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Public Policy

  • September 15, 2025

    Comcast Says Wash. State Tax Unfairly Targets Online Ads

    Washington state's new law imposing sales tax on certain advertising services violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act and the U.S. Constitution, Comcast said in a complaint obtained Monday by Law360.

  • September 15, 2025

    House Panel To Consider Retirement, Tribal Workforce Bills

    A House panel announced plans Monday to advance several workforce and retirement-related bills later this week, including legislation that would require new reporting from the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm on information-sharing agreements and a bill to exempt tribal governments from federal wage laws.

  • September 15, 2025

    Robinhood Seeks Legal Shield After Mass. AG Sues KalshiEX

    Days after Massachusetts' attorney general sued so-called prediction market operator KalshiEX, accusing it of running an unlicensed sports betting platform, Robinhood, which provides access to the Kalshi system on its own platform, urged a federal judge Monday to grant it protection from similar claims.

  • September 15, 2025

    Judge Says Key DOJ Ad Tech Expert Has Little Experience

    A Virginia federal judge signaled trouble ahead Monday for U.S. Department of Justice efforts to paint the sought breakup of Google's advertising placement technology business as technically feasible, asserting during a hearing that a key government witness appears to have little relevant experience to address the question.

  • September 15, 2025

    Feds Push For 10th Circ. Rehearing In Native Activist Case

    Prosecutors have asked the entire Tenth Circuit to reconsider whether a Native American activist could be convicted in federal court on a charge of simple assault in a case originally involving more serious charges, after a panel overturned the conviction by holding district courts lack jurisdiction over these lesser charges.

  • September 15, 2025

    Town Not Liable For HSA Payments, Conn. Justices Told

    Five retired Groton, Connecticut, police officers are not entitled to receive payments into their health savings accounts to offset their deductibles because that benefit is only available to active employees, the town told the Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday as it seeks to avoid a $36,000 judgment.

  • September 15, 2025

    Utilities Slam EPA's Lead Water Rule As Too Broad, Rushed

    Drinking water utilities have told the D.C. Circuit that the federal government's 2024 rule ordering the removal of lead service lines imposes unreasonably burdensome compliance requirements, and they urged the court to strike it down.

  • September 15, 2025

    Calif. Legislators OK Requiring Oversight Of Workplace AI

    The California Senate has approved a bill that would restrict how employers can use tools powered by artificial intelligence to make employment decisions, sending the legislation to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk despite opposition from business groups.

  • September 15, 2025

    Fears Mounting For Noncitizens Suing Over Ghana Removals

    Attorneys for noncitizens trying to prevent their removal to countries where immigration judges have ruled they may be tortured said Monday they have lost internet contact with their clients in Ghana, where the U.S. allegedly sent them en route to their home countries.

  • September 15, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's governor weighed in on a challenge to recently approved state legislation that bars damages or "equitable" relief for some controlling stockholder or going-private deals. Meanwhile, Moelis told the Delaware Supreme Court that the struck-down stockholder agreement that triggered that legislation was valid. Additionally, one of two newly funded magistrates' posts in the Chancery Court has been filled.

  • September 15, 2025

    RI Opens Applications For Adult-Use Cannabis Licenses

    Rhode Island cannabis regulators on Friday opened applications for new cannabis retail licenses, signaling a significant step in the expansion of the state's recreational marijuana market following the state's legalization of the drug for adult use more than three years ago.

  • September 15, 2025

    Virginia Tribe's Fed. Recognition Bill Reintroduced In Congress

    U.S. House Rep. Jen Kiggans has introduced legislation that would give federal recognition to Virginia's Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, saying the bill marks an important step in honoring its centurieslong history and ensuring access to the federal programs and services it deserves.

  • September 15, 2025

    Lifeline Providers Hope For Increased Federal Subsidy

    Providers of the federal Lifeline phone subsidy are pressing to raise the monthly reimbursement to $30 as part of changes potentially sought by a congressional working group on universal service.

  • September 15, 2025

    US, China Agree On TikTok Ownership Transfer, Bessent Says

    The U.S. and China established a commercial framework for a deal with video sharing giant TikTok to transfer ownership of the app to the U.S., just days before a deadline to sell the app or shut it down, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at a press conference in Madrid on Monday.

  • September 15, 2025

    Feds Urge 3rd Circ. To Restore NJ US Atty's Authority

    The federal government has urged the Third Circuit to reverse a district court ruling disqualifying acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from prosecuting two criminal cases in New Jersey after the clock allegedly ran out on her interim term, arguing that her appointment is valid and that the court erred in its interpretation of the statute.

  • September 15, 2025

    S. Korea Ditches Plan To Widen Gains Tax On Stock Transfers

    South Korea's government is abandoning plans to lower a threshold for its capital gains tax on stock transfers, which would have made more shareholders liable, after receiving negative feedback from markets, the country's finance ministry said Monday.

  • September 15, 2025

    USPTO Regional Director Joins Holland & Hart In Denver

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's former regional director in the Rocky Mountains has joined Holland & Hart LLP as of counsel, the firm announced Monday.

  • September 15, 2025

    EPA Backs Off Drinking Water Regs For 4 PFAS

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked the D.C. Circuit to vacate part of its rule setting drinking water standards for certain forever chemicals, saying it now believes that those shouldn't have been included in a Biden-era rule.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ford Battery Factory Challenge Reignited By Mich. Justices

    The Michigan Supreme Court has revived a challenge to Ford Motor Co.'s plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Calhoun County, vacating a lower appellate ruling that affirmed the case's dismissal in light of another state top court opinion over similar zoning authority issues.

  • September 15, 2025

    FCC Knocks Provider Off Anti-Robocall Database For Lying

    Yet another voice service provider has been blocked from U.S. networks after the Federal Communications Commission said that the company submitted false information to the agency's robocall mitigation database.

  • September 15, 2025

    NJ AG Names New Leader Of Public Integrity Office

    New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced Monday that he has appointed a longtime prosecutor with a track record of handling high-profile corruption cases to lead the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

  • September 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Ore. Water Rights Case Is Still Relevant

    The Ninth Circuit won't dismiss the Klamath Irrigation District's appeal over water releases from an Oregon lake as moot, saying a decision would provide relief by affecting how the scarce resource is allocated regardless of the federal government's new position on the application of the Endangered Species Act.

  • September 15, 2025

    Former Nuclear Commission GC Joins Morgan Lewis In DC

    The former general counsel of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, who spent nearly her entire career there in roles at the intersection of nuclear law and policy, has joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP's Washington, D.C., office, the firm said Monday.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ohio Says Browns' Stadium Suit Is Moot After Law Change

    The state of Ohio told a federal court a Cleveland Browns lawsuit accusing the city of thwarting its move to a suburb is now moot because the state has altered the law at the center of the debate and allocated $600 million from the state budget for its relocation.

  • September 15, 2025

    Ex-Epstein Prosecutor Maurene Comey Sues DOJ Over Firing

    Maurene Comey, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor who brought high-profile criminal cases against the likes of Jeffrey Epstein and Sean "Diddy" Combs, sued the Justice Department on Monday alleging her abrupt July firing came "solely or substantially" because she is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, a Trump critic.

Expert Analysis

  • DOJ Crypto Enforcement Is Shifting To Target Willfulness

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    Three pending criminal prosecutions could be an indication of how the U.S. Department of Justice's recent digital assets memo is shaping enforcement of the area, and show a growing focus on executives who knowingly allow their platforms to be used for criminal conduct involving sanctions offenses, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 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.

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