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Public Policy

  • August 25, 2025

    Trump Admin Agrees To Release Frozen Education Funds

    The Trump administration has agreed to release to a coalition of states the full balance of some $6.8 billion in congressionally appropriated educational program funding, the parties told a Rhode Island federal judge Monday, a little more than a month after the states challenged the funding freeze.

  • August 25, 2025

    Fla. ICE Official Warns Detention Center Closure Risks Safety

    The field office director for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Miami urged a Florida federal court to keep a temporary detention center in the Everglades in operation, saying in a motion to pause an injunction that closing the facility will endanger the community. 

  • August 25, 2025

    Fed. Court Can't Halt FDIC Enforcement Order, 5th Circ. Says

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. can move forward with in-house enforcement proceedings against a former bank CEO, the Fifth Circuit ruled Monday, finding that a Texas district court did not have jurisdiction to block the agency from issuing a final decision over the bank executive's constitutional claims.

  • August 25, 2025

    NC Justices Serve State 2 Blows In Bars' COVID Closure Suits

    The North Carolina Supreme Court served bars dual victories in lawsuits against the state Friday, finding that the businesses had colorable claims under the state's constitution that COVID-19 closures violated their fundamental rights, thus permitting the cases to unfold in state trial court.

  • August 25, 2025

    DOJ Antitrust Whistleblowers May Find Ally At The Post Office

    The U.S. Department of Justice's new whistleblower program brings the Antitrust Division in line with other programs across the DOJ and at other agencies, although it may have a particularly broad scope thanks to a unique partnership with the U.S. Postal Service.

  • August 25, 2025

    Washington Judge OKs Tenant Class Challenging Lease Terms

    A Washington federal judge certified a class of Washington tenants accusing a landlord for more than 700 U.S. residential properties of having lease provisions, such as service fees, that violate state law.

  • August 25, 2025

    Healthcare Co. Investors Sue Over Contractor's Alleged Fraud

    Healthcare facility management company Nutex Health Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it concealed that its third-party vendor HaloMD was engaged in a scheme to defraud insurance companies, and that the alleged fraud would impact Nutex's balance sheet and subsequently its share price.

  • August 25, 2025

    Trump Plans To Withdraw Federal Funding Over Cashless Bail

    President Donald Trump said Monday that he would suspend or terminate federal funds provided to any jurisdictions that have adopted cashless bail policies, calling the reforms a "failed experiment" that allow repeat criminals to "mock our justice system."

  • August 25, 2025

    Unions Urge 9th Circ. To Uphold Order Halting Bargaining EO

    The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions defended a lower court injunction halting several federal agencies from enforcing an executive order focused on eliminating labor contracts covering agencies that have "national security" aims, arguing the president's directive was retaliatory.

  • August 25, 2025

    Shipbuilder Fights Subpoena In Baltimore Bridge Collapse

    A South Korean shipbuilding giant said it has no ties to Pennsylvania and shouldn't be forced to appear for depositions in connection with a case brought by the Singaporean owner and manager of the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and triggered its collapse last year.

  • August 25, 2025

    Trump Fires Fed's Lisa Cook Over Mortgage Fraud Allegation

    President Donald Trump on Monday evening fired Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook over his administration's allegation that she committed mortgage fraud, thrusting the White House into uncharted territory in its campaign to exert control over the central bank. 

  • August 25, 2025

    Trump Expands Use Of National Guard Post-DC Deployment

    President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday directing federal officials to create new "specialized" units to enforce federal laws in D.C. and other cities nationwide, including a "quick reaction force" within the D.C. National Guard, as well as hire more prosecutors and take other measures, following his recent deployment of the National Guard in the district.

  • August 25, 2025

    Ticket Resellers Flag Case Challenging FTC's Bots Probe

    Ticket brokers accused by the Federal Trade Commission of bypassing Ticketmaster limits to buy and resell hundreds of thousands of concert tickets, including for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, have a previously pending case that seeks to block the agency's enforcement action.

  • August 25, 2025

    Stewart Overrules 3 PTAB Discretion Decisions On Dir. Review

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart freed WSOU Investments and Nutanix from challenges where the Patent Trial and Appeal Board had already instituted review, but then revived an inter partes review Nike had originally dodged.

  • August 25, 2025

    Wash. Judge Clears Feds In Navy Vet's VA Negligence Suit

    A Washington federal judge said Monday that the federal government is not liable for medical malpractice in a U.S. Navy veteran's case blaming a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs psychiatrist for her December 2011 psychotic episode that turned violent, finding the doctor made no missteps when treating her in the weeks before the incident.

  • August 25, 2025

    Texas Stock Exchange Wants In On Proxy Advisory Lawsuit

    The Texas Stock Exchange and Texas Association of Business have moved to intervene in two lawsuits that proxy advisory firms have filed against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over a state law restricting the firms, aiming to back up the law known as Senate Bill 2337.

  • August 25, 2025

    Pa. Worker Who Quit After Public Insults Can Get Benefits

    A Pennsylvania township supervisor's verbal abuse of an employee and her husband at an open meeting was harsh enough that the employee's resignation did not disqualify her from getting state unemployment benefits, a split Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court panel has ruled.

  • August 25, 2025

    Texas Wants To Back Trump In Calif. Vehicle Waiver Fight

    Texas has told a federal court that California shouldn't be allowed to adopt vehicle emissions standards that are stricter than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's because other states essentially have to go along with them even if they disagree.

  • August 25, 2025

    Fired CTA Worker Faced Bias Over Vax Refusal, Jury Told

    A former Chicago Transit Authority electrician was unlawfully fired from his job after he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine due to his Catholic faith, even if he also had medical and scientific concerns with the shot, an Illinois federal jury heard on Monday.

  • August 25, 2025

    Judge Presses Gov't On Aid Plan As Sept. 30 Deadline Looms

    Attorneys for foreign aid nonprofits called for the Trump administration to detail exactly how it plans to distribute aid funding under a D.C. federal judge's injunction Monday, saying the government had been dragging its feet to comply with the February order as a Sept. 30 fiscal year deadline looms.

  • August 25, 2025

    Kari Lake Ordered Deposed In Voice Of America Closure Row

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge flirted Monday with finding U.S. Agency for Global Media acting CEO Kari Lake in contempt of an order blocking what workers allege is the dismantling of broadcasting service Voice of America, but instead ordered her and other officials to sit for expedited depositions.

  • August 25, 2025

    More Than 1,200 Telcoms Booted From Phone Networks

    More than 1,200 voice service providers have been blocked from U.S. phone networks after "shirking" their obligations to use a database that tracks unwanted call traffic, the federal government said Monday.

  • August 25, 2025

    5th Circ. Nixes SEC's Biden-Era Short-Selling Rules

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday vacated a pair of Biden-era regulations aimed at bolstering transparency in the short-selling market, ruling that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had failed to consider the economic impact of adopting both rules at once.

  • August 25, 2025

    Economists Say FCC Copper Line Phaseout Needed

    Several outside economists told the Federal Communications Commission that its plan to phase out legacy copper telecommunications lines represents a rare chance to modernize FCC rules and should rank as a top priority.

  • August 25, 2025

    Mich. Judge Backs 125% Recovery In Tax Foreclosure Deal

    A Michigan federal judge has given the initial approval to a settlement between a proposed class of former property owners and two counties over allegations that the counties unlawfully kept surplus proceeds from the sales of their tax-foreclosed properties, a deal similar to one the same judge OK'd last week.

Expert Analysis

  • Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ

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    New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

  • FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • 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.

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