Public Policy

  • March 10, 2025

    Michigan Told To Take A Stance On Clinic's Gender Policies

    A federal judge said Monday that Michigan can't stay mum on whether a religious medical clinic's pronoun, gender transition and faith-based hiring policies violate state law, as the clinic sues to block the law's enforcement.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOT Pulls Biden Enviro Justice Highway Funding Policy

    The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday rescinded Biden-era memorandums that advised state and local agencies receiving funds from 2021's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prioritize highway, road, bridge and other projects that promoted social justice or climate resiliency goals.

  • March 10, 2025

    Judge May Pause Trump Admin's Cuts To Teacher Training

    A Massachusetts federal judge hinted Monday it would be reasonable to order the U.S. Department of Education to temporarily reinstate $250 million in teacher-training grants targeted for cuts by the Trump administration over their ties to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

  • March 10, 2025

    Judge Tosses Challenge To Chicago Tenant Law

    An Illinois federal judge dismissed a Chicago apartment building owner's suit over a local ordinance that requires the owners of foreclosed rental properties to pay qualifying tenants with a one-time relocation fee or offer them a new lease.

  • March 10, 2025

    Senate Confirms Trump's Labor Secretary Pick

    The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee for labor secretary Monday evening, with support from more than a dozen Democrats and opposition from some members of the nominee's own party.

  • March 10, 2025

    AFL-CIO, Unions Defend Fight Against DOGE Access

    The AFL-CIO and a group of unions sought to keep alive their claims that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency can't legally access data from the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies, telling a D.C. federal judge they have standing to file their suit.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOJ Defends Musk's Influence Against States' Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Justice is defending Elon Musk's influence in the federal government against a constitutional challenge brought by 14 states, telling D.C. federal court that the "special government employee" does not occupy an official office that would be subject to the Constitution's appointments clause.

  • March 10, 2025

    GOP Sens. Escalate Fight With ABA Over 'Leftist' Statements

    A group of Senate Republicans are once again going after the American Bar Association, which they claim has become a "leftist" organization, and announced Monday they will disregard ABA ratings on judicial nominees and encouraged the Trump administration and their colleagues to do the same.

  • March 10, 2025

    Ga. Judge Rejects 'Futile' Bid To Amend Utility Commish Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has refused to revive a lawsuit that challenged the legality of how the state elects members of its utility commission, calling residents' bid to amend the suit — after an initial win was nixed by the Eleventh Circuit — "unduly delayed, inherently prejudicial, and futile."

  • March 10, 2025

    Trump Asks For Stay Of NLRB Member's Reinstatement

    The Trump administration asked the D.C. Circuit on Monday to stay a federal judge's order reinstating fired National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox, saying the order steps on the president's authority to control the workings of the executive branch.

  • March 10, 2025

    Ariz. Power Co. Asks Justices To Review Tax On Tribal Plant

    An energy company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review Arizona court decisions that said a power plant it owns on tribal land is subject to property taxes, arguing that privately owned improvements located on Native American reservations are exempt from state and local taxes.

  • March 10, 2025

    Tribal Casino Says Sovereign Immunity Sinks 401(k) Fee Suit

    A tribal hospitality and casino company said it shouldn't face a proposed class action alleging its 401(k) plan was bogged down by exorbitant costs and underperforming investment options, telling a New York federal court it's immune from the case as an arm of the Oneida Indian Nation.

  • March 10, 2025

    Feds Sue FDIC For $1.9M For First Republic Tax Bill

    The U.S. government sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in D.C. federal court as receiver for the failed First Republic Bank, alleging the bank understated its withholding tax for U.S.-sourced income of foreigners and now owes almost $2 million to the federal government.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOJ Accuses Live Nation Of 'Delay Tactics' In Antitrust Suit

    U.S. Department of Justice officials have urged a New York federal judge to issue an order compelling Live Nation Entertainment Inc. to produce documents held by several executives, accusing the company of using "delay tactics" in the lawsuit alleging anticompetitive behavior since merging with Ticketmaster Entertainment LLC in 2010.

  • March 10, 2025

    Treasury's CTA Halt Doesn't Justify Block, Feds Tell 5th Circ.

    The U.S. Treasury Department halting enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act on domestic entities doesn't add justification to a nationwide block on the law because it's a valid exercise of Congress' powers to regulate commerce, taxes, foreign affairs and national security, the U.S. government told the Fifth Circuit.

  • March 10, 2025

    Trump Says Refugee Groups Can't Challenge Axed Contracts

    The Trump administration urged a Washington federal judge to reject resettlement agencies' challenge to its termination of all cooperative agreements with resettlement agencies, saying the federal government has the legal authority to do so without notice if its priorities change.

  • March 10, 2025

    National Lawyers Guild Slams Trump's Perkins Coie Order

    The Seattle Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild denounced President Donald Trump's recent executive order revoking Perkins Coie LLP's security clearances, saying on Monday the decision "exemplifies his complete disregard for the rule of law and his contempt for core American democratic values."

  • March 10, 2025

    Public Interest Groups Seek Revamped FCC Subsidy

    Advocates for federal broadband aid urged the Federal Communications Commission to support a revamp of the universal service program to make it work like the now-defunct Affordable Connectivity Program's subsidy for low-income families.

