Public Policy

  • February 14, 2025

    Maine Judge Denies Challenge To Corporate Transparency Act

    A Maine federal judge upheld the Corporate Transparency Act, rejecting one of several challenges across federal courts claiming Congress lacked the power to require companies to disclose their real owners.

  • February 14, 2025

    FTC's Ferguson, PBMs Agree: Nix Leader Removal Safeguards

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson offered his own support for enabling the president to readily fire independent agency commissioners at the FTC and beyond, a day after pharmacy benefit managers cited the new U.S. Department of Justice policy in their own battle with the FTC.

  • February 14, 2025

    Texas Justices OK Indirect Facts In Some Defamation Suits

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said plaintiffs can survive summary judgment motions by presenting evidence that a defendant was the source of defamatory information even if they don't identify specific, verbatim statements made by that person.

  • February 14, 2025

    'Not For Sale': OpenAI Rebuffs Musk's $97.4B Takeover Bid

    The board of directors for OpenAI voted unanimously on Friday to reject a $97.4 billion offer from Elon Musk and a consortium of investors to buy the artificial intelligence platform, with the board chair saying in a statement, "OpenAI is not for sale."

  • February 14, 2025

    Ex-Fla. Rep's Associate Wants Sanctions For 'Sham' Lawsuit

    An associate of David Rivera has asked for sanctions against the former Florida congressman and his attorney, arguing that Rivera's suit accusing him of disclosing a confidential legal memorandum to law enforcement is "a complete sham" contrived to get discovery Rivera is not entitled to in the criminal proceeding in which he is accused of unlawfully lobbying on behalf of Venezuela.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Aims To End Limits On President's Power To Fire

    President Donald Trump has his sights set on taking down a 90-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects certain government officials from being fired, a U.S. Department of Justice letter confirms, and he plans to leverage his prior legal victories to deliver the precedent's death knell and expand presidential power.

  • February 14, 2025

    Ga. School District Must Face Bullying Claim At Trial

    A federal judge said that it will be up to a jury to decide whether a Georgia school district did enough to stop bullying that allegedly led to a teen's suicide, but ruled that school and district officials were off the hook for his mother's claims that they were negligent.

  • February 14, 2025

    At 'Fly In,' Carriers Stress Broadband Funding To Lawmakers

    Regional telecom carriers gathered on Capitol Hill to call for stable future funding to build high-speed communications networks and make sure rural areas have enough access to spectrum in the coming years.

  • February 14, 2025

    Old Permits Irrelevant To Pollution Controls, Texas Justices Say

    The Texas Supreme Court said that previous emissions permits have no bearing on the definition of the best available pollution control technology for new projects, weighing in on a Fifth Circuit dispute over a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Port Arthur, Texas.

  • February 14, 2025

    DC Judge Declines To Block New OPM Email System

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday declined to temporarily stop the Office of Personnel Management from using a new centralized messaging system that a putative class of federal employees claims is insecure.

  • February 14, 2025

    Texas Investigates DeepSeek For State Privacy Law Breach

    Texas announced an investigation into Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, saying the company has run afoul of state privacy laws and has seemingly stolen Texas citizens' data.

  • February 14, 2025

    Bill Opposing Artists' Radio Station Royalties Back In House

    The battle over whether local radio stations should pay royalties to performers whose songs they air is heating up.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Admin To Cut Thousands Of Federal Health Employees

    The Trump administration has started to cut thousands of federal healthcare employees, following through on its promises to shrink government and enact mass changes to agencies that oversee the health of millions of Americans.

  • February 14, 2025

    EPA Fires Hundreds Of Employees, Cuts Millions In Contracts

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday kept up the pace of cuts to staffing and spending, firing 388 probationary workers and canceling $60 million in contracts related to diversity, equity and inclusion and environmental justice programs.

  • February 14, 2025

    Minn. Compacts Will Give Tribes Access To Cannabis Market

    Proposed compacts would allow Minnesota's 11 federally recognized tribes to license up to five cannabis dispensaries each outside of their reservation lands, according to a draft of the agreement.

  • February 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Judge Grills Feds In Immigrant Detention Regs Case

    A Ninth Circuit judge pressed the federal government Friday on its stance that a Washington state law goes too far in setting health and safety benchmarks for a privately run immigration detention center, drawing an "apples-to-apples" comparison with similar rules for contractor-run psychiatric hospitals.

  • February 14, 2025

    New Delisting Rules Shorten Leash For Distressed Companies

    Distressed companies should take heed of new stock exchange rules that are likely to accelerate delistings for stocks that trade below minimum requirements, particularly targeting businesses that rely on reverse stock splits to inflate their share prices, attorneys say.

  • February 14, 2025

    Mich. Abortion Provider Rule Not Evidence-Based, Judge Told

    A professor of midwifery testified Friday that abortions can be safely performed by nondoctor clinicians, on the second day of a trial to determine if certain abortion regulations in Michigan have unconstitutionally limited access to the procedure.

  • February 14, 2025

    Justices Urged To Curb Feds' Ability To Prosecute Medical Pot

    A Maine man accused of running an illicit medical marijuana cultivator has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal arguing that congressional spending legislation bars federal prosecutors from bringing cases against state-compliant cannabis operations.

