Public Policy

  • July 17, 2025

    COVID Fraudster Says State Can't Rescind Firefighter Pension

    A former Connecticut firefighter who pled guilty in relation to a West Haven COVID-19 relief fund scam says he should keep the pension he earned through 26 years of service in a neighboring city, arguing his crime bore no connection to his onetime employment and did not breach his union contract.

  • July 17, 2025

    3 Crypto Bills Pass House, With Stablecoins Headed To Trump

    The House of Representatives on Thursday agreed to send a bill to regulate stable-value tokens to the president's desk, in addition to advancing proposals to regulate crypto markets and ban the government from exploring the issuance of a digital dollar onto the Senate.

  • July 17, 2025

    Public Advocates Voice Concern At FCC Regulation Cut Plan

    Nearly two dozen public interest groups told the Federal Communications Commission's leader Thursday they are worried about an FCC plan to cut rules from its books using staff authority as a way to get around public notice and comment.

  • July 17, 2025

    Public, Tribal Stations Face Shutdown As Senate Cuts Funds

    America's Public Television Stations says it is "devastated" by the U.S. Senate's decision to pass a bill that would claw back $9 billion in congressionally appropriated funds, including all the money allocated for local public television stations.

  • July 17, 2025

    SEC Atty Exits After Hiding Revoked License, OIG Says

    A longstanding employee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission resigned after it was discovered that they had falsely reported being in good standing with a state bar association, according to the regulator's inspector general.

  • July 17, 2025

    Uber Asks Ga. Justices To Reverse Sales Tax Ruling

    Georgia's highest court should review and reverse an appellate panel's decision that Uber was required to collect and remit millions in sales taxes on behalf of drivers and customers who used its app before the Wayfair decision, the ride-hailing company told the state's justices.

  • July 17, 2025

    Justices' 'Tea Leaves' Don't OK Illegal FTC Firing, Court Says

    A D.C. federal judge ordered the restoration of a fired Federal Trade Commission Democrat's job Thursday, setting up a D.C. Circuit clash that could go to the U.S. Supreme Court on her conclusion that President Donald Trump violated a law permitting the termination of FTC members only for cause.

  • July 17, 2025

    EU Approves Luxembourg Beverage Deal With Fix

    European enforcers have approved beverage producer and distributor Brasserie Nationale's planned purchase of a Luxembourg-based wholesaler, after the companies agreed to unload a portion of the business that sells to hotels, restaurants and cafes in the country.

  • July 17, 2025

    FCC Asks 5th Circ. To Reinstate $57M AT&T Data Privacy Fine

    The Federal Communications Commission is asking for the full Fifth Circuit to take up an April panel decision finding the commission's in-house adjudications unconstitutional, arguing that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision "effectively abrogated" the precedent that the panel ruling for AT&T was partly predicated on.

  • July 17, 2025

    Senators Float 'Patent Thicket' Bill To Limit Generic Litigation

    A bill floated in the U.S. Senate would limit the use of so-called patent thickets that are asserted by major pharmaceutical companies in litigation to restrict generic competition.

  • July 17, 2025

    EPA Merging Offices As Reorganization Continues

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it's consolidating and shuffling some of its internal offices, including those handling finance and enforcement, the latest in a series of changes and cutbacks at the EPA.

  • July 17, 2025

    Texas AG Sues Nat'l Org. Over Trans Swimmer Participation

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a state lawsuit against U.S. Masters Swimming Inc. and its state chapters, accusing the entity of violating Texas law by allowing transgender women to compete with cisgender women in swim meets.

  • July 17, 2025

    6 Cases For Patent Attys To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025

    The Federal Circuit is considering major questions about when delays in prosecuting patents become bad faith and whether the acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director is legally allowed to apply new rules retroactively. Here's what you need to know about these cases and others that attorneys are keeping an eye on for the rest of the year.

  • July 17, 2025

    Wis. Senators Send List Of Bipartisan 7th Circ. Picks To Trump

    The senators from Wisconsin, one Republican and one Democrat, have sent President Donald Trump a list of five candidates for the seat of the Seventh Circuit that is slated to open in October.

  • July 17, 2025

    Omaha Tribe Leads Nebraska In Cannabis Legalization Push

    The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska is now the first Indigenous nation in the state to legalize and regulate medical and recreational cannabis use on tribal lands, putting it ahead of the state currently embroiled in litigation over voter-approved ballot referendums on the issue.

  • July 17, 2025

    JPMorgan Chase Can't Force Arbitration In Client Racism Suit

    A Washington federal judge has rejected a bid by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA to send a customer's racial discrimination suit to arbitration, concluding the bank did not show the arbitration clause in its deposit account agreement is valid and enforceable against the plaintiff family.

  • July 17, 2025

    Senate Moves Closer To Confirming Trump's NTIA Chief Nom

    The U.S. Senate stepped closer Thursday to confirming President Donald Trump's choice to lead the government agency that manages federal use of spectrum.

  • July 17, 2025

    US Negotiating Global Min. Tax Carveout Accord, Official Says

    The U.S. hasn't yet secured an agreement with other countries to exempt its companies from the international parts of the 15% global minimum tax despite reaching an "understanding" with the Group of 7 nations, but wider negotiations have begun, a U.S. Treasury Department official said Thursday.

  • July 17, 2025

    Bombing Victims Seek Damages For Iran's Support Of Attacks

    Dozens of people allegedly harmed by bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan, have asked a D.C. federal judge to order the Islamic Republic of Iran to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for providing material support for the terrorist attacks.

