Public Policy

  • July 17, 2025

    Thrivent Challenges SEC Over FINRA Arbitration Rules

    Financial services giant Thrivent has filed a petition in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to force the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to review three rules adopted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that give the agency exclusive jurisdiction over arbitration disputes between brokers and their customers.

  • July 17, 2025

    Judge Won't Grant Fees In Temporary Protected Status Suit

    A California federal judge rejected a bid by immigrant rights advocates for $3.6 million in attorney fees, saying their preliminary injunction blocking temporary protected status terminations during Trump's first term did not make them the prevailing party because the case ended without a final judgment.

  • July 17, 2025

    Dallas Can Fight AG To Keep Records, Appeals Court Says

    A Texas appeals court gave the city of Dallas another shot at keeping records of alleged housing discrimination away from the public, saying Thursday that the city challenged an order to release the records from the Texas attorney general in time to pursue its suit.

  • July 17, 2025

    Circle's Bank Plans Include Regulatory Vets At Helm

    Stablecoin giant Circle has tapped Heath Tarbert, its president and former top derivatives regulator, as well as a former Office of the Comptroller of the Currency chief counsel to help oversee its proposed national trust bank, according to application materials made public Thursday.

  • July 17, 2025

    Hitachi Seeks FCC OK For Bay Area Rail Control System

    Hitachi Rail is contracted to update the digital train control system in the Bay Area, but it says that in order to do so it needs the FCC's permission to operate in a slice of spectrum that it normally would not be allowed to. Now the agency is asking how people feel about the request.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Compliance Essentials To Mitigate AI Crime Enforcement Risk

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    As artificial intelligence systems move closer to accurately mimicking human decision-making, companies must understand how the U.S. Department of Justice might prosecute them for crimes committed by AI tools — and how to mitigate enforcement risks, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Attorney To BigLaw

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    When I transitioned to private practice after government service — most recently as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — I learned there are more similarities between the two jobs than many realize, with both disciplines requiring resourcefulness, zealous advocacy and foresight, says Zach Terwilliger at V&E.

  • Employer-Friendly Fla. Law Ushers In New Noncompete Era

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    Florida's CHOICE Act is set to take effect July 1, and employers are welcoming it with open arms as it would create one of the most favorable environments in the country for the enforcement of noncompete and garden leave agreements, but businesses should also consider the nonlegal implications, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Most-Favored Nation Drug Pricing Could Shake Up US Pharma

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    Recent moves from the executive and legislative branches represent a serious attempt to revive and refine the first Trump administration's most-favored-nations model for drug pricing, though implementation could bring unintended consequences for pharmaceutical manufacturers and will likely draw significant legal opposition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: A Supersonic 'Boom' Going Nowhere Fast

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    Legislation recently introduced in Congress to repeal the Federal Aviation Administration's ban on supersonic flight over U.S. territory appears to benefit a single company with an uncertain business plan, and is not truly in the public interest, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • How The DOJ Is Redesigning Its Approach To Digital Assets

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    Two key digital asset enforcement policy pronouncements narrow the Justice Department's focus on threats like fraud, terrorism, trafficking and sanctions evasion and dial back so-called regulation by prosecution, but institutions prioritizing compliance must remember that the underlying statutory framework hasn't changed, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Opportunity Zone Revamp Could Improve The Program

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    If adopted, the budget bill's new iteration of the opportunity zone program could renew, refine and enhance the effectiveness and accountability of the original program by including structural reforms, expanded eligibility rules and incentives for rural investment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • At 'SEC Speaks,' Leaders Frame New Views

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    At the Practising Law Institute's recent SEC Speaks conference, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted the agency's significant priority changes, including in enforcement, crypto and artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References

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    As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Restore IP Protection To Drive US Innovation

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    Congress should pass the RESTORE Patent Rights Act to enforce patent holders' exclusive rights and encourage American innovation, and undo the decades of patent rights erosion caused by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2006 decision in eBay v. MercExchange, says former Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Michel.

  • How Focus On Menopause Care Is Fueling Innovation, Access

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    Recent legislative developments concerning the growing field of menopause care are creating opportunities for increased investment and innovation in the space as they increase access to education and coverage, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • Calif. Digital Assets Proposal Provides Only Partial Clarity

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    Recently proposed regulations under California's Digital Financial Assets Law answer some important questions about the new regime, particularly regarding its interaction with the state's money transmission law, but many key compliance questions remain, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Staying The Course Amid Seismic DOJ White Collar Changes

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    While some of the big changes at the U.S. Department of Justice during the second Trump administration — like an embrace of cryptocurrency and more politicized prosecutions — were expected, there have also been surprises, so practitioners should advise clients to stay focused on white collar compliance in this unpredictable environment, say attorneys at Keker.

  • Opinion

    The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

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    The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.

  • DOJ Could Target Journalists Under Media Policy Reversion

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced media policy largely mirrors policies in effect from 2014 to 2020, but ambiguities in key statutory terms could allow the administration to apply it to journalists in new ways and expand investigations beyond leaks of classified information, says Julie Edelstein at Wiggin.

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