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Public Policy

  • September 16, 2025

    Okla. Town Looks To Toss Tribe's Casino Utility Dispute

    Hinton, Oklahoma, is looking to toss a lawsuit by the Delaware Nation claiming the town illegally threatened to cut off municipal utility services to a tribal casino after an agreement expired, telling a federal court Tuesday that it doesn't have jurisdiction because the controversy is local.

  • September 16, 2025

    'It's Confidential': Judiciary Chair Mum On Court System Strife

    The federal judiciary's leaders heard sharp criticism at a private meeting Tuesday regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's increasing willingness to block lower court decisions, according to remarks released publicly, and one of those leaders subsequently deflected requests for details during an official briefing.

  • September 16, 2025

    DOJ Fights Court Order To Reinstate NCUA Board Members

    The Trump administration has told the D.C. Circuit that the president had the right to remove two National Credit Union Administration board members at will, and that a lower court was wrong to reinstate them and read extra job protections into the law.

  • September 16, 2025

    NC Justices Hear Clash Over Property Compensation Suits

    Landowners' cases challenging their payouts for seized property threaten to upend North Carolina's jurisprudence, bury it in litigation and overly inflate damages owed if lower courts' rulings are left undisturbed, the state's Supreme Court was told Tuesday.

  • September 16, 2025

    Strip Club Execs Accused Of Bribing Auditor With Lap Dances

    Executives of strip club operator RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc. bribed a tax auditor for more than a decade to avoid paying $8 million in New York City sales taxes, providing him free trips to Florida strip clubs and expensive lap dances, the state of New York alleged Tuesday.

  • September 16, 2025

    Texas Judge Denies TRO To Stop City Raids On Hemp Shop

    A Texas city doesn't have to return $400,000 in cannabis products it took from a smoke shop during a raid that the retailers claim leaned on faulty THC testing and false information, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying it is inappropriate for him to intervene in an ongoing state court criminal case.

  • September 16, 2025

    Ky. Judge Backs Fed's Debit-Fee Cap In Split With ND Ruling

    A Kentucky federal judge on Monday upheld a Federal Reserve Board cap on debit-card swipe fees that a local merchant challenged as overly generous to banks, breaking with a North Dakota federal court that recently rejected the same regulation.

  • September 16, 2025

    Conn. Bars Masked Agents, Warrantless Arrests In Its Courts

    State and federal law enforcement officers are barred from wearing face masks or making warrantless arrests in Connecticut state courts under a policy that took effect Tuesday.

  • September 16, 2025

    Texas AG Probes Glass Lewis, ISS On ESG Advice

    The Texas Office of the Attorney General launched an investigation into Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., claiming Tuesday the proxy advisory firms misled public companies and institutional investors to push for left-wing social causes.

  • September 16, 2025

    Mich. Judge Mulls Legislative Purpose Of Ballpark Earmarks

    A Michigan judge deciding whether to halt the disbursement of state budget funds earmarked for two minor league baseball stadiums said Tuesday he was hung up on how to determine if the spending was intended for a local or general purpose.

  • September 16, 2025

    Coinbase Asks DOJ To Push For Preemption In Crypto Bills

    Crypto exchange Coinbase has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to advocate for limiting states' authority to regulate the digital asset space in pending crypto market structure legislation, as Coinbase itself continues to battle state actions and navigate disparate licensure regimes.

  • September 16, 2025

    FTC Ends Director Overlap In Healthcare Space

    The Federal Trade Commission said three members of Sevita Health's board of directors resigned after enforcers flagged an overlap with the board of a competing provider of specialty healthcare for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

  • September 16, 2025

    NC Tells 4th Circ. New E-Cig Regs Fit With Federal Law

    The state of North Carolina is asking the Fourth Circuit to shut down a bid by vaping interests to block a new law giving state tax officials the ability to fine companies for selling vapes not authorized by federal regulators, saying the authority to do so is preserved by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

  • September 16, 2025

    White House Fights Seattle's Bid To Block DEI Grant Rules

    The Trump administration on Tuesday called on a Washington federal judge to let it proceed with federal grant conditions forcing recipients to drop efforts related to diversity and "gender ideology," contending that Seattle is challenging the terms based on mere speculation that the city may one day be targeted for "hypothetical noncompliance."  

  • September 16, 2025

    DOE Asks Judge To Pull Plug On States' Cost Cap Suit

    The U.S. Department of Energy has asked an Oregon federal judge to toss a New York-led lawsuit challenging a new policy that would cap certain overhead costs under energy assistance awards, arguing the change falls within its discretionary authorities.

  • September 16, 2025

    Trump Admin Says Judge Can't Protect Agency Union Pacts

    If six federal agencies accept President Donald Trump's invitation to cancel their union contracts, a D.C. federal judge cannot intervene, the Trump administration has argued, claiming that the unions must bring their fight to protect the contracts to a federal labor-management relations agency, not a judge.

  • September 16, 2025

    Ex-Officials Say Harvard Visa Ban Will Hurt US Security

    Twenty-one former senior national security officials urged the First Circuit on Monday to uphold an injunction letting Harvard enroll international students on F-1 visas, saying the administration's attempt to bar the university from doing so is retaliatory and will drive foreign talent away.

  • September 16, 2025

    'Incurably Premature': Suit Over Alleged EB-5 Rule Tossed

    A Seattle federal judge on Monday tossed an immigrant investor's lawsuit challenging an allegedly arbitrary action that resulted in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services revoking her visa petition, saying she could not sue since she did not first exhaust administrative remedies.

