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Public Policy

  • 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.

  • August 06, 2025

    Local Gov'ts Oppose FCC's Fast-Track Rule Cut Process

    Local governments banded together Wednesday to oppose a new rulemaking procedure that lets the Federal Communications Commission more deftly slash telecom regulations that it views as outdated.

  • August 06, 2025

    USPTO To Require Advanced Multifactor Authentication

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Wednesday that, beginning in November, it will no longer accept email as an account verification method and will require other, more advanced authentication processes.

  • August 06, 2025

    Feds Give Amazon's Zoox Robotaxis Green Light

    Amazon's self-driving car unit, Zoox Inc., has received federal approval to deploy fleets of robotaxis, making the company the first to receive an exemption from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for U.S.-built autonomous vehicles under a newly expanded program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy

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    Recent funding approval in Texas pertaining to the use of ibogaine for the potential treatment of substance use disorders signals a growing openness to innovative addiction treatments, but also underscores the need for rigorous compliance with state and federal requirements and ethical research standards, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Unpacking DOJ's Suit Against Maryland Federal Bench

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    Political hoopla aside, the Trump administration’s suit naming the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges, which challenges a standing order that delays deportation upon the filing of a habeas petition, raises valid questions about both the validity of the order and the DOJ’s approach, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

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    A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Why SEC Abandoned Microcap Convertible Debt Crackdown

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently dismissed several cases targeting microcap convertible debt lenders, a significant disavowal of what was a controversial enforcement initiative under the Biden administration and a message that the new administration will focus on clear fraud, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Justices' Resentencing Ruling Fortifies First Step Act Tools

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Hewitt v. U.S. ruling clarifies that resentencing after vacatur must reflect the law in effect at the time of the new sentencing, ultimately strengthening the strategic tools available to defense attorneys under the First Step Act, says Benson Varghese at Varghese Summersett.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • A Rapidly Evolving Landscape For Noncompetes In Healthcare

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    A wave of new state laws regulating noncompete agreements in the healthcare sector, varying in scope, approach and enforceability, are shaped by several factors unique to the industry and are likely to distort the market, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • New PTAB Denial Processes Grow More And More Confusing

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    Guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's new workload management and discretionary denial processes has been murky and inconsistent, and has been further muddled by the acting director's seemingly contradictory decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Arguing The 8th Amendment For Reduction In FCA Penalties

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    While False Claims Act decisions lack consistency in how high the judgment-to-damages ratio in such cases can be before it becomes unconstitutional, defense counsel should cite the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause in pre-trial settlement negotiations, and seek penalty decreases in post-judgment motions and on appeal, says Scott Grubman at Chilivis Grubman.

  • GENIUS Act Creates 'Commodity' Uncertainty For Stablecoins

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    Half a century ago, Congress made trading in onion futures on commodity exchanges unlawful, and payment stablecoins could soon face a similarly unstable fate in the markets as the GENIUS Act heads to the president's desk for signature, says Peter Malyshev at Cadwalader.

  • EU Space Act Could Stifle US Commercial Operators

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    The EU Space Act, proposed last month, has the potential to raise global standards for safety and sustainability in space, but the U.S. and EU need to harmonize their regulatory approaches to avoid imposing regulatory burdens that undermine commercial innovation and agility, say Jessica Noble and Adriane Mandakunis at Aegis Space Law.

  • Cos. Face Convergence Of Anti-Terrorism Act, FCPA Risks

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    Recent moves by the U.S. Department of Justice to classify cartels and transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups, and to use a range of statutes including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to pursue these types of targets, mean that companies operating in certain jurisdictions are now subject to overlapping exposure, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Feds' Shift On Reputational Risk Raises Questions For Banks

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    While banking regulators' recent retreat from reputational risk narrows the scope of federal oversight in some respects, it also raises practical questions about consistency, reputational management and the evolving political landscape surrounding financial services, say attorneys at Smith Anderson.

  • Biotech Collaborations Can Ease Uncertainty Amid FDA Shift

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    As concerns persist that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's reduced headcount will impede developments at already-strapped biotech companies, licensing and partnership transactions can provide the necessary funding and pathways to advance innovative products, say attorneys at Troutman.

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