Resources

On April 24, 2025, the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Hampshire and the District of Maryland issued separate orders blocking enforcement of all, or large portions of, the Dear Colleague Letter (“DCL”) issued by the Department of Education (“DOE”) on February 14, 2025. The DCL related to the viability of various “DEI” programs in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.  

On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Cunningham v Cornell University, addressing the pleading standard applicable to prohibited transaction claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. This is a procedural ruling steeped in technical principles of statutory construction and interpretation of civil litigation rules. The hurdle for participants to survive a motion to dismiss in a suit against plan fiduciaries just got easier, so it is more important than ever for plan sponsors to manage litigation risk by making themselves unattractive targets.

U.S. patent claims have a preamble, and, in most cases, the preamble is not limiting. Jepson-style patent claims, however, do typically have a limiting preamble. In Jepson-style claims, the preamble can be used to describe the “conventional or known” elements or steps, followed by a transition phrase such as “wherein the improvement comprises” and then an identification of the elements that “the applicant considers as the new or improved portion.” In other words, the preamble can first recite the prior art and then claim an improvement over the prior art.

In a historic move, President Trump has issued the first-ever Executive Order aimed at modernizing the U.S. foreign military sales system—streamlining approvals, expediting deals, and strengthening strategic alliances.

On March 21, 2025, FinCEN of the U.S. Department of Treasury issued a new interim final rule significantly limiting the scope of reporting required under the Corporate Transparency Act. Domestic reporting companies are exempt from reporting beneficial ownership information. Instead, reporting companies are limited to those entities previously defined as foreign reporting companies.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Final Rule restricting transfers of bulk sensitive personal data and U.S. government-related data has taken effect, implementing former President Biden’s Executive Order 14117 - Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern. The Final Rule aims to protect U.S. national security by restricting certain data transactions with covered persons or countries of concern, which currently include Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and China (including Hong Kong and Macau). U.S. businesses must work now to ensure compliance and avoid significant penalties for violations.

Sometimes an expected result is still newsworthy. On March 27, 2025, in Kircher v Boyne USA, Inc., the Michigan Supreme Court held that there is no independent cause of action for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing inherent in contracts.

As trade tensions rise, retaliatory tariffs are disrupting global supply chains—particularly in the automotive industry and other manufacturing sectors. These unexpected costs are sparking disputes over who should bear the financial burden under cross-border contracts. International arbitration is increasingly seen as the forum of choice for resolving these conflicts.

Arbitration agreements often seem straightforward—until they unexpectedly bind parties who never signed them. A recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s decision underscores the reach of arbitration clauses and the courts’ willingness to enforce them against third parties. This case highlights how third-party beneficiaries—and their insurers—can be required to arbitrate disputes, even though they were not signatories to the contract. The ruling is a good reminder for businesses, insurers, and legal practitioners to carefully consider the third-party implications of arbitration clauses when drafting, reviewing, and enforcing international commercial agreements.

On March 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Education to undertake all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education. For local school districts and charter schools, the order introduces a range of practical and strategic considerations.