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Public Policy
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July 16, 2025
With Discretionary Denials, PTAB Accepting Fewer Petitions
The rate of patent challenges accepted by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is still declining, with data for July showing a sharp decrease in the institution rate following major changes in board practice, according to data shared at a Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC webinar Wednesday.
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July 16, 2025
Maine Clinics Sue Over Medicaid Ban On Abortion Providers
A Maine family planning organization sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday over abortion-related Medicaid restrictions outlined in President Donald Trump's budget act, saying they violate constitutional equal protection rights.
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July 16, 2025
AI Tools Taking On Bigger Role In USPTO Patent Examination
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is expanding how artificial intelligence is used in patent examination, adding an image search tool that design patent examiners will soon be trained on to existing tools for utility patent examiners, officials said at a Wednesday event.
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July 16, 2025
Cornell Workers Urge 2nd Circ. Remand Suit Justices Revived
Cornell University workers urged the Second Circuit to remand their sweeping class action alleging retirement plan mismanagement to New York federal court, arguing that the lower court should decide whether to hold a jury trial on a claim that the U.S. Supreme Court revived in April.
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July 16, 2025
Family Of Philly Teacher Pushes City For Answers On Death
The family of Ellen Greenberg, a Philadelphia teacher whose 2011 death was ruled a suicide despite 20 stab wounds, is pressing city officials to honor a settlement in which they agreed to revisit her cause of death after a decade-long legal battle.
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July 16, 2025
Hawley Accuses AI Cos. Of Largest IP Theft In US History
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley condemned artificial intelligence developers accused of using pirating sites to obtain training material for their AI models, calling the claims part of "the largest intellectual property theft in American history" during a hearing Wednesday.
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July 16, 2025
Ga. Prosecutor Resigns Amid DUI Handling Feud With Judge
A Georgia prosecutor announced his resignation from a county solicitor's post Wednesday amid a public feud with a state court judge and dueling allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.
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July 16, 2025
Mass. Judges To Mull Dismissals Amid Defender Pay Standoff
Nearly two months after many court-appointed attorneys in Massachusetts stopped accepting new cases over what they say is poor pay, a solution still appears elusive, even as judges will soon start hearing motions to dismiss cases under an emergency order issued by a state high court justice.
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July 16, 2025
Dominion Exec Settles Defamation Suit With Election Denier
A former Dominion Voting Systems Inc. executive reached a settlement on Wednesday in Colorado federal court with a right-wing podcast and speaking tour that he said were spreading defamatory statements surrounding the 2020 election.
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July 16, 2025
Justice Kavanaugh Pauses 8th Circ.'s Voting Rights Ruling
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday administratively paused an Eighth Circuit decision to vacate two North Dakota tribes' challenge to two of the state's voting laws, pending the outcome of a forthcoming petition to the full high court.
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July 16, 2025
FCC Looks To Streamline Regs For Enviro Reviews
The Federal Communications Commission expects to move a plan forward in August that would overhaul its rules for scrutinizing telecom and broadband projects under the National Environmental Policy Act.
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July 16, 2025
House Panel Urged To Modernize Tax Rules For Digital Assets
Congress needs to create tax rules for digital assets such as cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens because the current regime is burdensome for businesses and pushing development out of the U.S., industry representatives told a House Ways and Means Committee subcommittee Wednesday.
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July 16, 2025
DOJ Tells 9th Circ. TPS Cancellation Delay Can't Stand
The U.S. Department of Justice maintained that the Ninth Circuit should vacate a California federal judge's order postponing its termination of temporary protected status for Venezuelans, based on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling curtailing nationwide injunctions.
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July 16, 2025
9th Circ. Tosses Atty-Farmer's Suit Over USDA Organic Label
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule allowing farm collectives in the U.S. and other countries to be certified as "organic" under one certificate and not inspected annually, tossing an attorney-turned-Oregon hazelnut farmer's suit alleging Turkish growers were defrauding the system.
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July 16, 2025
States Push To Keep Nationwide Block On Birthright Order
A coalition of states told a Massachusetts federal court Tuesday that nothing less than a nationwide injunction can provide complete relief in the states' case against President Donald Trump's executive order targeting birthright citizenship.
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July 16, 2025
Flowers Foods Pushes Justices To Take Up Arbitration Case
Flowers Foods pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to take up a case in which the Tenth Circuit decided to keep a distributor's overtime suit out of arbitration, urging the justices to cure a deep circuit split once and for all.
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July 16, 2025
Charter, Cox Ask FCC To Approve $34.5B Combination
Charter Communications and Cox Communications asked federal telecom regulators this week to approve their $34.5 billion megadeal to combine into a broadband, video and mobile services behemoth.
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July 16, 2025
FEMA Targeted In 20-State Suit Over Pre-Disaster Grant Cuts
A coalition of 20 states led by Washington and Massachusetts sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Boston federal court Wednesday, accusing the Trump administration of illegally cutting off billions of dollars in grants for proactive disaster mitigation projects across the country.
