Public Policy

  • July 13, 2026

    Chicago Alderman Fired Staffer Over Ethics Report, Suit Says

    A Chicago alderman's former staffer has lodged a state court whistleblower claim alleging she was unlawfully terminated for reporting her ethical concerns around several financial matters, including a $6,000 cash campaign donation whose delivery she says she helped facilitate through her car trunk.

  • July 13, 2026

    EPA Floats New Permits For Proposed Coal Ash Regs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday floated the idea of a new permit to help more companies benefit from coal ash disposal regulations it has pitched, and also proposed approving a coal ash permitting program that Alabama has submitted.

  • July 13, 2026

    Trump Cuts 3M Acres From Utah Monument Protections

    President Donald Trump on Monday rolled back federal protections on the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments in Utah, a move that environmental groups said they will fight to block in court.

  • July 13, 2026

    Regulators Caution On Bank Loans To Unauthorized Workers

    Federal regulators on Monday cautioned banks and credit unions about lending to "non-work authorized" individuals, issuing guidance that flags repayment concerns about such borrowers as part of President Donald Trump's push to curb banking access for unauthorized immigrants.

  • July 13, 2026

    TransDigm Won't Go Head To Head With DOJ On Stellant Deal

    Aircraft parts maker TransDigm has abandoned its $960 million plan to buy private equity-owned Stellant Systems after the U.S. Department of Justice told the companies it planned to take the matter to court if they decided to go through with it.

  • July 13, 2026

    Lawmakers Push Court For ICE Records On Visit Policy

    Democratic House members suing the Trump administration over its policy limiting congressional visits to immigration detention facilities are urging a federal judge to compel the administration to produce records on the policy by Aug. 13.

  • July 13, 2026

    NJ Aims To Protect Ratepayers With Nuclear Power Guidelines

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Monday signed into law a bill intended to ensure consumers don't bear the costs of nuclear power projects needed to help address the growing demand for electricity driven primarily by data center consumption.

  • July 13, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Manual Cellphone Searches At Border Are Legal

    The Fourth Circuit has ruled that manual searches of a cellphone at the border are legal because they are considered routine and do not require individualized suspicion by a border agent about whether a crime has occurred.

  • July 13, 2026

    EPA Says Calif. Can't Stop Congress From Reviewing Waivers

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged a California federal court to reject the Golden State's "futile" suit over the Trump administration's plan to have Congress undo Clean Air Act waivers, arguing that the law not only allows for such review, it prohibits the courts from getting involved.

  • July 13, 2026

    2nd Circ. Orders New Trial In NYPD Search, Prosecution Suit

    A Second Circuit panel on Monday ordered a new civil trial for four New York Police Department officers found liable for busting into an apartment without a warrant and arresting one of its occupants without cause, saying the district court erroneously refused to allow jurors to hear recordings of phone calls that cast doubt on the plaintiff's credibility.

  • July 13, 2026

    Custodia Urges Justices To Take Up Fed Master Account Fight

    Crypto-focused Custodia Bank is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge of a Tenth Circuit ruling that backed Federal Reserve banks' discretion to deny master accounts to otherwise eligible banks, arguing the decision empowers unappointed regional bank presidents to deny "disfavored" banks access to critical payment services.

  • July 13, 2026

    SEC Asked To Reopen Reporting Proposal After Email 'Error'

    Better Markets is asking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reopen the comment period for its semiannual reporting proposal after the agency allegedly directed prospective commenters to an incorrect email address, but an agency spokesperson said Monday the email address listed on the proposal was working.

  • July 13, 2026

    Senate Confirms SDTX Judge Pick Tied To Gun Group

    The Senate voted 46-44 Monday evening to confirm Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur "Rob" Jones as a U.S. district judge to serve on the Southern District of Texas bench.

  • July 13, 2026

    SC City Urges Justices To Skip Beach-Gear Rental Case

    The city of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is opposing a bid from a beach equipment rental company asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review its challenge to city ordinances it says violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.

  • July 13, 2026

    FTC Secures $12M Settlement Over Edwards-JC Medical Deal

    California-based Edwards Lifesciences and Singapore's Genesis Medtech agreed to pay a combined $12 million to settle claims from the Federal Trade Commission that Edwards attempted to evade the Hart-Scott-Rodino notification and waiting period when it acquired medical device maker JC Medical from Genesis in 2024.

  • July 13, 2026

    NJ Justices Revamp Test For Certain Zoning Variances

    The New Jersey Supreme Court revised a decades-old legal test governing use variances for "inherently beneficial" projects, ruling Monday that applicants must show that a proposed development will not substantially impair a municipality's zoning plan before a zoning board balances the project's public benefits against its downsides.

  • July 13, 2026

    Judge Halts Ohio Hemp Law In Dormant Commerce Fight

    An Ohio federal judge on Monday ordered state officials to stop enforcing a new law that reclassified hemp products as marijuana, although the order's scope is limited to the products manufactured and sold by the hemp interests that challenged the policy.

  • July 13, 2026

    GOP States Back Bid To Restore Voter Database Expansion

    A group of Republican-led states is calling on the D.C. Circuit to stay a lower court decision vacating the Trump administration's changes to a database used to verify voters' citizenship or immigration statuses, saying that a number of state laws cannot be executed if Social Security number searches are not allowed.

  • July 13, 2026

    2nd Circ. Rejects Bid To End NYC's Congestion Pricing

    The Second Circuit on Monday upheld New York City's congestion pricing, rejecting two suburban counties' claims that Manhattan's congestion pricing tolls are discriminatory and unconstitutionally restrict motorists' right to travel.

