Public Policy

  • October 15, 2026

    Mo. Hemp Interests Seek To Block Restrictions

    Missouri officials have asked a federal court to halt discovery in a lawsuit by hemp companies challenging new regulations on intoxicating cannabinoid products, arguing the case turns on pure legal questions that can be resolved within the state's motion to dismiss.

  • October 15, 2026

    IRS Says Donor Disclosure Rule Is Key To Tax Compliance

    The Internal Revenue Service's nonprofit donor disclosure rule doesn't violate the First Amendment, the agency told a D.C. federal court, arguing the rule promotes voluntary compliance from nonprofits through information reporting requirements.

  • October 15, 2026

    White House Crypto Aide Exits Role

    White House crypto aide Patrick Witt announced Thursday that he's left his post, a departure that comes after key crypto legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate last month.

  • October 15, 2026

    NYC Comptroller Urges Anthropic To Ease Risks Before IPO

    New York City Comptroller Mark Levine is urging Anthropic PBC to pause plans for an initial public offering it says could value the company at $2 trillion, calling on the business to first resolve concerns over the technology's governance, safety and development pace.

  • October 15, 2026

    Pa. E-Cigarette Law Survives Vape Companies' Challenge

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has upheld a state law limiting electronic cigarette sales to products that have received or are pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, finding the state law fell into an exception to the federal tobacco law's preemptions.

  • October 15, 2026

    PhRMA Again Seeks To Join 340B Rebate Pilot Fight

    The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America on Thursday asked a Maine federal court to let it join a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's proposed rebate system in the 340B drug discount program, arguing the litigation could directly affect its members' approved plans and financial interests.

  • October 15, 2026

    Innocent Spouse Tax Relief Bid Timely Filed, 5th Circ. Told

    The U.S. Tax Court improperly concluded that a Texas woman narrowly missed a statutory filing deadline in seeking innocent spouse relief on federal income taxes and shouldn't have dismissed her case, she told the Fifth Circuit, arguing the deadline isn't jurisdictional.

  • October 15, 2026

    Missouri AG Alumni Make Their Mark In Trump 2.0

    Missouri is hundreds of miles from Washington, D.C., but the legal community of the Show-Me State has taken a significant hold in the second Trump administration.

  • October 15, 2026

    Justices Stay 4th Circ. Mandamus In FCC Political Ad Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed an order from a Fourth Circuit panel that would have required the full Federal Communications Commission to review agency staff guidance requiring broadcasters to offer discount ad rates to political committees tied to candidates.

  • October 15, 2026

    Muscogee Chief Says Court Can't Grant Freedmen Citizenship

    Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief David Hill is asking an Oklahoma federal court to dismiss a challenge that looks to block the tribe from denying citizenship to descendants of people once enslaved by the Indigenous nation, arguing that it can be achieved only through a constitutional amendment and legislative process.

  • October 15, 2026

    Colo. Chamber Can't Join Tax Plan Challenge, Court Says

    A court Thursday denied the request of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce to intervene in suit alleging that a proposal to replace the state's flat income tax rate with a graduated system failed to gather the signatures needed to reach the November ballot.

  • October 15, 2026

    DOJ Defends Government-Funded Trump Ad Campaign

    A D.C. federal judge declined to immediately join a New York federal court in blocking the Trump administration's government-funded campaign-style ads from airing after a Justice Department attorney said the campaign was over, but appeared to agree with a Democratic National Committee attorney who called the ads propaganda and not public service announcements as the government has claimed.

  • October 15, 2026

    Nonprofits Sue Over NC Budget Gutting Civil Legal Aid Grants

    Three nonprofits are mounting a legal challenge to a provision of the North Carolina state budget that strips funding for civil legal aid services historically provided by the state's Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts program, saying the maneuver flouts directives by the Tar Heel state's top court and violates the First Amendment.

  • October 15, 2026

    Gov't Urges Justices To Reject Google, Intel Fight Over Fintiv

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Intel Corp. and Google LLC's challenge to a precedent allowing Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions to be denied based on related litigation.

  • October 15, 2026

    Trade Court Sustains Malaysian Wind Tower Duty Calculations

    The U.S. Department of Commerce has now properly justified various decisions it made during a countervailing duty administrative review of a Malaysian utility wind tower producer, the U.S. Court of International Trade found, rejecting many of the company's objections as baseless.

  • October 15, 2026

    DHS Can't Waive Laws For Big Bend Wall, Texas Judge Says

    A federal judge in Texas halted construction of a border wall in the Big Bend sector, finding that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security likely exceeded its authority to waive legal requirements in an area with comparatively low illegal entry.

  • October 15, 2026

    Cyber Incident Halts Bankruptcy Court Noticing Nationwide

    The nationwide system for providing notice to creditors in bankruptcy cases has been disrupted by a cybersecurity incident, and it is not currently known when the outage will end.

  • October 15, 2026

    Commerce Finalizes Duty Rates For Brazilian, Norwegian Pulp

    The U.S. Deparment of Commerce on Thursday finalized its determinations that high-purity dissolving pulp imported into the country from Brazil and Norway are being sold at unfair prices, setting up possible duty rates.

  • October 15, 2026

    FCC To Vote On Adding $162M To Boost Alaska Connectivity

    The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on a proposal to pump an additional $162 million into ongoing efforts to expand high-speed internet connectivity in Alaska.

  • October 15, 2026

    Tesla Says Gov't Brief Shows USPTO Wants 'Absolute Power'

    Electric carmaker Tesla told the U.S. Supreme Court that it should take a case over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leadership's discretionary standards for granting or denying patent review, saying a recent government brief illustrates how the office wants "absolute power" when it comes to restricting such reviews.

