Regulatory Playbook

Trending Issues

FAA Releases Long-Awaited BVLOS Proposed Rule
08.15.2025

On August 5, 2025, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the release of the long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) rule, also known as Part 108. After years of drafting and delays, the proposed rule would create a standardized regulatory framework to enable commercial drone operators to fly beyond visual line of sight, removing the need to apply for individual waivers. It has the potential to unlock commercial drone operations at a large scale (and quickly), particularly drone delivery. Comments are due by October 6, 2025.

Navigating Tip and Overtime Deductions Under the OBBBA: What Employers Need to Know Now
08.13.2025

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) introduces significant federal tax relief for certain workers and may change how employers manage wages, tips, and overtime. Sections 70201 and 70202 of the OBBBA are particularly noteworthy, as they establish new above-the-line deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation. These provisions present both opportunities and compliance challenges, especially for employers in states like California where state wage standards exceed federal requirements.

The Trump Administration Accelerates AI and Data Center Development with Executive Order and DOE Site Selections
08.08.2025

A new executive order (EO) issued on July 23, 2025, and a parallel Department of Energy announcement, signal a coordinated federal effort to accelerate the siting and development of data centers and supporting infrastructure on public lands. Building on the DOE’s April 2025 Request for Information (RFI), soliciting industry feedback for developing AI infrastructure on DOE-managed lands, these actions lay the groundwork for a new wave of AI-driven data center growth and position federal lands as a strategic backbone for national AI infrastructure.

Legal and Tax Considerations in Home Service Business Roll-Ups: A Primer for Buyers and Sellers
08.07.2025

M&A activity in the home services sector—HVAC, plumbing, electrical, pest control, landscaping and other skilled trades—has surged in recent years. Private equity (PE) firms and fundless sponsors are pursuing roll-up strategies to consolidate fragmented markets, realize economies of scale and build regional or national platforms.

Delaware Supreme Court Erects a “Formidable Obstacle” to Proving Counterparty Aiding and Abetting Liability in Merger Transactions
08.07.2025

On June 17, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a nearly $200 million judgment against TC Energy (formerly TransCanada), which had been found liable for allegedly aiding and abetting fiduciary breaches by the former CEO and CFO of Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc. (Columbia) during merger negotiations. The Court’s decision affords significant protections against claims that buyers aided and abetted fiduciary breaches by those on the seller side by requiring that plaintiffs show the buyer’s actual knowledge of both the underlying seller-side breach and the wrongfulness of the buyer’s conduct.

Attorney General Bondi Issues Guidance to Recipients of Federal Funding “Regarding Unlawful Discrimination”
08.04.2025

On July 29, 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum for all federal agencies titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination.” The Guidance “clarifies the application of federal antidiscrimination laws to programs or initiatives that may involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI),” and “provides non-binding best practices to help entities avoid the risk of violations.” The Guidance is not premised on a change in antidiscrimination laws articulated by Congress, the Supreme Court, or even lower courts. Rather, the Guidance highlights certain practices that “the federal government has turned a blind eye toward or even encouraged,” but which the current administration deems illegal. The Guidance is specifically directed to “[e]ntities that receive federal financial assistance,” but it indicates the Administration’s policies around DEI more broadly. The Guidance states that it is interpreting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (both of which apply only to entities receiving federal financial assistance), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which applies to employers with more than 15 employees), and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (which applies to states).

“Everything Right Is Wrong Again”: Trump 2.0 Presages Overhaul of Federal Income Tax Rules for Digital Assets
08.04.2025

So, in the same manner that a marginal downtown nightlife scene has been reframed as the heart of modern music, let’s explore how the Cryptocurrency Report issued by the Trump administration in July 2025 envisions repositioning digital asset taxation. The Report provides a series of recommendations. It does not contain any legislative language. In many instances, it notes that guidance is needed without offering any recommendations as to the direction of such guidance.

OSHA Proposes Removing Application of General Duty Clause to Inherently Risky Professional Activities
08.01.2025

On July 1, 2025, OSHA proposed a rule titled, “Occupational Safety and Health Standards; Interpretation of the General Duty Clause: Limitation for Inherently Risky Professional Activities.” The proposed rule is intended “to exclude from enforcement known hazards that are inherent and inseparable from the core nature of a professional activity or performance.”

New International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion Raises Global Liability Stakes Around GHG Emissions and Climate Change amid U.S. Federal Regulatory Retreat
07.31.2025

On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a unanimous Advisory Opinion asserting the scope of states’ obligations under international law concerning the protection of the climate system. The Advisory Opinion is a long-awaited response to the U.N. General Assembly’s March 2023 request that ICJ advise regarding the obligations of U.N. member states to protect the climate and environment from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases for present and future generations and the legal consequences to member states whose acts or omissions have caused harm. Proceedings leading up to the Advisory Opinion garnered the highest level of participation in the history of the ICJ and its predecessor organization—with hearing statements by 96 different national governments and 11 international organizations.

