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Public Policy

  • August 07, 2025

    Federal Courts Disclose New Cyberattacks On PACER System

    The federal judiciary on Thursday disclosed there have been escalating cyberattacks on its case management system, putting sealed and sensitive case documents at risk, and that it is taking steps to strengthen its security.

  • August 07, 2025

    Trump 'Debanking' Order Calls For Scrutiny Of Bank Practices

    President Donald Trump on Thursday directed federal regulators to investigate and potentially punish banks if they have turned away customers based on their political or religious beliefs, escalating his administration's crackdown on so-called debanking.

  • August 07, 2025

    DOJ's Boasberg Complaint Violates Judicial Privacy, Sen. Says

    Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has accused the U.S. Department of Justice of misusing private comments from a meeting of the Judicial Conference of the United States to pursue ethics charges against a federal judge who found probable cause to hold President Donald Trump's administration in contempt of court.

  • August 07, 2025

    Trump Greenlights Private Equity, Crypto 401(k) Investing

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that aims to make it easier for retirement plans to invest in a wider range of assets, including cryptocurrency, private equity and real estate.

  • August 07, 2025

    Democracy Forward Launches Appellate Practice

    The Democracy Forward Foundation has formed an appellate practice on the heels of a hiring spree that has doubled the nonprofit's legal staff since November with former BigLaw and government attorneys, as some private firms have pulled back from taking on cases that challenge the current White House.

  • August 07, 2025

    Fla. Judge Pauses Everglades Detention Facility Construction

    A Florida federal judge on Thursday issued a temporary restraining order in the lawsuit against the Everglades immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," briefly halting the construction of additional tents and other infrastructure for two weeks while allowing facility operations to continue.

  • August 07, 2025

    Texas Bill Seeks Two-Thirds Vote To Exceed Max Tax Rate

    Texas would require two-thirds approval from voters to allow local taxing entities to increase property taxes beyond a maximum rate permitted by law without a vote under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • August 07, 2025

    Mass. High Court Affirms $1M Pension Loss For OT Fraud

    The forfeiture of $1 million in pension and health benefits following a Massachusetts state trooper's conviction in an overtime fraud scheme is not so grossly disproportionate to the offense that it violates the state constitution's prohibition on excessive fines, Massachusetts' highest court concluded on Thursday.

  • August 07, 2025

    California Anti-Deepfake Law Struck Down By Judge

    A California federal judge has agreed to block a California anti-deepfake law as constitutionally and legally invalid, siding with conservative media companies and content creators who argued that the law infringes platforms' First Amendment rights to moderate content on their own and pressures them to censor speech.

  • August 07, 2025

    Insurer Says Conviction Bars Coverage For Police Injury Suit

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a man facing a civil claim of negligently blinding a Los Angeles police officer with a laser, it told a California federal court, saying the man's criminal conviction for assault means his conduct was intentional and therefore not covered.

  • August 07, 2025

    German Carmakers Press EU To Secure Tariff Relief Quickly

    A German automaker association urged the European Union to finalize its trade deal with the U.S. to relieve the car manufacturing industry of the pressure of tariffs.

  • August 07, 2025

    Calif. Sheriff Says Criminal Law Enforceable On Tribal Land

    A California sheriff is asking a federal judge to dismiss the latest complaint from the Round Valley Indian Tribes and three members alleging law enforcement illegally raided cannabis growers, saying criminal laws can still be enforced on tribal land.

  • August 07, 2025

    UnitedHealth Selling Home Health Branches In DOJ Deal

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement Thursday resolving its Maryland federal court challenge to UnitedHealth's $3.3 billion acquisition of home health and hospice company Amedisys, with the deal requiring the companies to sell at least 164 locations across 19 states.

  • August 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Rips 'Stalking Horse' Ploy In Drug Negotiation Suit

    The pharmaceutical industry will feel the sting of a Wednesday loss in a wide-ranging war over Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices, as the Sixth Circuit tossed a suit and accused one major company of utilizing a "stalking horse" to sue in a more favorable forum.

  • August 06, 2025

    States Urge Justices To Back Med Mal Laws In Federal Court

    Tennessee and 26 other states on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that state statutes requiring an expert affidavit in all medical malpractice suits may be applied in federal court, arguing that overriding these laws under federal procedure rules would undermine state authority.

  • August 06, 2025

    Okla. Tribe Accuses US Sen. Of Secretly Targeting Its Rights

    An Oklahoma tribe announced Tuesday allegations of a secret effort by a U.S. senator to incorporate language into future legislation that would terminate its rights to trust land and basic economic development it shares with the Cherokee Nation. 

  • August 06, 2025

    Stanford Daily Sues Trump Admin Over Deportation Threats

    Stanford University's student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, sued the Trump administration in California federal court on Wednesday, claiming that the threat of immigration law enforcement against lawfully present noncitizen students expressing pro-Palestinian views is unconstitutional and has students self-censoring out of fears of being deported.

  • August 06, 2025

    Calif. Water Toxicity Test Flouts Federal Law, Court Rules

    A California state appeals court has barred state regulators from requiring wastewater entities to use a new water pollution test for discharge permits, but said the Golden State's adoption of new toxicity provisions was proper under state law.

  • August 06, 2025

    FCC Blocks 185 Voice Providers For Breaking Robocall Regs

    Nearly 200 voice service providers will no longer be able to connect to U.S. networks because they refused to comply with Federal Communications Commission regulations aimed at stemming the flood of robocalls being made to people's phones, the agency said.