  • March 10, 2025

    11th Circ. Affirms FCC Ownership Ruling, But Scraps Penalty

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld a Federal Communications Commission finding that Gray Television broke ownership consolidation rules when it bought a CBS affiliate in Anchorage, Alaska, but vacated a $518,283 penalty against the broadcast company, saying the agency failed to serve Gray proper notice on an "egregiousness" finding.

  • March 10, 2025

    Colo. Proposal Seeks Taxpayer Votes On New State Fees

    Colorado voters could decide whether to require future votes to approve new state fees and other charges to fund major state enterprises under a pair of proposed initiatives with titles approved by a state board.

  • March 10, 2025

    Trump Tells 9th Circ. To Undo Birthright Citizenship Injunction

    President Donald Trump urged the Ninth Circuit to undo a Washington federal court's injunction on his executive order limiting birthright citizenship, saying children born to noncitizens in the United States do not fall within the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause.

  • March 10, 2025

    Troops Renew Bid To Block Trans Military Ban Post Guidance

    Transgender service members filed a renewed bid to halt President Donald Trump's executive order barring those with gender dysphoria from serving in the military, after the U.S. Department of Defense issued new guidance the troops say effectively ends the ability for transgender people to serve.

  • March 10, 2025

    SEC Leaves Meme Coin Fraud For Other Cops To Chase

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff's decision to say that so-called meme coins are beyond the agency's purview is a welcome change from past practices, experts say, but the devil is in the details when it comes to policing fraud and helping consumers recover when projects go bust.

  • March 10, 2025

    NC Bill Allocates $80M To Move Helene-Damaged Courthouse

    A state legislative proposal that would allocate $80 million in the form of a one-time grant for the relocation of a historic North Carolina county courthouse rendered unusable by Hurricane Helene cleared its first hurdle Monday.

  • March 10, 2025

    Iowa Opposes Vapers' Bid To Block E-Cig Regulation

    The state of Iowa on Monday urged a federal court to deny a motion from a group of vape interests seeking to block enforcement of a newly enacted law prohibiting the sale of e-cigarette products that lack federal authorization.

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From CFTC's Private Fund Rule Amendments

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recently adopted amendments to Rule 4.7 of the Commodity Exchange Act ensure that investors in the complex derivatives markets receive relevant and comprehensive information, and further align suitability criteria for investors in private funds, says Rita Molesworth at Willkie.

  • National Bank Act Rulings Facilitate More Preemption Analysis

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    Two recent National Bank Act preemption decisions from an Illinois federal court and the Ninth Circuit provide the first applications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May ruling in Cantero v. Bank of America, opening the potential for several circuit courts to address the issue this year, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

  • Emphasize Social Spaces During RE Project Public Review

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    As Boston continues to work through revisions to its public review process for real estate projects, developers attempting to balance impact mitigation and community improvements may benefit from emphasizing the ways in which development plans can facilitate open social exchange, says David Linhart at Goulston & Storrs.

  • What NHTSA's Autonomous Vehicle Proposal Means For Cos.

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    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently proposed framework for review and oversight of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems offers companies a more flexible, streamlined approach to regulatory approvals for AVs, including new exemption pathways, assessments by independent experts and other innovations, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Preparing For Stricter Anti-Boycott Enforcement Under Trump

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    Given the complexity of U.S. anti-boycott regulations and the likelihood of stepped-up enforcement under the new administration, companies should consider adopting risk-based anti-boycott compliance programs that include training employees to recognize and assess potential boycott requests, and to report them expeditiously when necessary, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Opinion

    New DOJ Leaders Should Curb Ill-Conceived Prosecutions

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    First-of-their-kind cases have seemingly led to a string of overly aggressive prosecutions in recent years, so newly sworn-in leaders of the U.S. Department of Justice should consider creating reporting channels to stop unwise prosecutions before they snowball, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Tips For Pharma-Biotech Overlap Reporting In New HSR Form

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    While there’s no secret recipe for reporting overlaps to the Federal Trade Commission in the new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act form, there are several layers of considerations for all pharma-biotech companies and counsel to reflect on internally before reporting on any deal, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

  • A Look At Drug Price Negotiation Program's Ongoing Impact

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    More than two years after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid implementation of the drug price negotiation program, attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the IRA has influenced licensing strategies, and how maximum fair prices under the law have economically affected certain drugs.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Consider Accurate Data About Patent Thickets

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    If Congress revisits a controversial bill this year aimed at limiting the number of patents pharmaceutical manufacturers could assert, it must make sure to act based on accurate reports — such as a recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office study that found no evidence of patent thicketing, says David Kappos at the Council for Innovation Promotion.

  • Aviation Watch: Litigation Liabilities After DC Air Tragedy

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    While it will likely take at least a year before the National Transportation Safety Board determines a probable cause for the Jan. 29 collision between a helicopter and a jet over Washington, D.C., the facts so far suggest the government could face litigation claims, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • 5 Key Takeaways From Energy Secretary's Confirmation

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    The recent confirmation hearing for U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright highlighted several important themes, including his vision for transforming the DOE, his nuanced stance on renewables, and a renewed emphasis on energy abundance and affordability, says Connor McCulloch at Ankura Consulting Group.

  • What Day 1 Bondi Memos Mean For Corporate Compliance

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    After Attorney General Pam Bondi’s flurry of memos last week declaring new enforcement priorities on issues ranging from foreign bribery to diversity initiatives, companies must base their compliance programs on an understanding of their own core values and principles, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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