Public Policy

  • May 08, 2025

    FERC Says Grid Upgrade Bill For Solar Farm Was Justified

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its decision to affirm a regional transmission operator's assignment of $311 million in upgrade costs for a Texas solar farm to connect to the grid, telling the D.C. Circuit studies of the project's impacts were sound.

  • May 08, 2025

    Ala. Legislature OKs TCJA Research Expense Decoupling

    Alabama would decouple from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by allowing research expenses to be deducted from a taxpayer's income under a bill sent to the governor. 

  • May 08, 2025

    Tenn. Hotel Operators To Stop Collecting Tax After 30 Days

    Tennessee will require hotel operators to stop collecting occupancy taxes from people who stay for more than 30 days under a bill signed by the governor.

  • May 08, 2025

    Trump Replaces Martin With Pirro As US Atty Pick

    President Donald Trump said Thursday he would withdraw the nomination of Ed Martin for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, replacing him with former judge and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro.

  • May 08, 2025

    Wash. Justices Uphold Ban On Large-Capacity Gun Magazines

    The Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday said that a state law banning the sale of large-capacity magazines for firearms was constitutional, in an opinion that said the law was not in conflict with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings expanding gun rights.

  • May 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Judge Suggests Sidelining Peers To Curb Injunctions

    With the U.S. Supreme Court set for a seminal showdown over nationwide injunctions, observers are advocating wide-ranging outcomes, and a Ninth Circuit judge entered the fray Wednesday by proposing that district judges be blackballed for blatant overreach or perceived bias.

  • May 07, 2025

    Judge Seeks Details On U.S.-El Salvador Detainee Deal

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday said the Trump administration would have to turn over more information about its arrangement with El Salvador to imprison alleged Venezuelan gang members deported under the Alien Enemies Act, as he considers whether they should be returned to the United States.

  • May 07, 2025

    Fla. City Residents' Suit Over Corroded Water Pipes Revived

    A Florida state appellate court on Wednesday reinstated a proposed class action alleging negligence against the city of Miramar and a consultant over improperly treated tap water that led to damaged pipes in homes, saying the complaint sufficiently claimed the city assumed a duty to make sure water wasn't corrosive.

  • May 07, 2025

    HUD Blocked From Withholding Grants Over DEI Policies

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from forcing New York City, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle's county to adhere to policies against diversity, equity and inclusion or risk losing federal funds for homeless services, saying the strings attached are likely unconstitutional.

  • May 07, 2025

    Calif. Tribe Says State's Overcharges Void Gaming Compact

    A California tribe is asking a federal court to declare that its gaming compact is unenforceable, arguing that it has paid millions more into special funding programs than the state's actual annual cost of regulating its Class III gaming operations.

  • May 07, 2025

    Texas AG Warns Chinese Cos. To Get In Step With Privacy Law

    The Texas attorney general has informed Alibaba, CapCut, TP-Link and several other companies with ties to the Chinese government that they have 30 days to remedy alleged violations of the state's comprehensive data privacy law or face "additional legal action," marking the latest escalation of the agency's privacy enforcement efforts.

  • May 07, 2025

    USPTO Official Says 13% Of APJs Have Left Under Trump

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has lost about 30 administrative patent judges and 20 staff members as the Trump administration is providing incentives to leave the government, Chief Administrative Patent Judge Scott Boalick said Wednesday.

  • May 07, 2025

    Senate Backs Bid To Scrap Biden-Era OCC Bank Merger Rule

    Senators voted Wednesday to repeal the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Biden-era revamp of its bank merger review standards, advancing an effort to undo a rule that banks criticized as creating more complication and uncertainty for their deals.

  • May 07, 2025

    Google Is 'What's Best' For Users, Apple Exec Tells Judge

    A top Apple executive forcibly defended the company's pick for its default search engine Wednesday, telling a D.C. federal judge that Google is the only real option, as the U.S. Justice Department looks to ban Google from paying the iPhone maker and others for default search engine placement.

  • May 07, 2025

    Illinois Seeks Exit From Suit Over Demographic Data Law

    Illinois asked a federal judge to toss a lawsuit brought by a group called the American Alliance for Equal Rights that seeks to block the state from enforcing a law requiring nonprofits to publicize their demographic data, saying the organization has no standing to bring the claims.

  • May 07, 2025

    Patent Examiners Tell GAO Quantity Beats Quality

    Patent examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office feel like they're pressured to sacrifice patent quality in the interest of getting more patents out the door, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Wednesday exploring what it called "persistent examination and quality challenges" at the agency.

  • May 07, 2025

    Texas Bill May Limit Full Redress For Personal Injury Victims

    A Texas bill aimed at reining in allegedly excessive jury awards granted to personal injury victims would be a boon for insurance companies, but it may threaten victims' ability to get full compensation for the consequences of another party's negligence.