  • August 06, 2025

    Gray TV Urges FCC To Stick With Next-Gen Transition

    Broadcast behemoth GrayTV says it's time for the Federal Communications Commission to force the finalization of transition to the next generation of television broadcasting, arguing that the old generation services "place broadcasters at a technological disadvantage."

  • August 06, 2025

    USPTO's Stewart Suggests Org. Is Eyeing Patent Fee Changes

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart addressed rumors that the Trump administration is considering a new fee on the values of patents on Wednesday, saying Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is "very concerned" about the "disconnect" between the low costs of obtaining patents and their huge worth.

  • August 06, 2025

    5th Circ. Upholds Gun Ban For Convicted Felons

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Wednesday shot down a felon's attempt to have a gun charge thrown out after he was found guilty of a drive-by shooting, saying a historical analog from the time of the country's founding allows for confiscation of firearms from felons.

  • August 06, 2025

    Parents Lose Deportation Appeal That Cited Child's Disability

    An Eleventh Circuit panel said Wednesday that hardship determinations in deportation proceedings should be reviewed to ascertain whether federal immigration courts have "substantial evidence" to back the determinations, in the process rejecting an undocumented immigrant couple's bid to stay in the U.S. to continue treatment and schooling for their child, who has a learning disability.

  • August 06, 2025

    Indivior Beats Investor Suit Over Opioid Drug Sales Forecasts

    A Virginia federal judge Wednesday tossed an investor class action accusing drugmaker Indivior PLC of overstating the financial prospects of its drugs used to treat opioid use disorders and its ability to forecast such financial projections, finding, among other things, that the complaint's challenged statements are inactionable.

  • August 06, 2025

    Crypto.com Seeks Win Over Nev. Regulators In Betting Brawl

    The derivatives platform owned by Crypto.com asked a Nevada federal judge to permanently block the state's gambling regulators from taking action over its sports event contracts, which it argues are exclusively overseen by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Expert Analysis

  • How Justices' Ruling On NEPA Reviews Is Playing Out

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court's May decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, narrowing the scope of agencies' required reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, the effects of the ruling are starting to become visible in the actions of lower courts and the agencies themselves, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • How Sweeping Budget Bill Shakes Up Health Industry

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    With the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act marking one of the most significant overhauls of federal health policy since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, providers, managed care organizations and life sciences companies must now shift focus from policy review to implementation planning, say advisers at Holland & Knight.

  • Deep-Sea Mining Outlook Murky, But May Be Getting Clearer

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    U.S. companies interested in accessing deep-sea mineral resources face uncertainty over new federal regulations and how U.S. policy may interact with pending international agreements — but a Trump administration executive order and provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act should help bring clarity, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Legal Ops, Compliance Increasingly Vital To Antitrust Strategy

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    With deal timelines tightening and disclosure requirements intensifying, legal operations and compliance teams are becoming critical drivers of premerger strategy, cross-functional alignment and regulatory credibility, says Alexander Lima at Wesco International.

  • What's Next For CFPB After 'Big Beautiful' Funding Cuts

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    While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's funding cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are unlikely to have an independent effect in the short run, they could exacerbate the existing issue of wide regulatory fluctuations in successive administrations in the longer run, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

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    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • What To Know As SEC Looks To Expand Private Fund Access

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    As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission considers expanding retail access to private markets, understanding how these funds operate — and the role of financial intermediaries in guiding investors — is increasingly important, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Fla. Law Is Part Of State Trend On Curbing Foreign Influence

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    A recently effective Florida law that broadly prohibits charities from receiving or soliciting funds from individuals and entities associated with certain foreign countries, the first of its kind in the nation, follows a growing state-level focus on foreign influence regulation, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 4 In-Flux Employment Law Issues Banks Should Note

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    Attorneys at Ogletree provide a midyear update on employment law changes that could significantly affect banks and other financial service institutions — including federal diversity equity and inclusion updates, and new and developing state and local artificial intelligence laws.

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • IPR Decisions Clarify Stewart's 'Settled Expectations' Factor

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    Recent discretionary denial decisions from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart have begun to illuminate the contours of her "settled expectations" doctrine, informing when it might be worth petitioning for inter partes review if the patent at issue has been in force for a few years, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Mulling Worker Reclassification In Light Of No Tax On OT

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    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's no-tax-on-overtime provisions provide tax relief for employees who regularly work overtime and are nonexempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but reclassifying employees may lead to higher compliance costs and increased wage and hour litigation for employers, says Steve Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Clean Energy Tax Changes Cut Timelines, Add Red Tape

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    With its dramatic changes to energy tax credits, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will reshape project financing and investment planning — and wind and solar developers, especially those in the early stages of projects, face stricter timelines and heightened compliance challenges, says Dan Ruth at Balch & Bingham.

  • 5 Consumer Protection Compliance Issues In NY State Budget

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    Companies that engage with New York consumers should promptly familiarize themselves with new state budget provisions that require finance and retail companies to make certain business practices more transparent and easier for customers to execute, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Balancing The Promises And Perils Of Tokenizing Securities

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    Tokenizing listed securities offers the promise of greater efficiency, accessibility and innovation, but a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission statement makes clear that the federal securities laws continue to apply to tokenized securities, so financial institutions and technology developers must work together to create clear rules, say attorneys at Orrick.

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