Alerts

It’s hard not to experience whiplash with export controls recently. A little over a month ago, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the new Affiliates Rule, which took effect immediately on September 29.

Last week’s jury convictions of Safe Chain Solutions’ co-owners in United States v. Brosius, No. 1:24-cr-20255 (S.D. Fla.) coupled with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) enforcement make one conclusion unavoidable: The DSCSA is both a regulatory mandate and a criminal risk boundary.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

On October 29, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective October 30, timely filed Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extensions will no longer be automatically extended 540 days while the EAD extension application is pending.

Prop 65 Counsel: What To Know

Join AFS Life Sciences Partner Stephanie Trunk and Darshan Kulkarni, Life Sciences regulatory and compliance attorney, to unpack the recent acceleration of mergers and acquisitions across the life sciences sector.

The plaintiff National Recovery Agency Group, LLC (NRA) is a debt-collection firm that maintains large volumes of personally identifiable information (PII) of individual debtors.

On October 22, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upheld the Appellate Division’s decision that employee retention bonuses are “outside the ambit of the Wage Act.”

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

On October 21, the DC Council voted 9-4 to exempt most two-to-four-unit properties owned by individual landlords who do not own more than two housing properties in DC from the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) under the revised RENTAL Act.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 53, “The Transparency in Frontier Intelligence Act” (TFAIA), establishing new AI safety and transparency obligations for certain AI developers.

On October 11, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 513, expanding employee rights under Labor Code § 1198.5 to inspect and obtain their personnel records.

On September 19, President Trump signed a proclamation imposing an additional $100,000 fee on the entry of certain H-1B employees into the United States, effective September 21.

On October 13, California took a significant step toward consumer transparency with the enactment of SB 68, the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act. This legislation makes California the first state to mandate large restaurant chains to disclose major food allergens on their menus. The law is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

The US Supreme Court has declined to review the Fifth Circuit’s decision in St. James Parish v. Inclusive Louisiana, leaving intact a unanimous ruling that environmental justice (EJ) organizations have standing to pursue a civil rights challenge to St. James Parish’s land-use practices in Louisiana’s industrial corridor.

Rather than waiting for the “ultra-processed food” (UPF) definition promised by the federal government’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, the California legislature has forged ahead to produce its own definition and to apply it to the state’s school meals program.

Whether by pleading or contractual provisions, New York practitioners face the risk of surrendering a client’s right to a jury trial with unsettling ease. This article exposes these procedural snares by: first, introducing the statutory mechanism found in CPLR 4101 that is central to jury waiver by pleading and explores how merely asserting equitable or declaratory judgment claims can forfeit the right to a trial by jury; second, it surveys the enforceability of pre-dispute contractual jury waivers, highlighting New York’s willingness to extend such clauses beyond pure contract claims and juxtaposing that stance with less accommodating jurisdictions; and finally, it distills practical drafting and motion practice strategies designed to help practitioners preserve (or strategically eliminate) the jury right. By charting these intersecting doctrines – and the hidden pitfalls they create – this article aims to arm litigators and transactional lawyers alike with the vigilance necessary to avoid stumbling into an unintended waiver.

The first nine months of the Trump Administration have seen extensive use of Executive Orders (EOs) to “deregulate” and otherwise rollback Biden-era environmental policies.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

On August 12, the Ninth Circuit in Quintara Biosciences, Inc. v. Ruifeng Biztech, Inc. held that the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) does not require a plaintiff to identify its allegedly misappropriated trade secrets with particularity at the pleading stage because that is a question of fact meant for summary judgment or trial.

Welcome to the October 2025 issue of “As the (Customs and Trade) World Turns,” our monthly newsletter where we compile essential updates from the customs and trade world over the past month. We bring you the most recent and significant insights in an accessible format, concluding with our main takeaways — aka “And the Fox Says…” — on what you need to know.

The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Monteiro v. RAC Acceptance East, LLC issued an early federal interpretation of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA), which became law in March 2022.

Wu-Tang Clan produced a single physical copy of the album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” which was never publicly released. In 2015, Martin Shkreli purchased the album.

E-Verify is a web-based federal program where employers verify identity and work authorization of employees. E-Verify is operated by the US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS), which is within the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries