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Public Policy

  • August 13, 2025

    USPTO Caps Briefs At 20 Pages For Discretionary Reviews

    Patent owners and challengers will be limited to 20-page briefs when arguing over whether a Patent Trial and Appeal Board petition should be discretionarily denied, board leaders announced Wednesday in a webinar.

  • August 13, 2025

    Judge Blocks Trump Restrictions For $12B In Federal Grants

    A Washington federal judge temporarily blocked restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, such as an anti-gender ideology restriction, on access to more than $12 billion worth of federal grants, ruling in part that the federal government exceeded its authority.

  • August 13, 2025

    FCC Pushes Back Prison Call Fee Reports After Rule Delay

    The Federal Communications Commission is giving prison phone companies more time to file annual reports and certifications, saying that the companies would not have otherwise had "sufficient time for a fulsome response."

  • August 13, 2025

    Pa. Judge Ends Employers' Expanded Birth Control Exemptions

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday struck down rules set by the first Trump administration enabling employers to refuse coverage of employees' contraceptives on moral and religious grounds, holding that the government failed to provide a good reason for the broadening of exemptions.

  • August 13, 2025

    High Court May Take Up Ban On Under-21 Handgun Purchases

    The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to decide whether Congress is violating the Constitution by banning the sale of handguns to people under 21 years old, and it has given the government extra time to give its thoughts on what the justices should do.

  • August 13, 2025

    Media Matters Judge 'Troubled' By FTC Subpoena Args

    A D.C. federal judge reacted with incredulity Wednesday to Federal Trade Commission arguments that Media Matters can't challenge a subpoena unless the agency itself sues to enforce it, adding during a hearing that the FTC can't ignore its current leadership's recent history of targeting progressives.

  • August 13, 2025

    Settlement Win Protects In-Home Care For 280,000 NYers

    The New York State Health Department has resolved a class action filed by a group of chronically ill Medicaid recipients who accused the state of violating their due process rights by failing to provide enough time to register their home care workers through a new system, attorneys said on Wednesday.

  • August 13, 2025

    Mich. Tribe Can't Get $1.5M In Legal Fees In Recognition Fight

    A D.C. federal court judge on Wednesday denied a Michigan tribe's bid to recoup $1.5 million in legal fees from the U.S. Department of the Interior over the tribe's challenge to a federal recognition status denial, saying the motion is untimely because a decision to remand the dispute is final.

  • August 13, 2025

    Cloud Services Co. Asks FCC To Grant Numbering Access

    OXIO Inc. is seeking to bring its cloud-based telecom services to the U.S. market, but needs the Federal Communications Commission to authorize the mobile numbers its customers would use.

  • August 13, 2025

    USPTO Officially Ends Expedited Exams For Design Patents

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will terminate a program that allowed for faster examinations of design patents, saying there had been a 560% increase in requests for expedited reviews as a result of fraudulent applications.

  • August 13, 2025

    2nd Circ. Asked To Review Bid To Bar NYC Congestion Pricing

    The Second Circuit should review a federal court's decision to grant the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority's bid to dismiss a pair of lawsuits alleging Manhattan's congestion pricing tolls are discriminatory and trample on motorists' right to travel, a New York county argued Tuesday.

  • August 13, 2025

    NJ US Atty Defends Status, Says She Is 'Validly Serving'

    Acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba has hit back against criminal defendants who claim her contentious appointment violates the U.S. Constitution, saying everything is above board and a "lengthy period of acting service is not unusual."

  • August 13, 2025

    Kellogg's Will Nix Artificial Cereal Dyes, Texas AG Says

    WK Kellogg Co. has agreed to stop using artificial food coloring in its cereals within the next couple of years, the Texas Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday.

  • August 13, 2025

    NY Civil Rights Advocates Want ICE Holding Space Shut Down

    New York City immigrant rights advocates are calling for the closure of what appears to be an unofficial detention center for noncitizens hosted in a federal building in Lower Manhattan following a federal court injunction Tuesday that ordered U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement to "meet baseline conditions" inside the facility.

  • August 13, 2025

    Convicted ComEd CEO Seeks Bond Pending 7th Circ. Appeal

    Former Commonwealth Edison and Exelon Utilities CEO Anne Pramaggiore has requested to stay out of jail while she appeals her criminal conviction and two-year prison sentence, saying her case was "far from ordinary" and that bond would keep her from serving a substantial portion of her sentence unnecessarily if the Seventh Circuit finds in her favor.

  • August 13, 2025

    US Threatens Retaliation For 'Global Carbon Tax' On Shipping

    The U.S. government has preemptively threatened to retaliate against countries that adopt a multilateral plan to shift the global shipping industry toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, claiming it's "a global carbon tax" that would disfavor liquefied natural gas and biofuels.

  • August 13, 2025

    DC Circ. Won't Halt Noncitizen Registration Rule For Appeal

    The D.C. Circuit denied a request by immigrant rights groups to halt a policy requiring noncitizens to register with the federal government or face prosecution, while denying the Trump administration's bid to dismiss the groups' appeal.

  • August 13, 2025

    Delaware Bill Seeks Separate Tax Rates For Property Types

    Delaware would authorize school districts to set different tax rates for residential and nonresidential property under a bill introduced in the state House for consideration in a special legislative session.

