Public Policy

  • 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.

  • October 14, 2026

    OCC Says Big Banks Cut Off Customers Over Reputation Risk

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is leveling fresh criticism at the biggest U.S. banks over so-called debanking, releasing a report that finds their use of reputational risk policies led to numerous instances of customers being "disadvantaged" based on their ideological views.

  • October 14, 2026

    Justices Appear Wary Of Broad Reach For Video Privacy Law

    Several U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant Wednesday to take a more expansive view of the online activities protected by the Video Privacy Protection Act, raising concerns that such an approach would buck the statute's original intent and invite a flood of litigation against a wide range of companies.

  • October 14, 2026

    Kushner Is Unlawfully Serving As Envoy, Watchdog Says

    Jared Kushner is unlawfully wielding power on behalf of the United States government, an ethics watchdog alleged Wednesday, asking a Washington, D.C., federal judge to block the president's son-in-law from acting as a top diplomat without disclosing his personal finances and potential conflicts of interest.

  • October 14, 2026

    State Dept. Ordered To Open 2027 Diversity Visa Program

    A California federal judge ordered U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to swiftly open up registration for the 2027 diversity visa program and to make a public announcement of the registration period "no later than midnight" Thursday.

  • October 14, 2026

    Ex-Oakland Mayor Thao Put 'Power Up For Sale,' Jury Told

    Prosecutors told a California federal jury during trial openings Wednesday that Oakland's then-mayor Sheng Thao put "power up for sale" when she and her boyfriend accepted bribes in exchange for potential city contracts to build prefab "tiny homes" for the unhoused.

  • October 14, 2026

    NC Health Plan Can't Block Atrium's Cost-Sharing Program

    Atrium Health can move forward with a program to offer lower healthcare costs to members of North Carolina's state health plan, a state court judge ruled, handing a loss to the state treasurer in his lawsuit claiming Atrium's program will ultimately saddle the plan with more debt.

  • October 14, 2026

    High Court Won't Pause Mich. Activist Pretrial Jail Order

    The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a bid by a self-described "antifa" member to halt a Sixth Circuit order sending him back to jail pending charges that he cyberstalked and threatened a social media supporter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

  • October 14, 2026

    Judge Probes Public Disclosure Bar In Fluor FCA Lawsuit

    A D.C. federal judge said Wednesday that a whistleblower's qui tam False Claims Act lawsuit accusing defense logistics contractor Fluor of labor trafficking could ultimately fall under the statute's public disclosure bar, given that "a bunch of stuff" had been floating around on the company prior to his complaint.

  • October 14, 2026

    DC Circ. Not Fan Of EPA's Citation Habits In Methane Appeal

    The D.C. Circuit didn't seem too sure Wednesday morning whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had behaved how it ought to have when extending compliance deadlines for initiating requirements to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas sector.

  • October 14, 2026

    Conn. Committee Backs Monitored Return For Convicted Atty

    A former Connecticut attorney who pled guilty to moving money during a client's $3 million securities scheme can be readmitted to the bar subject to monitoring, insurance and mentorship conditions, a local ethics committee has recommended, though a three-judge panel will now decide whether to accept or reject that guidance.

  • October 14, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs Pa. Regulator In Pipeline Approval Fight

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a Pennsylvania regulator's approval of a Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. project, ruling there was no evidence the water quality information pushed by environmental groups would have altered the outcome of the application.

  • October 14, 2026

    US Backs Alaska In High Court Fight Over Plane Forfeiture

    The federal government has told the U.S. Supreme Court that Alaska is well within its right to confiscate "instrumentalities of crime" and the state's attempted forfeiture of an 83-year-old bush pilot's $95,000 plane for transporting a six-pack of beer to a dry village wasn't excessive.

  • October 14, 2026

    GAO Says ICE, CBP Should Improve Body Camera Programs

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report recommending that immigration enforcement agencies improve their body-worn camera policies, noting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concurred with all of its recommendations, except over automated camera activation controls.

  • October 14, 2026

    Delay In 39% Audience Cap Lift Not Needed, Broadcasters Say

    The broadcast lobby urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject a bid from several cable industry groups to pause the agency's repeal of the 39% national audience share limit on TV station chains.

  • October 14, 2026

    LSU's Relent Hasn't Cooled College Football Roster Litigation

    The Southeastern Conference is looking to proceed with its suit over Louisiana State University's efforts to add former NFL players to its roster, telling an Alabama federal judge that its claims are live despite the school's decision not to bring those players aboard.

  • October 14, 2026

    Cannabis Reform Foes Cite GAO In Push To Reopen Hearings

    A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge on Wednesday ordered the government to respond to a bid by opponents of cannabis reform to reopen hearings on a proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana.

  • October 14, 2026

    9th Circ. Blocks Calif. Law Requiring Fed Agents To Show IDs

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday reversed the implementation of a California law requiring federal agents to display identification, saying the Trump administration is "certain to succeed" on its argument that the state statute violates the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause.

  • October 14, 2026

    DOJ Pushes Congress To Expand Death Penalty

    The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed a bill to Congress to bolster the use of the death penalty in both state and federal courts, in a bid to advance a related executive order President Donald Trump signed at the beginning of his second term.

  • October 14, 2026

    Brooklyn DA Busts Crypto Scam Targeting Russian Speakers

    The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said Wednesday it has taken down hundreds of servers and domains used to defraud Russian speakers in the U.S., dealing a significant blow to the international cryptocurrency scam operation.

