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Public Policy

  • September 03, 2025

    FCC Chief Aims To End Disputed School Wi-Fi Programs

    The head of the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday he's looking to overturn two controversial Biden-era FCC programs to fund providing Wi-Fi on school buses and hot spots for students' and library patrons' off-campus use.

  • September 03, 2025

    Wash. Court Pressed To Immediately End EV Funding Freeze

    Clean energy advocates have urged a Washington federal judge to wipe out the Trump administration's decision to freeze funding for new electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, saying the government can't be allowed to drag its feet on a pledge to restore funding.

  • September 03, 2025

    Northwestern Mutual Seeks $23M Tax Refund For Free Meals

    Northwestern Mutual is seeking a refund of $23 million in taxes for on-campus lunches it provided to employees, telling a Wisconsin federal court that the IRS improperly denied the company an exclusion on taxable income for the meals.

  • September 03, 2025

    US Steel Wants Federal Court To Take Clairton Blast Suits

    U.S. Steel claims that litigation by workers injured in an explosion at its Clairton Coke Works facility last month should be handled by a federal court, because federal investigators are overseeing the evidence being demanded by the plaintiffs.

  • September 03, 2025

    Referee Blows Whistle On NBA's Partial Win In Vaccine Fight

    A fired referee suing the NBA for religious discrimination asked a New York federal court to reconsider its ruling that denied him front and back pay, arguing the judge overlooked controlling case law that makes the decision "inappropriate."

  • September 03, 2025

    ND Tribes Ask Supreme Court To Protect Voting Rights Act

    Two North Dakota tribes are asking the Supreme Court to undo an Eighth Circuit decision that prohibits lawsuits against states for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, arguing that if not overturned, the ruling would kneecap the main federal protection against racial discrimination in voting.

  • September 03, 2025

    Tech, Small Biz Groups Push Against Value-Based Patent Fees

    An array of groups representing tech companies, small businesses and more wrote a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, urging them to oppose the Trump administration's reported plan to charge patent owners a new fee based on the value of their patents.

  • September 03, 2025

    Pick For Del.'s 3rd Circ. Seat Questioned On Ties To The State

    Jennifer L. Mascott, nominee for a Delaware seat on the Third Circuit who is currently serving in the White House Counsel's Office, came under questioning from Democrats on Wednesday regarding her lack of connections to the state and her qualifications for the judgeship.

  • September 03, 2025

    Arkansas Insurance Rule Beats Union Plan's ERISA Challenge

    An Illinois federal judge has tossed a Teamsters healthcare plan's challenge to an Arkansas insurance regulation that aims to protect local pharmacies from under-reimbursement for prescription drugs, saying the regulation doesn't tread on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's territory.

  • September 03, 2025

    EPA Withdraws Slaughterhouse Water Pollution Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday withdrew a Biden-era proposal that would have imposed stricter water discharge regulations on meat and poultry slaughtering, processing and rendering facilities across the country.

  • September 03, 2025

    Manhattan DA To Target Wage-Fixing With Antitrust Laws

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Wednesday that his office plans to be the first to use New York's criminal antitrust laws against companies that collude to keep workers' wages low.

  • September 03, 2025

    France To Tackle Tax Avoidance By Wealthy, Minister Says

    France is planning to tackle tax avoidance by wealthy individuals, an endeavor aimed at raising €2 billion ($2.3 billion), the country's budget minister said Wednesday.

  • September 03, 2025

    Calif. Senate Panel OKs Property Tax Break For Tribes

    Native American tribes in California would be eligible for open space exemptions to property taxes under legislation approved by a state Senate panel that's heading for a final vote.

  • September 03, 2025

    Rural Broadband Association GC Joins Womble Bond In DC

    The former general counsel of the National Telecommunication Cooperative Association's Rural Broadband Association, has joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a senior counsel, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • September 03, 2025

    UK Autumn Budget Set For November, Reeves Confirms

    The U.K. government will announce its autumn budget in November, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said Wednesday amid growing speculation that the government will raise taxes to cover the rising cost of borrowing.

  • September 03, 2025

    Texas Bill Would OK More Sales Tax For Property Tax Relief

    Texas would allow local governments to impose supplemental sales and use tax to raise additional revenue for property tax relief if the sales and use tax is approved by voters under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • September 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Deems Trump's Use Of Wartime Removal Law Illegal

    A split Fifth Circuit panel ruled that President Donald Trump's March proclamation invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members likely ran afoul of the wartime law and blocked removals in the Northern District of Texas.

  • September 02, 2025

    Fed Gov. Cook Doubles Down On Removal TRO Bid

    Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lisa Cook on Tuesday doubled down in her bid to have a D.C. federal court block President Donald Trump's attempt to strip her of her position, saying the federal government was trying to expand the limits of a "for cause" removal.

  • September 02, 2025

    DC Circ. Refuses To Block Fired FTC Dem's Reinstatement

    A split D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday refused to stay a lower court's order reinstating a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, finding that the government has "no likelihood of success" fighting her reinstatement because President Donald Trump broke the law when he fired her without cause.

  • September 02, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    For appellate attorneys feeling sad summer's over, September's circuit calendars are here to help with argument topics — including the former Meghan Markle, an ex-Jones Day lawyer's religious liberty suit and $17 million in fees after "a vigorous litigation battle" between BigLaw firms — offering enough intrigue to vanquish any autumn ennui.