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July 16, 2025
US Fights NY's Bid To Move Climate Superfund Suit Upstate
The federal government is urging a Southern District of New York judge not to transfer its lawsuit challenging the state's climate change Superfund law to the Northern District, where it would join similar litigation filed by several Republican-led states.
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July 16, 2025
Booz Allen Hit With Retaliation, Wrongful Firing Suit
Booz Allen Hamilton has been sued for race discrimination and retaliation in Georgia federal court by the Black former chief technologist of its global converged resilience practice, who said he was discriminated against and then fired for raising concerns about fraudulent billing.
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July 16, 2025
DOJ Tells FCC Terminals Critical To Undersea Cable Security
The U.S. Department of Justice is calling for new Federal Communications Commission rules to better protect undersea cable systems from foreign adversaries, saying cable licensees should have to report information about nonlicensee entities that operate equipment on submarine cables landing in the U.S.
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July 16, 2025
Dems Ask FCC To Drop CBS Probe, Cite Fox 'Double Standard'
U.S. Senate Democrats are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to drop its probe into alleged news distortion at CBS, claiming there's a "double standard" based on a Fox News interview with President Donald Trump last year about the Jeffrey Epstein case.
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July 16, 2025
Judge Sets Execution Date In Shaken Baby Syndrome Case
A Texas judge on Wednesday granted the state's request to set an execution date for a man convicted of killing his daughter based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome despite his pending appeal before the state's highest criminal court.
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July 16, 2025
NC Rec Center Immune In Overheating Wrongful Death Suit
A North Carolina state appeals panel on Wednesday cleared a Scotland County recreational center in a suit alleging that its negligence led to the death from overheating of a basketball player, finding that the center is entitled to governmental immunity.
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July 16, 2025
Charity Care Is Not Unconstitutional Taking, NJ Justices Rule
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday held that a state requirement to treat patients regardless of the patient's ability to pay does not amount to unconstitutional per se or regulatory taking, backing a lower court's decision that dismissed a group of Garden State hospitals' challenge to the requirement.
Expert Analysis
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Capital One Deal Approval Lights Up Path For Bank M&A
The federal banking regulators' recent approval of Capital One's acquisition of Discover signals the agencies' willingness to approve large transactions and a more favorable environment generally for bank mergers under the Trump administration, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Bills' Defeat Means Brighter Outlook For Texas Renewables
The failure of a trio of bills from the recently concluded Texas legislative session that would have imposed new burdens on wind, solar and battery storage projects bodes well for a state with rapidly growing energy needs, say attorneys at Troutman.
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Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright
One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.
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Opinion
State Bars Must Probe Misconduct Claims, Even If It's The AG
The Florida Bar’s recent refusal to look into misconduct allegations against Attorney General Pam Bondi is dangerous for the rule of law, and other lawyer disciplinary bodies must be prepared to investigate credible claims of ethical lapses against any lawyer, no matter their position, say attorneys James Kobak and Albert Feuer.
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New FCPA Guidance Creates 5 Compliance Imperatives
In light of new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines that mark a fundamental shift in enforcement priorities, companies should consider several specific steps to ensure compliance, from enhanced due diligence to robust whistleblower protections, says Andrew Wirmani at Reese Marketos.
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How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders
In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.
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Series
Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.
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Employer Tips As Deepfakes Reshape Workplace Harassment
As the workplace harassment landscape faces the rising threat of fabricated media that hyperrealistically depict employees in sexual or malicious contexts, employers can stay ahead of the curve by tracking new legal obligations, and proactively updating policies, training and response protocols, say attorneys at Littler.
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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
In the second quarter of the year, New York utilized every available tool to fill gaps left by federal retrenchment from consumer finance issues, including sweeping updates to its consumer protection framework and notable amendments to cybersecurity rules, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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SEC Proposal Could Hurt Foreign Issuers' US Market Access
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s June call for feedback on potentially narrowing how it designates foreign private issuers of securities could ultimately result in significant new barriers for traders that rely on FPI accommodations to participate in U.S. markets, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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State, Fed Junk Fee Enforcement Shows No Signs Of Slowing
The Federal Trade Commission’s potent new rule targeting drip pricing, in addition to the growing patchwork of state consumer protection laws, suggest that enforcement and litigation targeting junk fees will likely continue to expand, says Etia Rottman Frand at Darrow AI.
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Federal Regs Order May Spell Harsher FDCA Enforcement
A recent executive order aimed at reducing criminal prosecutions of those who unknowingly violate complex federal regulations may actually lead to more aggressive felony indictments under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but companies and executives can mitigate risks by following several key principals, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
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DOJ's 1st M&A Declination Shows Value Of Self-Disclosures
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent decision not to charge private equity firm White Deer Management — the first such declination under an M&A safe harbor policy announced last year — signals that even in high-priority national security matters, the DOJ looks highly upon voluntary self-disclosures, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care
Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.
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New Laws Show How States Are Checking AI Developers
Recent state consumer protection legislation shows Utah, Colorado and Texas are primed to impose controls on artificial intelligence, and exemplifies the states' unwillingness to accord strong deference to developers and deployers of AI tools, say attorneys at Polsinelli.