he's directed agency staff to mull rulemaking that would protect developers of decentralized finance platforms and enable registered firms to interact with their "DeFi" systems, including through a potential "innovation exemption" framework.

  • June 09, 2025

    Colo. Justices Spell Out Burden Of Proof For Gov't Immunity

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday articulated for the first time the burden of proof required in tort cases against public entities, ruling that a woman's slip-and-fall claims failed to eclipse Jefferson County's immunity under a state law.

  • June 09, 2025

    CFPB Will Move Ahead With Rest Of Calif. Debt Relief Suit

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a California federal court on Monday that its new Trump-appointed leadership has decided to proceed with a debt relief services enforcement lawsuit that was paused after control of the agency changed hands in February.

  • June 09, 2025

    Treasury Warns Of Iranian 'Shadow Banking,' Oil Smuggling

    The Treasury Department has laid out red flags that financial institutions should monitor for identifying and reporting possible sanctions evasion schemes and other suspicious activity tied to the Islamic Republic of Iran, including illicit oil smuggling and the use of "shadow banking" networks.

  • June 09, 2025

    Florida Will Ask 11th Circ. To Revive Trans Health Suit

    The state of Florida indicated Friday it will ask the Eleventh Circuit to reopen its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenging a rule setting coverage requirements on employers for gender-affirming care, despite the new administration's reversal on the rule.

  • June 09, 2025

    Nev. Dem Threatens To Block Commerce Picks Over BEAD

    A Nevada senator derided the U.S. Department of Commerce's overhaul of the government's $42.5 billion broadband deployment program and threatened to put a Senate hold on some of President Donald Trump's agency nominees until her state's federal funding is restored.

  • June 09, 2025

    COVID Funds Bribery Scheme Gets Ex-Calif. Official 5 Years

    A former member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors was sentenced to five years in prison Monday in California federal court after admitting to steering $10 million worth of COVID-19 relief funds to a nonprofit linked to his daughter, in return for more than $500,000 in bribes. 

  • June 09, 2025

    EchoStar Questions FCC Process In SpaceX, VTel Fight

    EchoStar said the Federal Communications Commission should not be "pulling the rug out from" under it as it fights to keep the spectrum rights it got from T-Mobile, arguing that it was being unfairly singled out by SpaceX and VTel, who want the commission to review the buildout of Dish's network.

  • June 09, 2025

    RFK Jr. Fires CDC's Entire 17-Member Vaccine Advisory Panel

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed every member of the committee that provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pledging to replace them with his preferred picks.

  • June 09, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Weighs AI Co.'s Standing In Fight With Intel Agency

    Federal Circuit judges grappled Monday with how to define exactly who could challenge the administration of federal contracts, in an en banc hearing of Percipient.ai's suit accusing the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency of bypassing certain requirements in a 2021 contract with CACI.

  • June 09, 2025

    Enviro Groups, Tribes Can Intervene In Coal Leasing Ban Row

    A Wyoming federal judge allowed a coalition of tribes and environmental groups to intervene in a challenge to the Biden administration's 2024 decision ending new coal leasing on public lands in the Powder River Basin, citing the groups' participation in prior suits over leasing at the site.

  • June 09, 2025

    Carebourn Opposes SEC's Bid To Remand 'Dealer' Case

    Financial firm Carebourn Capital LP on Monday urged the Eighth Circuit to reject the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's bid to remand a $12 million unregistered dealer judgment the agency won, arguing the SEC is trying to skirt the case's liability issues.

  • June 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Weighs Menendez Bail Bid Over Evidence Mishap

    The Second Circuit questioned Monday whether providing excluded evidence to the jury in former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial is the type of error that can justify bail pending appeal.

  • June 09, 2025

    Trump Orders Targeting DEI, LGBTQ+ Funding Partly Blocked

    A California federal judge Monday blocked portions of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting diversity and inclusion policies and programs serving the LGBTQ+ community, saying a group of nonprofits is likely to succeed in showing that stripping their federal funding violates their constitutional rights.