  • September 02, 2025

    5th Circ. Judge Says Reimbursement Drop 'Not Chicken Feed'

    A U.S. Circuit judge pushed the government to explain the policy rationale behind lowering how much hospitals can recoup in Medicare reimbursements for treating low-income patients who use state-specific programs, saying Tuesday the rule was seemingly aimed at "screwing these hospitals out of reimbursements."

  • September 02, 2025

    DC Circ. Says EPA Can Freeze Climate Grant Funds

    A D.C. Circuit panel vacated an injunction on Tuesday ordering Citibank to relinquish grant funding frozen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, finding green groups are not likely to succeed on the merits of their "essentially contractual" claims.

  • September 02, 2025

    GAO Report Says FEMA Funding Should Go Directly To Tribes

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Tuesday urged Congress to provide direct Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to Native American tribes hit by tornadoes, reporting that 17 states in a recent 10-year period did not distribute any FEMA awards to tribes.

  • September 02, 2025

    Speculation Can't Halt Medical Coatings Merger, GTCR Says

    GTCR BC Holdings LLC should be allowed to merge the nation's leading medical coatings supplier with the second leading provider because federal regulators spent two weeks simply relying on speculation and theory to prove its losing antitrust case, the private equity subsidiary argued.

  • September 02, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Told PTAB Ineligibility Rule Flouts Due Process

    Marketing software company HighLevel Inc. has urged the Federal Circuit to prohibit the Patent Trial and Appeal Board from retroactively applying a decision barring patent reviews after a district court has found the patent invalid on eligibility grounds, saying the practice violates due process.

Expert Analysis

  • A Simple Way Courts Can Help Attys Avoid AI Hallucinations

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    As attorneys increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence for legal research, courts should consider expanding online quality control programs to flag potential hallucinations — permitting counsel to correct mistakes and sparing judges the burden of imposing sanctions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl and Connors.

  • Strategies For ICE Agent Misconduct Suits In The 11th Circ.

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    Attorneys have numerous pathways to pursue misconduct claims against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Eleventh Circuit, and they need not wait for the court to correct its misinterpretation of a Federal Tort Claims Act exception, says Lauren Bonds at the National Police Accountability Project.

  • Opinion

    SEC Should Restore Its 2020 Proxy Adviser Rule

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    Due to concerns over proxy advisers' accuracy, reliability and transparency, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should reinstate its 2020 rule designed to suppress the influence that they wield in shareholder voting, says Kyle Isakower at the American Council for Capital Formation.

  • DOJ Consumer Branch's End Leaves FDA Litigation Questions

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    With the dissolution of the U.S. Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Branch set to occur by Sept. 30, companies must carefully monitor how responsibility is reallocated for civil and criminal enforcement cases related to products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Surveying The Changing Overdraft Fee Landscape

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    Despite recent federal moves that undermine consumer overdraft fee protections, last year’s increase in fee charges suggests banks will face continued scrutiny via litigation and state regulation, says Amanda Kurzendoerfer at Bates White.

  • Handling Sanctions Risk Cartel Control Brings To Mexico Port

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    Companies operating in or trading with Mexico should take steps to mitigate heightened exposure triggered by routine port transactions following the U.S. Treasury’s recent unequivocal statement that a foreign terrorist organization controls the port of Manzanillo, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

  • The Road Ahead For Digital Assets Looks Promising

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    With new legislation expected to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology, and with regulators taking a markedly more permissive approach to digital assets, the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized finance is closer than ever, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Asbestos Trusts And Tort Litigation Are Still Not Aligned

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    A recent ruling by a New York state court in James Petro v. Aerco International highlights the inefficiencies that still exist in asbestos litigation — especially regarding the continued lack of coordination between the asbestos tort system and the well-funded asbestos trust compensation system, says Peter Kelso at Roux.

  • Opinion

    Closing The Chemical Safety Board Is A Mistake

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    The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which investigates the root causes of major chemical incidents, provides an essential component of worker and community safety and should not be defunded, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Evolving Legal Landscape For THC-Infused Beverages

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    A recent Eighth Circuit ruling, holding that states may restrict the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products without violating federal law, combined with ongoing regulatory uncertainty at both the federal and state levels, could alter the trajectory of the THC-infused beverage market, say attorneys at Pashman Stein.

  • New NY Residential Real Estate Rules May Be Overbroad

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    New legislation imposing a 90-day-waiting period and tax deduction restrictions on certain New York real estate investors may have broad effects and unintended consequences, creating impediments for a wide range of corporate and other transactions, says Libin Zhang at Fried Frank.

  • Cos. Must Tailor Due Diligence As Trafficking Risks Increase

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    As legislators, prosecutors and plaintiffs attorneys increasingly focus on labor and sex trafficking throughout the U.S., companies must tailor their due diligence strategies to protect against forced labor trafficking risks in their supply chains, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Series

    Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

  • Opinion

    PFAS Reg Reversal Defies Water Statute, Increasing Risks

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent moves delaying the deadlines to comply with PFAS drinking water limits, and rolling back other chemical regulations, violate the Safe Drinking Water Act, and increase the likelihood that these toxins could become permanent fixtures of the water supply, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • New Federal Worker Religious Protections Test All Employers

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    A recent Trump administration memorandum expanding federal employees' religious protections raises tough questions for all employers and signals a larger trend toward significantly expanding religious rights in the workplace, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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