  • August 12, 2025

    Mich. Judge Says Racism Pervades Ethics Probe Into Bike Row

    A Michigan state judge facing allegations she escalated an interaction with a bike shop owner at a judicial conference and lied about the exchange urged a special master overseeing her case to dismiss the claims, while disciplinary counsel said the judge must be held accountable for her "abuse of authority."

  • August 12, 2025

    Loper Bright Neutered In 6th Circ., Tenn. Tells Supreme Court

    There is "growing confusion among the circuits" regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of judicial deference to regulators, as evidenced by a Sixth Circuit ruling that negates much of the high court's Loper Bright ruling, Tennessee told the justices in a new petition.

  • August 12, 2025

    DOE Used Secret Group To Undermine GHG Finding: Suit

    The Trump administration secretly got together a group of client skeptics to figure out how to misrepresent the data to "manufacture a basis" to knock out the "overwhelming scientific consensus" that greenhouse gases endanger people's health, two environmental groups say in a new lawsuit.

  • August 12, 2025

    Feds Appeal Expedited Removal Pause At DC Circ.

    The Trump administration has appealed a D.C. federal judge's order pausing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's ability to subject noncitizens who were paroled into the country to expedited removal proceedings. 

  • August 12, 2025

    Tribes, Enviros Want In On Chuckwalla Monument Fight

    Environmental groups and five Native American tribes are asking a Michigan federal court to intervene in a challenge by a miner and the BlueRibbon Coalition to the establishment of the Chuckwalla National Monument, saying it's unclear if the federal government still shares their interests in its protection.

  • August 12, 2025

    Justices Urged To Maintain Limits On Calif. Immigration Stops

    Immigration rights groups and individuals challenging recent federal immigration operations in Los Angeles urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to pause an order that temporarily prohibits the government from conducting indiscriminate immigration stops, saying the order bars only what is unlawful.

  • August 12, 2025

    Trump Wants To 'Strike Fear' With Troops In Calif., Judge Told

    A lawyer for California argued during a San Francisco bench trial Tuesday that President Donald Trump's military deployment in the state is unlawful and aims to "strike fear into the hearts" of residents, while a Justice Department lawyer said the soldiers stayed within legal boundaries by not carrying out law enforcement activities.

Expert Analysis

  • Business Court Bill Furthers Texas' Pro-Corporate Strategy

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    The Texas Legislature's recent bill to enhance corporate protections and expand access to the Texas Business Court by refining its jurisdictional standards is just the latest step in the state's playbook for becoming the new center of corporate America, say attorneys at Katten.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • FTC Staff Cuts Unlikely To Curb Antitrust Enforcement Agenda

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    While Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson's recent commitment to reducing agency staff may seem at odds with the Trump administration's commitment to antitrust enforcement, a closer analysis shows that such reductions have little chance of derailing the president's efforts, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Diversity, Equity, Indictment? Contractor Risks After Kousisis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Kousisis v. U.S. decision, holding that economic loss is not required to sustain wire fraud charges related to fraudulent inducement, may extend criminal liability to government contractors that make false diversity, equity and inclusion certifications, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • What To Expect As UK, US Gov'ts Develop Stablecoin Policies

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    While the U.K. and U.S. governments’ policies both suggest that fiat-backed stablecoins can improve efficiency and safety in payments systems, a perception that crypto-assets remain high risk means consumers are unlikely to use them in significant volume anytime soon, say lawyers at Cadwalader.

  • Series

    Texas Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    In the second quarter of 2025, the Texas Business Court's newly expanded jurisdiction set the stage for rising caseloads, while the state Legislature narrowed an exception to state bank control requirements and closed a cryptocurrency dividends payments loophole, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Lawsuit, Exec Orders Should Boost Small Modular Reactors

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    A lawsuit in Texas federal court and a set of new executive orders from the White House may finally push the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow for accelerated deployment of small modular reactors — a technology that could change the country's energy future, says Aleksey Shtivelman at Shutts & Bowen.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • Congress Crypto Movement Could Bring CFTC 'Clarity' At Last

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    The Clarity Act's arrival at the House floor during "Crypto Week" in Congress demonstrates enduring bipartisan support for legislation addressing digital assets and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's important role in a future regulatory structure, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What Employers Can Learn From Axed Mo. Sick Leave Law

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    Missouri's recent passage and brisk repeal of Proposition A, which would have created a paid sick time benefit for employees, serves as a case study for employers, highlighting the steps they can take to adapt as paid sick leave laws are increasingly debated across the country, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Preparing For Trump Pushback Against State Climate Laws

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    An April executive order from President Donald Trump mandated a report from the U.S. attorney general on countering so-called state overreach in climate policy, and while that report has yet to appear, companies can expect that it will likely call for using litigation, legislation and funding to actively reshape energy policy, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Practical Implications Of SEC's New Crypto Staking Guidance

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent staff guidance that protocol staking does not constitute securities offerings provides a workable compliance blueprint for crypto developers, validators and custodial platforms willing to keep staking strictly limited to protocol-driven rewards, say attorneys at Cahill.

  • Stablecoin Bills Present Opportunities, Challenges For Banks

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    Stablecoin legislation that Congress is expected to adopt in the coming weeks — the GENIUS and STABLE Acts — would create openings for banks to engage in digital asset activities, but it also creates a platform for certain tech-savvy nonbanks to directly compete, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

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