Streamline, Simplify, Deregulate: The FCC Adopts “Direct Final Rule” Approach to Expedite Rule Deletions
07.31.2025

Earlier this year, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr initiated a sweeping initiative to review “every rule, regulation, or guidance document” that could be eliminated “for the purposes of alleviating unnecessary regulatory burdens.” At its July Open Meeting, the Commission voted 2-1 to adopt a Direct Final Rule framework to enable it to act expeditiously in the In re: Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding to repeal certain legacy regulations that have become “outdated, obsolete, unlawful, anticompetitive, or otherwise no longer in the public interest.” The principal feature of the Direct Final Rule approach is to permit the elimination of rules without the notice and comment procedures typically required under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The FCC’s lone Democrat, Commissioner Anna Gomez, dissented, expressing concern that the Direct Final Rule process circumvents essential transparency and due process safeguards, sidestepping a mechanism for public involvement.

Navigating New Waters: Getting Ahead of Extended Producer Responsibility Laws
07.28.2025

Companies across the United States are working diligently to understand their obligations and comply with packaging-related Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws recently enacted by several states, including California (SB54), Colorado (HB22-1355), Maine (LD1541), Maryland (SB901), Minnesota (HF3911), Oregon (SB582B) and Washington (SB 5284). Other states, including Connecticut (HB06225), Hawaii (HB750), Illinois (HB4064), Massachusetts (H.833), New Jersey (SB426), New York (S1460), Rhode Island (S0939) and Tennessee (SB573) have recently proposed EPR bills, though some have been vetoed.

DORA Now Fully in Effect: Financial Entities and Their Service Providers Reach Critical Milestone
07.28.2025

Since the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 came into effect on January 17, 2025, EU financial entities and providers of information and communications (ICT) services (ICT Providers) have shifted from compliance planning to active implementation of both internal and external measures in line with the new requirements introduced by DORA—by remediating contracts for ICT services, completing the financial entities’ registers of information detailing the contractual arrangements between the financial entity and its ICT Providers. However, the subcontracting requirements under DORA were significantly delayed, but the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/532 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the elements that a financial entity has to determine and assess when subcontracting ICT services supporting critical or important functions (Subcontracting RTS) have now been published and entered into force on July 22, 2025.

Judge Starr’s Ruling in Metals.com Case Raises Jurisdictional Questions About CFTC Authority
07.24.2025

In CFTC v. TMTE Inc. (Metals.com), Judge Brantley Starr of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion that casts doubt on whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) can assert antifraud jurisdiction over transactions involving gold and silver bullion under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). While the case involves alleged misconduct in the sale of precious metals to retirees, the court’s reasoning—if adopted more broadly—could implicate the scope of the CEA with respect to other non-agricultural products, including digital assets, interest rates, foreign exchange, energy products and energy attributes.

From Paychecks to Perks: Navigating New OBBBA Rules on Compensation
07.24.2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted on July 4, 2025, may have made headlines for its political theatre, but included in the OBBBA are changes that will significantly reshape the compensation and employee benefits landscape. While many of these changes only become effective in 2026, proactive employers should begin planning now to address these changes, communicating these changes to employees and modifying plan documents and pay practices to accommodate these changes. Failure to adequately address these changes could lead to missed tax savings for employers and hamper employers’ efforts to recruit and retain key talent.

CFTC Permits Listing of Perpetual Futures on BTC and ETH: A Regulatory Milestone for U.S. Crypto Derivatives
07.22.2025

Perpetual futures contracts—or “perps”—are a form of derivative that, unlike traditional futures, do not have an expiration date. They have become the dominant form of crypto derivatives trading globally, but until now, have largely been unavailable on regulated U.S. exchanges. On April 21, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a 30-day Request for Comment (RFC) seeking public input on the risks and characteristics of perpetual derivatives. The comment period closed on May 23, 2025. While the RFC generated a broad range of industry and academic responses, the CFTC has not yet issued any new rulemaking, interpretive guidance or staff advisory in response.

McGowan v. Comm’r Provides Cautionary Tale of Too Good to Be True Insurance Tax Scheme
07.21.2025

“Even if we could turn back, we’d probably never end up where we started.” Dr. Peter E. McGowan, a Toledo dentist, would surely like to turn back and reconsider the day in 2010 that he lunched at a Toledo-area country club with an insurance agent, his health insurance advisor, an accountant and two attorneys. The lunch launched the dentist into an alternative universe not dissimilar to the surreal landscape in which Aomame, the main character of 1Q84 (the popular Haruki Murakami novel), found herself after she descended an emergency staircase from an elevated highway. And while Aomame ultimately scaled the same stairway to find her way back, McGowan and his C corporation dental practice were left in a fractured reality, incurring collective taxes and penalties totaling over 89% of the income that he sought to shelter. Although the numbers involved in McGowan’s odyssey were relatively modest, the case provides a cautionary tale for those who might otherwise go down the rabbit hole.

Power Purchase and Interconnection Agreements for Data Centers
07.21.2025

Data centers—particularly those supporting generative artificial intelligence (AI)—are rapidly emerging as one of the most significant sources of electricity demand globally. In response, power procurement and grid access have become mission critical considerations for developers and tenants alike. As these facilities seek scalable, uninterrupted and cost-effective power, the negotiation of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and interconnection agreements plays a central role in determining both operational reliability and long-term economic viability. This article outlines key considerations for structuring these agreements, with a focus on how siting decisions, load characteristics and regulatory constraints shape risk allocation and commercial strategy.

Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers: A View from the UK and EU
07.21.2025

Since the 2024 UK general election, artificial intelligence (AI) has been a top priority on the government’s agenda. The King’s Speech in July 2024 signaled a cautious approach, focusing on AI regulation and safety, but by October, the government had made sweeping announcements of foreign investment in data centers at the UK’s International Investment Summit. The government has since introduced incremental policy developments addressing data center planning and expansion. This momentum continued into 2025, with the release of the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan (the Plan), published on January 13, 2025, detailing new initiatives and strategic direction.

New UK Corporate Offense of “Failure to Prevent Fraud” Under Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023: What Companies Need to Be Ready
07.17.2025

The long-awaited new corporate offense of Failure to Prevent Fraud (FTPF) under the UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) will come into force on September 1, 2025. The ECCTA was born out of lobbying efforts by the UK white collar community for over a decade to improve corporate accountability. The ECCTA extended corporate criminal liability for economic crimes so as to hold corporations liable where an offense is committed by a senior manager of the corporation. Previously, the law required that an offense was committed by the “directing mind and will” of a corporation.

Congress Passes GENIUS Act: Landmark Framework for Payment Stablecoins Will Reshape U.S. Digital Asset Regulation
07.17.2025

In a landmark development for the digital asset industry, on July 17, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), following prior Senate approval in June. As we described in our prior client alert, the GENIUS Act creates the first unified U.S. legal framework for payment stablecoins. Once signed by President Trump and fully implemented by regulators, it will provide long-awaited clarity for the market and significantly reshape the regulatory landscape for payment stablecoins in the United States.

Texas Cyber Command: New Authority for Statewide Cybersecurity Coordination
07.17.2025

On June 2, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 150 into law, establishing the Texas Cyber Command, a component institution of the University of Texas System focused on strengthening cybersecurity across Texas government. Rather than adding a new regulator, the law establishes a centralized authority to coordinate cyber operations, threat response and readiness across public-sector entities.

New Bill Seeks to Provide Uniform Gaming Regulation Under IGRA for Two Texas Tribes
07.17.2025

A new piece of federal legislation has been introduced to address a decades-old inconsistency in federal law relating to Tribal gaming regulations for two Tribes located in Texas. In 1987, Congress enacted the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act (Restoration Act), which restored the trust relationship between the two Tribes and the U.S. government, while reserving for the State of Texas the right to prohibit certain kinds of gaming activities within the Tribes’ reservations. A year later, Congress enacted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which expressly authorized Tribal gaming on Indian lands as a matter of federal law and allowed a limited role for states by requiring Tribal-state gaming compacts for certain gaming activities.

Real Estate Tokenization: Recent Developments in New Jersey and Dubai
07.16.2025

Real estate is traditionally an illiquid asset class that requires significant capital investments and involves time-consuming and expensive transaction processes reliant upon numerous intermediaries. New technologies, including blockchain platforms and smart contracts, will bring greater efficiencies and lower costs. Tokenization of real estate assets, or the process of converting traditional assets to a digital form, will be impactful because it will streamline transactions and lower the barriers to investment by enabling ownership interests to be divided across a wider pool of investors. Deloitte has predicted that the global-tokenized-real-estate market could grow from around $300 billion currently to as high as $4 trillion in 10 years.

Plasticizer PIP (3:1) Ban Is Still a Year Away, but Affected Companies Should Act Today
07.16.2025

As a plasticizer and flame retardant popularly used in numerous products, such as hydraulic fluids, lubricating oils, paints, industrial coatings, synthetic rubber and PVC, some companies may not even be aware that their products contain phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)). Pursuant to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s 40 C.F.R. § 751, promulgated as part of a final rule published in October 2024, articles containing PIP (3:1) will no longer be permitted in interstate commerce beginning October 31, 2026. Although that date is 15 months away, companies who use PIP (3:1) in their articles or manufacturing, or treat their articles with plasticizers, should be aware of this impending deadline and begin phasing out PIP (3:1) in both their finished products and supply chain.

Department of Energy Seeks Input for the 2026 Energy Critical Materials Assessment
07.11.2025

On June 25, 2025, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy released a Request for Information (RFI) to gather input for the 2026 Energy Critical Materials Assessment (CMA). The assessment will consider materials used in a broad range of technologies, including energy production, transmission and storage, as well as end-use applications in vehicles, buildings, industry, transportation and computing—such as semiconductors and electronics. Comments are due on July 25, 2025.

Executive Orders Aim to Boost Drones, eVTOLs, Counter-UAS and Supersonic Flight
07.10.2025

On June 6, the White House issued three executive orders (EOs) directing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take action to expand commercial drone (UAS) operations and strengthen counter-drone capabilities. The EOs also direct the FAA to establish an electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) integration pilot program focused on advanced air mobility, cargo transport and medical response, and to lift an over 50-year ban on civil supersonic flight over land.