  • June 09, 2025

    DOJ's KKR Suit Turning M&A 'Into A Trap,' PE Group Says

    A private equity trade group is seeking to back KKR's bid to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit seeking fines that could top $650 million for allegedly hiding key documentation and entire transactions from merger notification, arguing that enforcers are trying to create a brand new requirement for "perfect" filings.

  • June 09, 2025

    Okla. Says High Court Shouldn't Skip 10th Circ. PBM Ruling

    Oklahoma told the U.S. Supreme Court the federal government wrongly suggested that the justices bypass the state's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision nullifying parts of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing Monday that the solicitor general doesn't recognize the magnitude of the issue.

  • June 09, 2025

    Senate Confirms Brett Shumate To Head DOJ Civil Division

    The Senate voted 51-41 along party lines on Monday evening to confirm Brett Shumate to be assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • June 09, 2025

    Veteran Appeals VA Discontinuation Of Trans Health Coverage

    A transgender woman urged a veterans appeals court Monday to find that the Veterans Health Administration is wrongly refusing to refill her prescriptions for hormone therapy following a federal notice discontinuing gender-affirming care for veterans.

  • June 09, 2025

    Senate Confirms Gibson Dunn Partner For EPA's No. 2 Post

    The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed David Fotouhi, a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, to serve in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's No. 2 post.

Expert Analysis

  • The Risks Of Trump's Plan To Fast-Track Deregulation

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    A recent memorandum issued by President Donald Trump directing the repeal of so-called unlawful regulations, and instructing that agencies invoke the good cause exception under the Administrative Procedure Act, signals a potentially far-reaching deregulatory strategy under the guise of legal compliance, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

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    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Action Steps To Prepare For Ramped-Up Export Enforcement

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    In light of recent Bureau of Industry and Security actions and comments, companies, particularly those with any connection to China, should consider four concrete steps to shore up their compliance programs given the administration's increasingly aggressive approach to export enforcement, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

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    The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

  • DOJ Signals Major Shift In White Collar Enforcement Priorities

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    In a speech on Monday, an official outlined key revisions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure, corporate monitorship and whistleblower program policies, marking a meaningful change in the white collar enforcement landscape, and offering companies clearer incentives and guardrails, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

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    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • What New Study Means For Recycling Compliance In Calif.

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    Companies must review the California recycling agency's new study to understand its criteria for assessing claims of product and packaging recyclability under a law that takes effect next year, and then decide whether the risks of making such claims in the state outweigh the benefits, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews

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    The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption

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    If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.

  • Balancing Deep-Sea Mining Executive Order, Int'l Agreements

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order directing exploration and exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources appears to conflict with the evolving international framework regulating such activities, so companies and investors should proceed with care and keep possible future legal challenges in mind, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • CFTC Memos Clarify When 'Sorry' Still Gets You Subpoenaed

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    A pair of Commodity Futures Trading Commission advisories released in February and April open a new path to self-reporting but emphasize that serious breaches still warrant a trip to the penalty box, prompting firms to weigh whether — and how — to disclose potential violations in the future, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • Parsing The SEC's New Increased Co-Investment Flexibility

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new co-investment exemptive orders simplify processes and reduce barriers for regulated funds — and rulemaking may evolve further to allow investors access to additional investment opportunities and increase available capital for issuers seeking to raise money from fund complexes, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Cos. Must Assess And Prepare For Cartel-Related FCPA Risks

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    Given the Trump administration’s strong signaling that it will focus on drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations when it resumes Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, global businesses should refresh their risk assessments and conduct enhanced due diligence to account for these shifting priorities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • State AGs Shape Regulatory Dynamic In Trump's 1st 100 Days

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    With President Donald Trump's promised rollback of long-standing federal regulations and enforcement actions just beginning, alongside a flurry of executive orders, what state attorneys general do now will influence the complex state-federal regulatory landscape for years to come, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Opinion

    New Hospice Regulations Should Enforce Core Principles

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    As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General prepares to research and expand on oversight of Medicare hospice care, the OIG should keep in mind certain core principles, such as an emphasis on preventing the entry of hospices that raise red flags, says Bill Dombi at Arnall Golden.

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