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Public Policy

  • September 18, 2025

    Ex-La. Prosecutor Convicted In Pretrial Program Bribery Case

    A former Lafayette assistant district attorney was convicted Thursday in Louisiana federal court of bribery and other charges for conspiring to solicit kickbacks and accept bribes while overseeing the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office's pretrial intervention program, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

  • September 18, 2025

    Texas Court Says Citizen Can't Intervene To Uphold Pot Law

    The citizen sponsor of a voter-approved marijuana decriminalization ordinance cannot intervene in the deal struck between the state attorney general and city of Elgin that declared the ordinance void, a Texas appeals court ruled, saying the advocate doesn't have standing.

  • September 18, 2025

    Dems Demand DOJ Explain Binance Plea Deal Compliance

    U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and two of her Democratic colleagues have asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for information on Binance's compliance with its 2023 plea agreement stemming from anti-money laundering lapses, pointing to President Donald Trump's ties to the crypto exchange.

  • September 18, 2025

    DC Circ. Judge Says PJM Monitor May Have 'Hint Of Paranoia'

    The D.C. Circuit didn't seem so sure Thursday morning that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was flouting the rules by denying an independent market monitor access to its liaison committee meetings, with one judge saying the monitor seemed to be exhibiting a "hint of paranoia."

  • September 18, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Wary Of Ex-Firefighter's Free Speech Position

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Thursday said an attorney for a former Chicago firefighter seeking to revive a suit claiming he was unlawfully fired for a series of memes and other statements posted on Facebook seemed to be making a "hyperbolic" argument that public employers cannot regulate speech outside the workplace.

  • September 18, 2025

    2nd Circ. To Weigh EFTA's Scope In NY's Citi Wire Fraud Case

    The Second Circuit has granted Citibank's request for an appeal in its fight with New York Attorney General Letitia James over the bank's response to incidents of online wire transfer fraud, agreeing to review whether key federal consumer protections for electronic payments apply to wire transfers initiated over the internet.

  • September 18, 2025

    Calif. Slams Truck-Makers' Bid To Block Emissions Regs

    California has told a federal judge that truck manufacturers seeking to renege on their commitments to follow stringent state emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks in the coming years aren't entitled to an injunction now, and the Trump administration cannot bulldoze California into falling in line.

  • September 18, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Hears 'Settled Expectations' Are 'Lawless' In IP Feud

    SanDisk Technologies Inc. and its former parent have become the latest challengers at the Federal Circuit to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's discretionary denial practices, taking aim at its acting director's holdings that patent owners eventually have the right to assume their patents won't be challenged.

  • September 18, 2025

    DC Judge Included In Senate's Bloc Confirmation

    A judge for the Superior Court of Washington, D.C., was confirmed on Thursday as part of the en bloc confirmation of 48 nominees to various positions following Republicans voting in favor of changing the rules.

  • September 18, 2025

    Groups Look To Block EPA's $3B Grant Cuts Amid Appeal

    Conservation, tribal groups, and local and county governments are looking to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from terminating a $3 billion climate grant program while they appeal a decision that dismissed their claims, arguing that public interest and equities weigh heavily in their favor.

  • September 18, 2025

    FTC Greenlights Amazon Prime Trial For Next Week

    A Seattle federal judge has cleared the Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection case against Amazon to go to trial on Monday, finding the company violated at least one requirement of an e-commerce law, yet jurors must still decide if it clearly disclosed Prime subscription terms to users and offered simple cancellation methods.

  • September 18, 2025

    HHS Shutters Miami Organ Donor Org. For 'Unsafe' Practices

    Federal health officials have decertified a Miami-based organ procurement organization that arranges organ donations after an investigation found a pattern of "unsafe" practices, marking the first time the federal government has revoked the certification of such a group, according to an announcement Thursday from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

  • September 18, 2025

    IRS Discloses Details On ICE Agreement In Data Sharing Row

    The U.S. government disclosed additional details Thursday on the agreement between the IRS and immigration enforcement authorities to share confidential tax return information, including who had necessary permissions to access the disclosures, following a D.C. federal judge's order in a lawsuit seeking to end the interagency data sharing.