  • July 13, 2026

    Solar Co. Loses Challenge To Validity Of Conn. Panel Seats

    A Connecticut state court judge has turned away a solar developer's argument that three commissioners were sitting illegally on the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority when they ruled in favor of an Avangrid Inc. unit as part of a dispute over a power purchase agreement.

  • July 13, 2026

    Ill. Conforms Property Tax Law With High Court Takings Case

    Illinois updated parts of its property tax code to clarify that tax authorities cannot keep more than a debtor owes under a bill approved by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

  • July 13, 2026

    Judge OKs Pause On Reviewing CFPB Layoff Plan

    A D.C. federal court has approved a joint bid from the Trump administration and a union that represents Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staffers to pause weighing a response to the administration's plan to lay off about half of the agency's remaining workforce, after the parties argued the president's nominee to head the agency should be given the chance to review the plan if he is confirmed.

  • July 13, 2026

    States Win Vacatur Of Remain-In-Mexico Termination Memos

    A Texas federal judge granted Texas and Missouri's push to block the Biden-era termination of the Remain in Mexico policy, which required asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims were processed, and ruled a nationwide vacatur was appropriate.

  • July 13, 2026

    FCC Ditches Lifeline Obligations In Hundreds Of Counties

    The Federal Communications Commission has announced a list of counties across the country in which eligible telecommunications carriers will no longer be required to advertise and offer Lifeline-supported voice service.

  • July 13, 2026

    Cannabis Co. Says Mich. City Forced Illegal License Waiver

    A marijuana dispensary in Michigan's Upper Peninsula told a federal court that a Michigan municipality changed cannabis licensing rules midway through the process and committed fraud and breach of contract.

Expert Analysis

  • Previewing FDA Preapproval Access In Psychedelics EO

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    The second of two pathways for psychedelic drug access outlined in President Donald Trump's recent executive order constitutes an unprecedented expansion of the Right to Try Act, which could fundamentally alter the psychedelic access landscape while presenting significant regulatory, operational and legal challenges, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Data Center Accounting May Draw Enforcement Scrutiny

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    As public and media scrutiny of the data center industry intensifies, regulators, enforcement authorities and Congress will likely focus on accounting judgments that rely on aggressive assumptions, opaque financing structures or rapidly evolving collateral classes, heightening the risk of investigations and inquiries, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • NY's Growing Enviro Reg Framework Will Transform Projects

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    Three closely connected environmental rulemakings in New York state — concerning greenhouse gas reporting, remediation standards and amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act — have reached critical stages, and taken together, they will have major impacts on business operations, construction project timelines and transactional risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Main St. Bank Bill Could Spur Lending, Ease Barriers To Entry

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    Recently approved by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, the Main Street Capital Access Act, if passed, would provide senior bank leadership with a framework that could influence how banks pursue growth, particularly at community and regional midsize institutions, says Melody Charlton at FBT Gibbons.

  • Previewing FDA National Priority Vouchers In Psychedelics EO

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order on psychedelic drug access represents a watershed moment in federal drug policy, but its significance lies in two distinct regulatory pathways, the first being the Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers, which offer a significant opportunity to compress U.S. Food and Drug Administration review, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Odette Hauke at Odette Alina.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Why Product-Based Public Nuisance Claims May Be Waning

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    The Maryland Supreme Court's recent decision in Express Scripts v. Anne Arundel County is the latest in a national trend of rulings rejecting product-based public nuisance claims — but other forms of government litigation against companies that allegedly increase the cost of public services are likely to continue, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • How Banks And Fintechs Can Build COPPA-Ready Youth Apps

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    Recent Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and state law activity expanding children's data protections underscore compliance considerations for bank-fintech partnerships offering digital financial tech products for youth, including age-gating, data minimization and parental control, says Erin Illman at Bradley Arant.

  • State Of Insurance: Q1 Notes From Illinois

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    Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey discusses notable insurance developments in Illinois, including the state Supreme Court's highly anticipated Griffith Foods v. National Union Fire Insurance ruling, two bulletins from the Department of Insurance directed at public adjusters and a Seventh Circuit decision precluding a "super excess" tier of coverage.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • How To Gear Up For Trump's Pharma Tariffs

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    President Donald Trump's proclamation establishing tariffs on certain pharmaceutical products holds a few areas of ambiguity that companies should review and prepare for before the tariffs come into effect later this year, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Mapping Bank Exec Clawback Risk Ahead Of Revived Bill

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    The reintroduction of the Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act would allow recovery of executive compensation after bank failures, making it important for executives and counsel to take steps such as mapping compensation, reviewing employment agreements, documenting decisions, and confirming D&O insurance, says Drew Jones at Diamond McCarthy.

  • AG Watch: Texas Charts A Course On Investigative Authority

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    The Texas Supreme Court's recent decision in Texas v. PFLAG affirmed, and arguably expanded, the Texas attorney general's civil investigative demand authority, providing a road map that other courts evaluating state attorney general CIDs may find instructive, amid a lack of precedent, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • 8 Reasons To Consider Maryland As A 'DExit' Option

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    While Nevada and Texas have garnered the most attention as alternative states of incorporation for companies considering leaving Delaware, Maryland offers considerable benefits too, including a predictable statutory framework, robust anti-takeover protections, sophisticated business courts with decades of experience, and more, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • PFAS OUT Cannot Replace Broad Drinking Water Protections

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's PFAS OUT initiative may help water systems deal with two specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances before federal compliance deadlines arrive, but it is no substitute for broader protections the EPA is withdrawing — and in PFAS litigation, that distinction could be important, says David Meldofsky at Lawsuit Informer.

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