  • September 16, 2025

    Federal Court Reporter Beats Transcript Omission Claim

    A court reporter for an Illinois federal judge Tuesday defeated a lawsuit brought by a pro se plaintiff alleging she failed to transcribe part of a hearing and left out statements that would be damaging to the judge in an underlying employment dispute.

  • September 16, 2025

    FCC Tells 1st Circ. It Will Revamp Prison Phone Caps In Oct.

    The First Circuit has declined to hold off a court challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's recently adopted prison phone rate caps despite the agency saying it plans to rework the rules in October.

  • September 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Urged To Rehear EPA's HFC Market Allocation Case

    A Georgia refrigerants company is asking for another shot to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of a 2020 law mandating an 85% reduction in hydrofluorocarbon consumption by 2036, requesting an en banc rehearing from the D.C. Circuit after a panel unanimously rejected its challenge last month.

  • September 16, 2025

    Tax-Exempt Hospitals Face Financial Duress, Panel Hears

    The nation's nonprofit hospitals are under growing financial stress due to cutbacks in federal funding, an aging population and unnecessary spending on programs unrelated to providing healthcare to their communities, industry experts told lawmakers Tuesday at a congressional hearing.

  • September 16, 2025

    GOP Spending Bill Seeks $58M For Supreme Court, Marshals

    The House Republicans unveiled their short-term spending bill Tuesday, and it includes an extra $28 million for security for the U.S. Supreme Court justices.

  • September 16, 2025

    EPA Sued For Dropping Slaughterhouse Water Pollution Regs

    Several organizations have filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit contesting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to renege on a Biden-era proposal that would've levied stricter rules of how much meat and poultry slaughtering, processing, and rendering facilities could discharge pollutants into nearby waterways.

  • September 16, 2025

    Wash. Justices Scrutinize Minimum Wage 'Live In' Exclusion

    Washington Supreme Court justices on Tuesday pushed counsel for an adult family home on the stance that its "live in" workers are adequately protected by existing laws and regulations, pointing to testimony its employees are always on call and sometimes at risk of physical assault by residents.

Expert Analysis

  • How DOJ's New Data Security Rules Leave HIPAA In The Dust

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently effective data security requirements carry profound implications for how healthcare providers collect, store, share and use data — and approach vendor oversight — that go far beyond the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Courts Redefining Software As Product Generates New Risks

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    A recent wave of litigation against social media platforms, chatbot developers and ride-hailing companies has some courts straying from the traditional view of software as a service to redefining software as a product, with significant implications for strict liability exposure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Trump's 2nd Term Puts Merger Remedies Back On The Table

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    In contrast with the Biden administration, the second Trump administration has signaled a renewed willingness to resolve merger enforcement concerns through remedies from the outset, particularly when the proposed fix is structural, clearly addresses the harm and does not require burdensome oversight, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Why Bank Regulators' Proposed Leverage Tweak Matters

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    Banking agencies' recent proposal to modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio framework applicable to the largest U.S. banks shows the regulators are keen to address concerns that the regulatory capital framework is too restrictive, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Corp. Human Rights Regulatory Landscape Is Fragmented

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    Given the complexity of compliance with nations' overlapping human rights laws, multinational companies need to be cognizant of the evolving approaches to modern slavery transparency, and proposals that could reduce mandatory due diligence and reporting requirements, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • How Banks Can Harness New Customer ID Rule's Flexibility

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    Banking regulators' update to the customer identification process, allowing banks to collect some information from third parties rather than directly from customers, helps modernize anti-money laundering compliance and carries advantages for financial institutions that embrace the new approach, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • CEQA Reform May Spur More Housing, But Devil Is In Details

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    A recently enacted law reforming the California Environmental Quality Act has been touted by state leaders as a fix for the state's housing crisis — but provisions including a new theoretically optional traffic mitigation fee could offset any potential benefits, says attorney David Smith.

  • Opinion

    Premerger Settlements Don't Meet Standard For Bribery

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    Claims that Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump while it was undergoing a premerger regulatory review amounts to a quid pro quo misconstrue bribery law and ignore how modern legal departments operate, says Ediberto Román at the Florida International University College of Law.

  • Texas Med Spas Must Prepare For 2 New State Laws

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    Two new laws in Texas — regulating elective intravenous therapy and reforming healthcare noncompetes — mark a pivotal shift in the regulatory framework for medical spas in the state, which must proactively adapt their operations and contractual practices, says Brad Cook at Munsch Hardt.

  • What EPA Chemical Data Deadline Extension Means For Cos.

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's extension for manufacturers and importers of 16 chemical substances to report unpublished health and safety studies under the Toxic Substances Control Act could lead to state regulators stepping into the breach, while creating compliance risks and uncertainty for companies, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • How Trump Cybersecurity EO Narrows Biden-Era Standards

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    President Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order No. 14306, which significantly narrows the scope and ambition of a Biden executive order focused on raising federal cybersecurity standards among federal vendors, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Forced Labor Bans Hold Steady Amid Shifts In Global Trade

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    As businesses try to navigate shifting regulatory trends affecting human rights and sustainability, forced labor import bans present a zone of relative stability, notwithstanding outstanding questions about the future of enforcement, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Grappling With Workforce-Related Immigration Enforcement

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    To withstand the tightening of workforce-related immigration rules and the enforcement uptick we are seeing in the U.S. and elsewhere, companies must strike a balance between responding quickly to regulatory changes, and developing proactive strategies that minimize risk, say attorneys at Fragomen.

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