  • October 14, 2026

    Trump Dodging Deposition In Defamation Suit, BBC Says

    The BBC asked a Florida federal court to convene a hearing on whether President Donald Trump should be forced to sit for a deposition, saying he's not following through with obligations in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster over a documentary on the January 2021 U.S. Capitol attack.

  • October 14, 2026

    Fla. Horse Trainer Asks Court To Toss Doping Sanctions

    A thoroughbred horse trainer asked a Florida federal court to rule that sanctions imposed on him for allegedly using banned substances violated his constitutional rights, arguing he was denied a jury trial and that a private regulator overstepped its authority by handing out punishment. 

  • October 14, 2026

    DOJ, IRS Say Enforcement Surge Exposed $490M In Tax Fraud

    The U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted 76 people linked to more than $490 million in federal revenue losses as part of a stepped-up enforcement effort with the IRS and U.S. attorneys' offices over the past six weeks, the leader of the DOJ's new fraud division said Wednesday.

  • October 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Upholds Patent Denial In SAWS-Bias Challenge

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday swiftly upheld the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to deny an inventor's internal combustion engine patent application after he argued his constitutional rights were violated when his case was sent to the USPTO's controversial, now-discontinued Sensitive Application Warning System, or SAWS, program.

Expert Analysis

  • Student Loan Suit Draws Line On Testimony In Trust Litigation

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    A recent interlocutory opinion from the Southern District of New York shows securitization experts can explain servicing practices but cannot substitute for authenticated loan-level ownership proof or intent evidence, signaling that parties in student loan trust cases should sharpen recordkeeping and tracing strategies, says attorney Stanley Tate.

  • Opinion

    A Guiding Principle For The SEC On Exempt Capital Markets

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed Regulation Crypto Assets borrows selectively from other capital-raising exemptions while giving crypto issuers materially different terms, and those unexplained differences reveal the need for a regulatory approach of presumptive parity, says Brian Christie at the Crowdfunding Professional Association.

  • Where DOJ's Fraud Priorities Memo May Actually Matter

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently released memo outlining priorities for its newly created fraud division will shape how cases are identified, staffed and sequenced, meaning white collar defense work must begin earlier, say David Tarras at Tarras Defense and Trevor Jones at Dynamis.

  • What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

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    While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

  • What Cos. Should Do During Stay Of Nasdaq Delisting Rule

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved — and subsequently stayed — Nasdaq's $5 million market value threshold for continued listing, giving companies additional time to evaluate financing opportunities, communicate with investors and consider strategic alternatives, says Joseph Lucosky at Lucosky Brookman.

  • NC Dental Review Change Counters Tougher National Trend

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    North Carolina’s elimination of its prior review requirement for dental management agreements departs sharply from the national trend toward expanded corporate practice of medicine oversight, but stakeholders should not view this regulatory shift as a relaxation of compliance expectations, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Prepping To Use Crypto Collateral Under Ohio Ownership Law

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    Ohio's digital asset law should ease the path to using cryptocurrency as collateral, and as the October effective date approaches, lenders should update their loan documentation and diligence processes to take advantage of the new control-based perfection rules, say attorneys at Kegler Brown.

  • NY Bill Would Boost Litigation Risk For Cosmetics Cos.

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    The Beauty Justice Act, now pending in the New York Legislature, would not only present compliance challenges for companies making cosmetics and personal care products, but could also be used by private plaintiffs to bring consumer fraud, false advertising, toxic exposure and product liability claims, says Kadeejah Kelly-Previl at Faegre Drinker.

  • Appellate Vape Rulings May Expand State Regulation Powers

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    Two recent federal appeals courts decisions rejecting Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preemption challenges to state electronic nicotine delivery systems directory laws signal an emerging appellate consensus that could significantly expand states' power to regulate vaping product sales where federal enforcement falls short, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Parsing Gov't Scrutiny Of Lending To Unauthorized Workers

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    Attorneys at Mayer Brown explain guidance recently issued by three banking regulators that addresses risks associated with lending to so-called non-work authorized individuals and discuss what the regulatory update could mean for fintech companies.

  • Discovery Into Insurers' AI Use Should Stay Proportional

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    As insurers increasingly use artificial intelligence to make claim decisions, plaintiffs in first-party coverage litigation should seek discovery that tracks how materially the automated system influenced the challenged decision, not whether the insurer used AI somewhere in its operations, says attorney Joe Zaid.

  • How FCC Covered List Blitz Is Sidelining Commerce Dept.

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    The swath of recent Federal Communications Commission rulemakings raises serious questions about the purpose and future of Commerce's Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, and how the U.S. government will go forward in imposing national security regulation on domestic applications of adversary-linked technologies, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

  • DOJ Healthcare Declination Offers Self-Disclosure Checklist

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's declination of criminal charges against Campus Eye Management signals that its new self-disclosure policy provides a real path for healthcare companies to avoid criminal exposure, but that path is paved with speed, transparency and operational remediation, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Rubber Meets The Road

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rulemaking agenda shows its regulatory reset taking shape, with sweeping crypto proposals that could bring the biggest changes it has made to broker-dealer, exchange and trading compliance in decades, says Christopher Grobbel at Goodwin.

  • Monitor Exposure, Stay Flexible Amid Tariff Uncertainty

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    To navigate an unstable trade environment, businesses must evaluate their exposure to new tariffs invoked under a patchwork of statutory authorities and be prepared to adapt to further changes that may be on the horizon, says Bhargav Prajapati at Capital Trade.

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