  • February 14, 2025

    EPA, Energy Dept. Rush To Fulfill Trump's Appliance Order

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy said they're acting to comply with President Donald Trump's order — delivered via social media post — that they should undo Biden-era appliance efficiency standards.

  • February 14, 2025

    'Cruel And Sadistic': Orgs Decry Cuts To Refugee Program

    With a one-two punch suspending refugee admissions and halting federal grants for nonprofits that have worked in tandem with the U.S. Department of State for decades, the Trump administration has effectively crippled the U.S. refugee program, according to groups providing resettlement services.

  • February 14, 2025

    FCC Could Pull Equipment OKs For New Dahua US Owner

    The Federal Communications Commission is threatening to pull authorizations for a Taiwanese network infrastructure company's U.S. subsidiary, saying the company appears to be selling video surveillance products that are restricted as part of the commission's "covered list" of equipment found to pose a national security risk.

  • February 14, 2025

    NTSB Probes Faulty Helicopter Data In DC Collision

    The National Transportation Safety Board said that the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in last month's deadly midair collision over the Potomac River may not have heard crucial instructions from air traffic controllers and may have been getting inaccurate readings from the cockpit's altimeters.

  • February 14, 2025

    House Dems Amplify ABA Decision On High Court Ethics

    Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee's courts panel urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to adopt a binding and enforceable code of ethics after the American Bar Association's policy-making body advocated for such.

  • February 14, 2025

    Insurer Can Proceed With Miami Retaliation Coverage Dispute

    A Florida federal court partially rejected on Friday a magistrate judge's dismissal recommendations in a dispute between the city of Miami and an insurer over coverage for underlying lawsuits that allege political retaliation, allowing the parties to litigate the insurer's potential duty to defend.

Expert Analysis

  • What Employers Should Know For Next Round Of H-1B Filings

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    With the fiscal year 2026 H-1B visa period opening soon, employers should brush up on the registration and filing procedures, as well as organize applicable data, to ensure they are ready for this dynamic, multistep process, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Contractors Can Do To Address Material Cost Increases

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    In light of the Trump administration's plans to increase tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, construction industry players should proactively employ legal strategies to mitigate the impacts that price increases and uncertainty may have on projects, says Brenda Radmacher at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • 5 Things For Private Employers To Do After Trump's DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's recent executive order pushing the private sector to narrow, and even end, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, employers should ensure DEI efforts align with their organization's mission and goals, are legally compliant, and are effectively communicated to stakeholders, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • What Calif. Bill Could Mean For Battery Energy Storage

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    A newly proposed bill in the California Legislature would place major restrictions on the development of battery energy storage system projects in the state — but with Gov. Gavin Newsom's strong support for clean energy technology, the legislation will likely face significant obstacles, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 3 Ways Trump Can Nix SEC's Climate Disclosure Rules

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    Given President Donald Trump's campaign statements and agency appointments, it's likely that his administration will try to annul the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, but his options for doing so present unique opportunities and challenges, with varying levels of permanence and impact, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Will 4th Time Be A Charm For NY's 21st Century Antitrust Act?

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    New York's recently introduced 21st Century Antitrust Act would change the landscape of antitrust enforcement in the state and probably result in a sharp increase in claims — but first, the bill needs to gain traction after three aborted attempts, says Tyler Ross at Shinder Cantor.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Foreign Trade Zones Can Help Cos. With Tariff Exposure

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    Companies navigating shifts in global trade — like the Trump administration’s newly levied tariffs on Chinese goods — should consider whether the U.S. Department of Commerce's poorly understood foreign trade zone program could help reduce their import costs, says James Grogan at FTI Consulting.

  • How FTC Consumer Protection May Fare Under Reg Freeze

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    Attorneys at Crowell & Moring consider how President Donald Trump's executive order directing agencies to freeze all pending rulemaking activity may frustrate any Federal Trade Commission efforts to change or eliminate rules that made it across the finish line before the inauguration.

  • Critical Steps For Navigating Intensified OFAC Enforcement

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    The largely overlooked SkyGeek settlement from the end of 2024 heralds the arrival of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's long anticipated enhanced enforcement posture and clearly demonstrates the sanctions-compliance benefits of immediately responding to blocked payments, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

  • Unpacking HHS' Proposal To Amend HIPAA Security Rule

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    While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposal to amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's security rule could face scrutiny under the Trump administration, it reflects a clear concern over health data security and could push entities to implement operational changes, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Expect Scrutiny Of Banks To Persist, Even Under Trump

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    Although the change in administrations brings some measure of uncertainty as to the nature of bank compliance oversight, if regulators in Washington, D.C., attempt to dilute the vigilance of federal superintendence, the states are waiting in the wings to fill the void, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Reg Waiver Eases Calif. Rebuilding, But Proceed With Care

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order suspending some environmental review and permitting requirements for the reconstruction of homes and businesses damaged by recent wildfires may streamline rebuilding efforts, but will require careful navigation of the evolving regulatory landscape, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

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