Resources

On November 13, 2025, the IRS published its annual cost of living adjustments for various retirement plan limits. These adjustments are consistent with the rate of increases in prior years, reflecting moderate inflation adjustments rather than sharp jumps.

Secretary Pete Hegseth announced details of sweeping reforms aimed at promoting competition, reducing bureaucracy, and accelerating the delivery of capabilities to warfighters at a speech at the National War College on November 7, 2025. The event gathered high level representatives from Congress, the Department of War, and of the traditional defense sector, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, RTX, alongside startups like Anduril, Anthropic, Amazon Web Services, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Palantir, and Shield AI. The reforms implemented President Trump’s April 9, 2025, Executive Order 14268 titled “Reforming Foreign Defense Sales to Improve Speed and Accountability.”

In today’s social media landscape, “dupe culture” is booming. Influencers and retailers frequently promote affordable alternatives to premium brands, using hashtags like #[company]dupe to attract attention. While this trend drives engagement, it also creates legal and brand-protection challenges for companies such as Lululemon.

On November 1, 2025, the White House issued a Fact Sheet announcing a one-year suspension of the “Affiliates Rule” effective November 10, 2025. The Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) will implement the one-year suspension as part of a broader set of bi-lateral concessions reached during the recent U.S.-China trade negotiations occurring prior to the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. Correspondingly, China announced a suspension of its current, and proposed, export control restrictions on rare earth elements and other critical minerals.

Can a public school discipline students for using pronouns that reflect a classmate’s sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity? According to the Sixth Circuit’s en banc decision issued November 6, 2025, the answer is no—not without violating the First Amendment.

On October 6, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Federal Circuit’s decision in Crocs, Inc. v. Double Diamond Distrib., Ltd., et al., leaving a circuit split regarding Lanham Act false advertising claims firmly in place. The Second, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits have held that the Lanham Act’s false advertising cause of action does not extend to statements concerning the intangible features of a product, like whether it is patented or proprietary. But the Fourth and Federal Circuits have held the opposite. Without guidance from the Supreme Court, companies face potential liability for advertising claims that will depend on the forum of the lawsuit.

Tax-exempt organizations are facing more scrutiny than ever. Federal and state regulators have signaled an intent to more aggressively investigate nonprofits, and compliance missteps that once drew a warning can now trigger audits, penalties—or even revocation of tax-exempt status.

Effective October 30, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security will publish an interim final rule that eliminates the automatic 540-day extension for employment authorization renewals filed after this date. The automatic extension will be reduced from 540 days to 0 days for all eligible categories. Consequently, individuals with renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025, will not be given an automatic extension of their work authorization if the EAD renewal application is still pending on the date the initial EAD expires.  

On October 17, 2025, the USPTO proposed new rules that would dramatically alter IPR strategy. The most impactful change to the status quo is a proposal to bar the PTAB from instituting an IPR if a parallel district court case is likely to reach a validity decision first. This “race to judgment” provision elevates procedural timing from a simple scheduling matter to a dispositive strategic factor.  

USCIS has issued new guidance clarifying how the $100,000 fee under the September 21, 2025, Presidential Proclamation applies to H-1B petitions.