  • September 18, 2025

    Army Challenges Tribe's Claims In Burial Dispute At 4th Circ.

    The U.S. Army told the Fourth Circuit this week that a tribe seeking the repatriation of remains from a former Pennsylvania Native American boarding school was wrong to claim that it couldn't find living relatives of the entombed children, citing a news article pointing to the existence of those relatives.

  • September 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Stay Venezuelans' TPS Win Amid Feds' Appeal

    The Ninth Circuit denied on Wednesday the Trump administration's latest emergency-stay request, which would have let the government continue to unwind temporary protected status for 600,000 Venezuelans as it challenges its summary-judgment loss on appeal, rejecting the government's argument that the U.S. Supreme Court's prior stay ruling in the case controls.

  • September 18, 2025

    Gov't Told GPS Signal Jamming Growing Far Worse

    More than a dozen trade groups banded together to tell federal agencies that GPS signal jamming is a growing concern to U.S. industries in international waters and airspace.

  • September 18, 2025

    EPA Will Maintain Hazardous Designations For PFOA, PFOS

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said it will defend the Biden administration's decision to list two common forever chemicals as hazardous substances under the federal Superfund law.

  • September 18, 2025

    EPA Pitches Plan For Past Renewable Fuel Exemptions

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to reallocate some portion of the biofuel blending volumes it exempted 175 small fuel refiners from in August to overall blending requirements for the next two years.

  • September 18, 2025

    Conn. Banking Chief Orders $4.9M Restitution In School Fraud

    Connecticut's banking commissioner has ordered two companies connected to Putnam Science Academy, a private high school in northeastern Connecticut, and two of its leaders to repay investors more than $4.9 million for allegedly perpetrating an affinity fraud scheme.

  • September 18, 2025

    Illinois Woman Loses Suit Over National Forest Hiking Injury

    An Illinois federal judge has thrown out a woman's claims against the federal government over injuries she sustained when she cut her leg on a jagged metal post in Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, saying the government is immune to some of her claims and there is insufficient evidence to back up the rest.

  • September 18, 2025

    DOI Escapes Osage Nation's $4.9M Self-Determination Suit

    A D.C. federal judge threw out a $4.9 million lawsuit over self-determination by the Osage Nation on claims that the U.S. Department of the Interior unlawfully rejected the tribe's final offer to amend a multiyear funding agreement with the DOI's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

  • September 18, 2025

    Circuit Split On Felon Gun Ban Could Set Up High Court Review

    A growing divide among federal appellate courts on how a gun ban for felons fits within the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 expansion of individuals' right to carry firearms in public could force the high court to revisit the Second Amendment.

  • September 18, 2025

    DOJ's Slater Says Google Search Fixes Set AI 'Foundation'

    The head of the Justice Department Antitrust Division left the door open Thursday to appealing a D.C. federal judge's rejection of the government's most sweeping remedies proposals targeting Google's search monopoly, even as she used New York City remarks to tout the fixes the government did manage to win.

  • September 18, 2025

    Senate Confirms Squires To Lead USPTO

    The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Dilworth Paxson LLP partner John Squires to serve as the next U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director.

  • September 18, 2025

    Senate Confirms Trump's Pick To Lead DOL Benefits Arm

    The Senate confirmed fiduciary liability insurance expert Daniel Aronowitz on Thursday to lead the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits division, which oversees regulation and enforcement of employer-provided health and retirement plans.