  • May 07, 2025

    GSA Launches Website For Overhaul Of Federal Procurements

    The General Services Administration has launched a new web page dedicated to the Trump administration's efforts to overhaul the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, which is the main set of rules used to govern federal acquisitions.

  • May 07, 2025

    Feds Seek Ax Of Haiti, Venezuela TPS Vacatur Challenge

    The Trump administration has called on a Massachusetts federal judge to dismiss litigation brought by immigrants from Haiti and Venezuela seeking to block the government from vacating their temporary protected status, saying the court lacks jurisdiction over their claims.

  • May 07, 2025

    DOJ, FTC Seek Public Input On Live Event Ticketing Abuses

    The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday they are seeking input from the public about potential abuses in the live ticketing industry, which comes after President Donald Trump's March executive order that looks to enforce "transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process."

  • May 07, 2025

    OCC Affirms Banks' Crypto Custody, Execution Capabilities

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday made clear that banks can buy and sell crypto on behalf of their customers and outsource custody services to third parties, reaffirming a stance the regulator first took in 2020.

  • May 07, 2025

    Philips Presses For 'Certainty' On Next-Gen TV Transition

    Electronics giant Philips is backing the National Association of Broadcasters' proposed timeline for stations to move to "NextGen TV," telling the Federal Communications Commission in a new filing that clear government action is needed to "shepherd the broadcast and consumer electronics industries towards a successful transition."

  • May 07, 2025

    Southwest Says Union Deal Makes Sick Leave Suit Irrelevant

    Southwest Airlines said Tuesday that a suit challenging its sick leave settlement with Colorado is moot because a recent collective bargaining agreement between the airline and its workers in the state already applies a 2020 law.

  • May 07, 2025

    Bill Bolstering AG's Power In Election Crimes Heads To Abbott

    A bill that would allow the Texas attorney general's office to be more involved in prosecutions under the state's election code is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk.

  • May 07, 2025

    Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates dozens of times throughout April about their concerns, from T-Mobile's planned takeover of UScellular's wireless operations to Native American tribes' needs for licensed spectrum, phone "unlocking" mandates to spur competition, satellite power limits and more.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Slater Heralds Return To US Antitrust Norms, Innovation

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    Under recently confirmed Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice can fulfill President Donald Trump's objective to reestablish American economic dominance on the global stage while remaining faithful to antitrust's core principles, says Ediberto Roman at the Florida International University College of Law.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • How Latin American Finance Markets May Shift Under Trump

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    Changes in the federal government are bringing profound implications for Latin American financial institutions and cross-border financing, including increased competition from U.S. banks, volatility in equity markets and stable green investor demand despite deregulation in the U.S., says David Contreiras Tyler at Womble Bond.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • TikTok Bias Suit Ruling Reflects New Landscape Under EFAA

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    In Puris v. Tiktok, a New York federal court found an arbitration agreement unenforceable in a former executive's bias suit, underscoring an evolving trend of broad, but inconsistent, interpretation of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • Avoiding Pitfalls Around New Calif. Commercial Lease Law

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    A California law that became effective this year requires commercial landlords to extend certain protections previously afforded to residential tenancies, and a few key provisions of the law especially warrant reexamination of leasing and operational processes, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Filial Consortium Claims' Future After Conn. High Court Ruling

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    While the Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled for defendants in rejecting parents’ attempt to recover loss of companionship damages in a severe child injury case, there is still potential for the plaintiffs bar to lobby for a law that would allow filial consortium claims, Glenn Coffin at Gordon Rees.

  • 5 Tools To Help Existing Gov't Contracts Manage Tariff Costs

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    Five pointers can help government contractors scrutinize their existing contracts for protections like equitable adjustment and duty-free entry clauses, which may help insulate them from tariff-related cost increases, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 4th Circ. Health Data Ruling Opens Door To State Law Claims

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    In Real Time Medical v. PointClickCare, the Fourth Circuit recently clarified that state law claims can rest in part on violations of a federal law that prohibits electronic health information blocking, expanding legal risks for health IT companies and potentially creating exposure to a range of competitive implications, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • 2 Del. Rulings Reinforce Proof Needed For Records Demands

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    Two recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions involving Amazon and Paramount Global illustrate the significance of the credible basis standard on books and records requests, underscoring that stockholders seeking to investigate wrongdoing must come forward with actual evidence of misconduct — not mere allegations, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

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    Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 3 Action Items For Innovators Amid Fintech Regulatory Pivot

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    As the federal banking agencies seek to smooth the way for banks to engage in crypto-related activities, banks and technology companies should take note of this new chapter in payments services, especially as leadership in digital financial technology becomes a national priority, says Jess Cheng at Wilson Sonsini.

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