The First Circuit recently affirmed a Puerto Rico district court’s ruling dismissing a class action suit arising from a 2019 ransomware attack against a hospital in which 522,493 patients’ personally identifiable information (“PII”) and protected health information (“PHI”) was allegedly accessed by hackers, albeit in “encrypted” form. See Santos-Pagán v. Bayamon Medical Center, No. 24-2018,
June 2026
Supreme Court Decision in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission Empowers Political Parties, Calls Other Restrictions into Question
In a major decision today, the Supreme Court in NRSC v. FEC struck down longstanding limits on “coordinated party expenditures” that restricted the amounts political parties could spend in coordination with federal candidates. With this decision, national party committees and the federal accounts of state parties can now spend unlimited funds to support individual federal…
Rhode Island Enacts Genetic Privacy Law
In what continues to be a busy year for genetic privacy developments, Rhode Island has joined the growing number of states regulating direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) genetic testing with its recently enacted genetic privacy law, S 2203. With S 2203, Rhode Island is the fifth state to enact genetic privacy legislation this year, following Utah, South…
Federal Vehicle Safety at Midyear: Regulatory Relief, Legislative Momentum, and the Road to the Broader AV Deployment
Executive Summary
2026 has been a dynamic year so far for federal regulation of automotive safety. Federal regulators have demonstrated a sustained commitment to regulatory reform and innovation, while simultaneously advancing efforts to facilitate the deployment of autonomous vehicles. Congress has also renewed its focus on vehicle safety and automation as lawmakers consider legislation that…
Supreme Court Curtails ATS and TVPA Class Action Lawsuits
In Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that federal courts cannot create new causes of action under the Alien Tort Statute for violations of international law and that the Torture Victim Protection Act does not provide for aiding-and-abetting liability.…
What the Updated 1260H List Means for Biotechnology Procurement
On June 8, 2026, the Department of War (“DoW”) published its updated list of “Chinese military companies” operating in the United States (“1260H List”), as required by Section 1260H of the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”). The updated list includes, among other companies, WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. (“WuXi AppTec”), a China-based…
Trump Administration Releases Two Executive Orders on Quantum
On June 22, 2026, the White House released two Executive Orders (EOs) on quantum technologies: Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks (EO 14412) and Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation (EO 14413). Through the first EO, the White House seeks “to safeguard America’s most sensitive data, [U.S.] critical infrastructure, and the digital…
SBA’s Proposed Update to the 8(a) Business Development Program: A New Approach to Social Disadvantage
On June 11, 2026, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published a proposed rule that would fundamentally alter how individuals qualify as “socially disadvantaged” under the 8(a) Business Development Program (“8(a) BD Program” or “Program”). The comment period will be underway until July 13, 2026.
This five-page proposed rule states that it aims to align the…
Non-Statistical Evidence in No-Poach Antitrust Litigation Not Enough to Certify Class, Says Illinois Court
In In re Outpatient Medical Center Employee Antitrust Litigation, 2026 WL 1678954,the Northern District of Illinois recently refused to certify a proposed class of healthcare employees who alleged that their employers entered into a “no-poach agreement” that prohibited them from recruiting each other’s senior-level personnel and thereby suppressed compensation for all employees with similar qualifications. …
Five Eyes Cybersecurity Agencies Issue Statement Regarding AI-Related Shifts in Cybersecurity Risks, Urging Organizational Leaders to “Act Now”
On June 22, the leaders of the cybersecurity agencies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. issued a joint statement calling for an “urgent” focus on cyber resilience in anticipation of “frontier AI models . . . exceed[ing] current industry expectations” and “fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities” within a…