Expert Analysis

  • Unpacking Ore. Law's Limits On PE Healthcare Investment

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    A recent Oregon law imposes significant restrictions on nonphysicians owning or controlling medical practices, but newly enacted amendments provide some additional flexibility in certain ownership arrangements without scuttling the law's intent of addressing concerns about the rise of private equity investment in healthcare, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Environmental Justice Is Alive And Well At The State Level

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    Even as the Trump administration has rolled back federal environmental justice policies, many states continue to prioritize it, with new regulations, strengthened enforcement of existing rules and ongoing private litigation — so companies must stay alert to how state-level EJ enforcement may affect their operations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What FinCEN's AML Rule Delay Means For Advisers

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    Even with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's statement last month delaying the compliance date for a rule requiring advisers to report suspicious activity, advisers can expect some level of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission oversight in connection with anti-money laundering compliance, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • 5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust

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    Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.

  • What Insurers Must Know About New La. Proof Of Loss Law

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    Insurers that comply with all the requirements under a Louisiana law effective this month may condition claim payments on receipt of proof of loss statements, but those that overlook even one prerequisite risk penalties and late payments, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Legal Jeopardy Looms Over Trump's Trade Negotiation Plans

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    Even as the Trump administration announces one trade deal after another, the legal authority of the executive branch to impose tariffs under consensual arrangements with leading trading partners is just as debatable as the unilateral imposition of U.S. tariffs under the president's executive orders, says Jeffrey Bialos at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Criminal Healthcare Fraud Takeaways From 4th Circ. Reversal

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    After the Fourth Circuit reversed a doctor’s postconviction acquittal in U.S. v. Elfenbein last month, defense attorneys should consider three strategies when handling complex criminal healthcare matters, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Furtive Changes To Federal Health Data Threaten Admissibility

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    A recent study showing that nearly 100 U.S. federal health datasets have been modified this year without any notation in official change logs should concern plaintiffs counsel, defense counsel and judges alike — because undermining data's integrity, authenticity and chain of custody threatens its admissibility in litigation, say attorneys at Kershaw Talley.

  • State Laws Show Uniformity Is Key To Truly Fair Bank Access

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    The lack of uniformity among state laws — including new Idaho legislation — that forbid banks from discriminating against customers based on ideology shows that a single set of federally administered fair access rules would better serve financial institutions and American consumers, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • A Look At Justices' Rare Decision Not To Limit Agency Powers

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    The Supreme Court's recent denial of Alpine's cert petition in its long-running case against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority sends a strong signal that litigation strategies dependent on the elimination of government agencies merit caution, even from a court that lately hasn't been shy about paring back agency authority, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Series

    Hiking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    On the trail, I have thought often about the parallels between hiking and high-stakes patent litigation, and why strategizing, preparation, perseverance and joy are important skills for success in both endeavors, says Barbara Fiacco at Foley Hoag.

  • Opportunity Zone Overhaul Is Good News For Investors

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    Recently enacted reforms making the qualified opportunity zone program permanent, restoring the basis step-up for capital gains and adding flexibility to the zone designation process enhance the program’s appeal for long-term investment, says Steven Hadjilogiou at McDermott.

  • What US-India Trade Deal Will Mean For Indian Pharma

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    Complicated by newly imposed tariffs from the U.S., the outcome of the U.S.-India trade talks is poised to reshape not just trade policy, but also the strategic alignment of the two countries' pharmaceutical ecosystems, says Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners.

  • Opinion

    Time For Full Disclosure Of Third-Party Funding In MDLs

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    It is appropriate that the Federal Advisory Committee on Civil Rules is considering a rule to require disclosure of third-party litigation funding in civil litigation — something that is particularly needed in multidistrict litigation, which now comprises more than half of all civil cases in the federal courts, says Eric Hudson at Butler Snow.

  • Regulating Online Activity After Porn Site Age Check Ruling

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    A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding an age verification requirement for accessing online adult sexual content applied a lenient rational basis standard, raising questions for how state and federal courts will determine what kinds of laws regulating online activity will satisfy this standard going forward, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

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