  • July 17, 2025

    FCC Approves Alaska Telecom's Performance Revisions

    With improved backhaul access in hand, GCI Communication Group is committing to deliver 10/1 megabits per second 4G LTE service to an additional 7,500 Alaskans, according to an Alaska Plan individual performance revision approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

  • July 17, 2025

    Fla. AG, Sandoz Clash With Other Enforcers Over 'Done' Deal

    Sandoz and Florida's attorney general pressed a Connecticut federal judge Wednesday to let them settle out of sweeping price-fixing litigation against generic-drug makers, contending that federal civil procedure rules give no room for objections from other state enforcers worried the Sunshine State deal interferes with their own ability to negotiate settlements.  

  • July 17, 2025

    Atty Access At 'Alligator Alcatraz' Being Barred, Suit Says

    Attorneys are being barred from consulting clients being detained at the new detention facility in the Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz," while detainees are being prevented from contesting their detention, a new federal lawsuit alleges.

  • July 17, 2025

    Mass. Cities Seek Order Forcing Trash Hauler To Honor Pacts

    Nearly three weeks after Republic Services workers went on strike, six Massachusetts communities went to court Thursday seeking an order compelling the trash hauler to immediately address what they say is a public health nuisance.

  • July 17, 2025

    EU Sends Hungary To Court Of Justice Over ECT Stance

    The European Commission said it will refer Hungary to the European Union's Court of Justice to address a potential violation of EU law, claiming it has contradicted the union's position on intra-EU arbitrations under the Energy Charter Treaty and refused to abide by the court's case law.

  • July 17, 2025

    Tax Auditor's Disability Bias Suit Dismissed For Late Filing

    A federal judge tossed a tax auditor's suit claiming a North Carolina county yanked her intermittent leave disability accommodation for health flare-ups that made it hard to drive to work, rejecting her bid to toll the statute of limitations due to a lawyer's bad advice.

Expert Analysis

  • Operating Via Bank Charter Offers Perks Amid Industry Shift

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    As bank regulators become more receptive to streamlining barriers that have historically stood in the way of de novo bank formation, and as fintechs show more interest in chartering, attorneys at Goodwin outline the types of charters available and their benefits.

  • How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity

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    As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.

  • 5 Takeaways From DOJ's Media Compulsory Process Rules

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new rules, making it easier for law enforcement investigating leaks to compel members of the media and third parties to disclose information, could have wide-ranging impacts, from reduced protections for journalists and organizations, to an expanded focus on nonclassified material, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Public Cos. Must Heed Disclosure Risks Amid Trade Chaos

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    Ongoing uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump's shifting stances on tariffs and trade restrictions have exponentially escalated financial reporting pressures on public companies, so businesses must ensure that their operations and accounting practices align with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's standards, say Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block and Edward Westerman at Secretariat Advisors.

  • Seven County Ruling Should Trim Agency Enviro Analysis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County provides needed clarity for infrastructure projects by expressly directing agencies to narrow environmental reviews, and reducing the threat of litigation if even tangential issues are not exhaustively evaluated, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • CMS Guidance May Complicate Drug Pricing, Trigger Lawsuits

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    Recent draft guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposes to expand the scope of what counts as the same qualifying single-source drug, which would significantly alter the timeline for modified drugs facing price controls and would likely draw legal challenges from innovator drug companies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Digital Equity Act Grant Terminations Raise Key Legal Issues

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    The Trump administration's move to cancel grant programs created under the Digital Equity Act yields key legal and policy questions facing the executive branch, Congress and the courts, including how the administration plans to implement the cancellation of the Digital Equity Act's appropriations in the first place, say attorneys at Akin.

  • GAO Report Reveals How Banks And Regulators Are Using AI

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    A U.S. Government Accountability Office report published last month makes clear that while both federal regulators and regulated entities like banks and credit unions are employing artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, they're maintaining some skepticism, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Robinson-Patman Enforcement May Fizzle Out After PepsiCo

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    After securing an early Robinson-Patman Act victory against the largest wine and spirits distributor in the U.S., the Federal Trade commission's voluntary dismissal of its own enforcement action against PepsiCo throws into doubt the future of the federal statute that prohibits price discrimination and other anticompetitive practices, say attorneys at V&E.

  • Series

    Running Marathons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After almost five years of running marathons, I’ve learned that both the race itself and the training process sharpen skills that directly translate to the practice of law, including discipline, dedication, endurance, problem-solving and mental toughness, says Lauren Meadows at Swift Currie.

  • High Court Ruling Bucks Trend Of Narrowing Fraud Theories

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Kousisis v. U.S. decision, holding that economic loss is not required to establish prosecutors’ fraudulent inducement theory of fraud, is at odds with its decadeslong narrowing of federal fraud statutes’ reach, and may lead to convictions for a wide variety of contractual misrepresentations, say attorneys at Keker Van Nest.

  • Calif. Air Board Offers Early Hints On Climate Reporting

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    As initial reporting deadlines for California's new climate reporting laws approach, guidance provided by the California Air Resources Board in a virtual public workshop sheds some light on rulemaking to come, and how to prepare for compliance during this period of uncertainty, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Parsing The SEC's No-Action Letter On Rule 192 Compliance

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    Brandon Figg at Morgan Lewis discusses the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent no-action letter, which greenlights information barriers as an alternative approach to Rule 192 compliance and includes likely relief for existing policies and procedures.

  • 5 Ways In-House Counsel Can Stay Ahead Of New HSR Rules

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    Now that the Trump administration’s new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules have been in effect for several months, in-house counsel should consider several practice pointers that can help spearhead management of M&A-related antitrust risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • High Court Order On Board Firings Is Cold Comfort For Fed

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Trump v. Wilcox order, upholding the firings of two independent agency board members during appeal, raises concerns about the future of removal protections for Federal Reserve System members, and thus the broader politicization of U.S. monetary policy, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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