Understanding the New DEI Executive Order: What's the Tea in L&E?
Texas adopted SB 13, its energy company “anti-boycott” statute, nearly five years ago, in 2021. This legislation was one of the earliest concrete shots across on the bow in the then-burgeoning anti-ESG movement....more
On January 20, 2026, the Texas Attorney General’s office issued a letter To All Bond Counsel (ABC Letter) prescribing a new certification requirement for Texas issuers. For all municipal bond transcripts submitted by issuers...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently issued a significant ruling in City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, et al. v. Christopher Wright, addressing constitutional constraints on executive agency conduct in...more
Following failed congressional attempts to limit state AI laws, on December 11, 2025, the President issued an Executive Order titled Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence. The Order represents...more
The City of Seattle recently succeeded in securing a partial injunction against the Trump Administration’s enforcement of two executive orders (EOs) under which the Administration threatened to withhold millions in federal...more
Key Takeaways - Many states have now enacted extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws, creating new and costly requirements for manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers based on the packaging of the products they...more
In Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District Board of Education, _ F.3d _ (6th Cir. 2025), the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an Ohio public school district’s prohibition against...more
In late October, ExxonMobil filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against state officials challenging the state’s new carbon emissions disclosure law (SB 253) and climate risk...more
In Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wis. Labor & Indus. Rev. Comm'n, 145 S.Ct. 1583 (2025), the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission determined that Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. and other charitable entities...more
On October 1, 2025, according to external reporting by The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Examiner, and others, the White House sent a letter inviting nine universities to enter into an accompanying nine-page Compact for...more
Since January 20, 2025, a number of grant recipients have filed lawsuits challenging the federal government's decisions to withhold funding and/or terminate grant agreements. In many cases, grantees have alleged that the...more
On August 6, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected a challenge to US Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Rule 202.5(e) (“Rule 202.5(e)” or the “Rule”) that sought to have the Rule declared...more
For more than five decades, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “no admit, no deny” (NAND) settlement policy has been a cornerstone of its enforcement program. Rule 202.5(e) of the SEC’s Rules of Practice permits...more
The First District Court of Appeal held that a local government may condition the issuance of a permit to build residential units on agricultural land on the developer’s willingness to record a restrictive covenant. ...more
Whether you are a residential rental property owner or a tenant, odds are at some point you are going to encounter a rental inspection ordinance. Following the housing market crash in 2008, rental inspection ordinances grew...more
The SEC’s longstanding practice of requiring settling parties not to deny the charges against them, denounced as the “gag rule” by critics, recently withstood another legal challenge. ...more
On July 30, 2025, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) filed a lawsuit1 challenging Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act. The Act created Oregon’s sweeping extended producer...more
Maryland’s attempt to stop businesses from telling customers about a controversial tax has hit a constitutional wall. On August 15, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the state’s “pass-through”...more
The United States Supreme Court’s April 12, 2024 decision in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado unanimously rejected longstanding California precedent. The Court’s decision further solidified that fees imposed as a condition of...more
Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), one of the first extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws implemented in the US, is facing its first challenge in court. The outcome of the suit could have...more
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (“NAWD”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) on July 30th in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon against the Oregon...more
Several Colorado municipalities have sued the state challenging the constitutionality of landmark zoning reforms enacted in 2024. The lawsuit specifically concerns two new laws passed by the legislature and one executive...more
Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (and this Insights Blog). We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,...more
The US District Court for the Eastern District of California on May 2, 2025 granted summary judgment in favor of the California Chamber of Commerce, holding that Proposition 65 warning requirements for acrylamide in food...more
In a recent decision, a New Jersey court reaffirmed the Judiciary Branch’s exclusive constitutional authority to regulate the practice of law within the state. The case involved a challenge to the “limited attorney exemption”...more