  • October 15, 2026

    GKN Says Insurers Owe Defense In Overheated Tank Suits

    GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems Inc. told a California federal court Thursday that its insurers are improperly refusing to honor their duty to defend the company in lawsuits and a civil investigation stemming from the overheating of a storage tank and subsequent evacuation of residents in Orange County.

  • October 15, 2026

    Sweden's Biggest Bank To Pay $33M NY Fine Over AML Gaps

    New York's financial services regulator has ordered Sweden's largest bank to pay a $33 million fine to resolve findings of past anti-money laundering deficiencies at its Baltic subsidiaries that allegedly exposed U.S. banks to heightened financial crimes risk.

  • October 15, 2026

    NYC Mayor Mamdani Taps New Risk Management Director

    New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday that he appointed a former Manhattan assistant district attorney to lead the Mayor's Office of Risk Management and Compliance, a role that will put her at the forefront of efforts to eliminate the presence of lead in the city alongside several local agencies.

  • October 15, 2026

    11th Circ. Says Ga. Can Enforce Social Media Age Check Law

    The Eleventh Circuit struck down an injunction Thursday that blocked Georgia from enforcing its age verification law for social media platforms, finding that internet trade group NetChoice hadn't shown it was likely to prevail on its legal challenge to the statute.

  • October 14, 2026

    Unions, Nonprofits Get USDA Reorganization Plan Blocked

    A California federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from closing offices and reshuffling staff, saying the department's planned reorganization likely amounted to "reprogramming" prohibited by statutory spending restrictions.

Expert Analysis

  • NY Severance Rules Persist Despite McLaren Macomb Threat

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    Despite recent calls to overturn the National Labor Relations Board's decision in McLaren Macomb, New York's robust regulation will remain intact, limiting practitioners' ability to offer nonsupervisory employees severance agreements with confidentiality and nondisclosure provisions, says Matthew Berman at Valli Kane.

  • What To Know As State 'Neural Data' Privacy Laws Emerge

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    Attorneys at Goodwin discuss new state laws aimed at regulating consumer data generated from nervous system activity, explain why neurotechnology is attracting state and federal legislators’ attention, and highlight the compliance obligations that industry players should address now.

  • Bank Regulators' New Risk Guidance Offers More Flexibility

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    Newly proposed interagency guidance on banks’ third-party risk management would shift rigid compliance frameworks to a principles-based, risk-proportionate approach, potentially creating new opportunities for bank-fintech partnerships and giving smaller institutions a clearer path to innovation, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Mo. Official's Indictment Tests Limits Of Federal Bribery Laws

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    The recent bribery charges filed against a Missouri county executive raise questions about whether field-clearing conversations and job offers between rival candidates can rise to the level of illegal quid pro quos, potentially muddying the line between politics as usual and the federal bribery statutes, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Conn. Insurers Should Prepare To Explain Premium Hikes

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    As of Jan. 1, Connecticut insurers must provide a reasonable explanation for personal risk insurance premium increases upon policyholder request, and thus should familiarize themselves with a recent bulletin that prescribes the details, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Where The 3 Prediction Market Appellate Rulings Diverge

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    Although the recent Third, Sixth and Ninth Circuit opinions concerning prediction markets overlap on some issues, they differ on key statutory questions, deepening a circuit split over both the classification of sports event contracts and the scope of federal preemption, says Levi Giovanetto at Sheppard.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    California's financial regulators spent the third quarter of 2026 focusing on consumer protection enforcement at home while resisting federal efforts to displace state oversight — reinforcing the state's intention to shape the compliance landscape for institutions operating within its borders despite federal deregulatory trends, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • DOJ's Unusual Warning Puts Protests In FARA Crosshairs

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent atypical press release about Foreign Agents Registration Act liability may signal greater scrutiny of public demonstrations and foreign-directed advocacy — but it does not change the statutory requirements for companies and individuals, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Changing Strategies To Protect Your Autonomous AI's IP

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    After Insilico recently named only human inventors on a patent application for an autonomous artificial intelligence's drug discovery, companies should take concrete steps to preserve the strongest possible intellectual property protection for AI-assisted work, including documenting human contributions and strengthening trade secret controls, says Stephen Ball at Husch Blackwell.

  • How States May Enter The Shareholder Proposal Landscape

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    Rescission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shareholder proposal rule doesn't herald the end of shareholder activism, but it allows state legislatures to play a central role in determining the future of shareholder proposals, with that uncertainty creating new opportunities for both issuers and activists, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • Series

    Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

  • Why And How To Build A Neurodiversity-Informed Practice

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    By better understanding neurodiversity and implementing simple accommodations for clients with autism, ADHD or learning differences, attorneys can build stronger relationships with those who may otherwise struggle to obtain and benefit from legal services, while developing good habits that will benefit everyone they represent, says Ting Cheung at Sanford Heisler.

  • Series

    Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    Recent banking developments in Illinois include significant new consumer protection legislation, three meaningful Seventh Circuit decisions, and a high-profile constitutional challenge to the state's new digital asset tax, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • How FTC Win Charts A Court-1st Merger Litigation Playbook

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    A New York federal court's recent decision blocking Henkel's acquisition of Liquid Nails marked a decisive trial win for the Federal Trade Commission, and tips for merging parties in similar transactions now include preparing for full-blown federal litigation, including a complete evidentiary trial, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • How SEC Is Changing The Shareholder Proposal Landscape

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to place its shareholder proposal rule at the center of its agenda, now with a newly proposed rule that would rescind it entirely, showcasing an agency seeking to narrow its overall focus, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

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