New Law School on the Block? A Look into the ABA Accreditation Process

Posted on Categories Education

High Point University (HPU Law), a private university in North Carolina, opened the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law with its inaugural Class of 2027 last fall. Founded by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, Mark Martin, HPU Law strives to create a legal learning community of discussion and debate for students to become ethical lawyer-leaders who serve with civility and grace. HPU Law is not yet accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), which is a crucial step in producing attorneys of tomorrow. Accreditation is not automatic nor guaranteed. Rather, schools must comply with an extensive process to receive accreditation.
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What the “Big Beautiful Bill” Means for Student Loans

Posted on Categories Education

On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), or what legislators and the public have deemed as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” OBBBA is a budget reconciliation bill; a bill which utilizes a special process for approval. Instead of the 60 vote supermajority usually required for a bill to pass through the Senate, this process allows for the bill to pass with a simple majority. While the process makes it significantly easier for legislation to pass through Congress, it can only be used for policies that would affect the spending and revenue of the federal government. After months of deliberation, this process allowed OBBBA to pass through the Senate with a 51-50 vote. Days later the bill passed through the House of Representatives, and the following day was signed into law by President Trump. While the president has paraded the spending and revenue bill as “arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed,” some have proposed that its true effects will financially harm Americans and further limit people’s ability to transcend economic classes through higher education.
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Power Without Process: Federal Enforcement in Chicago Tests the Rule of Law

Posted on Categories Compliance Spotlight, Regulation

The Trump administration’s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and National Guard troops in Chicago has sparked nationwide debate over the boundaries of lawful enforcement. Federal officials describe the move as a necessary step to protect agents and restore order. State and local leaders, however, have accused the federal government of ignoring the legal limits that govern both immigration and military authority. Beneath the political clash lies a deeper legal concern: whether federal agencies are operating within the procedural safeguards and statutory frameworks that legitimize their power.
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Compliance Challenges of Influencer Advertising

Posted on Categories FTC

Influencer marketing has become a global industry, projected to exceed $24 billion in 2025, with the United States representing one of its largest and most dynamic markets. Influencers have become key cultural and commercial figures, often blurring the line between entertainment and advertising. This rise has brought with it serious concerns about transparency, deception, and consumer protection. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the primary regulator of advertising in the United States, has increasingly turned its attention to influencer marketing and the legal obligations it entails.
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Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Data Privacy and Protection in a Post-Pandemic Reality

Posted on Categories Journal of Regulatory Compliance, Privacy & Security, Regulation

Today, the exponential growth and mass adoption of information technology tools and the constant exchange of user data presents an ongoing challenge for regulators seeking to protect data and privacy rights. Particularly from the Covid-19 pandemic onward, a dramatic increase in both demand and dependency has caused a tectonic shift across both public and private sectors. As a result of this ongoing IT and data revolution, the legal and regulatory landscape faces new opportunities and challenges, in terms of providing clarity and stability to regulated industries, entities, and individuals. One notable area of concern is data privacy and protection. Unfortunately, the U.S. Federal system currently lacks a centralized regulatory framework for protecting user data and privacy. However, other nations offer clear models, case studies from which the U.S. could greatly benefit. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is an established, globally recognized regulatory framework. If adopted by U.S. regulators, the GDPR could provide clear regulatory guidance for individuals and entities seeking to navigate an increasingly high-risk era of data protection and management.

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Love is in the Air – at Work?

Posted on Categories Employment

When Coldplay unintentionally exposed their CEO’s affair with his co-worker, they reminded employers’ of the stark reality of romantic relationships in the workplace. With little time outside the office to meet people, 60% of adults admitted to having a workplace relationship in 2024. While employers are entitled to have their own policies, workplace relationships open up a world of legal risks, including sexual harassment, hostile work environments, and retaliation claims, all of which are regulated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Implementing comprehensive workplace romance policies – such as those outlined in employee handbooks or formal “love contracts” – can help mitigate potential risks.
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Circumventing the Salary Cap: The Regulatory Gaps within the NBA

Posted on Categories Contracts, Sports

In the National Basketball Association (NBA), competition is fierce and success is often decided by razor-thin margins. NBA franchises are consistently looking for ways to gain a competitive edge, prioritizing player acquisitions to increase ticket sales, sponsorships, and franchise value to ultimately improve their chances of winning a championship. Most teams aim to build their roster through the annual NBA draft or the annual NBA free agency period. However, with growing competitive pressure, the line between strategic edge and rule circumvention becomes increasingly blurred. In September 2025, allegations surfaced that the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the NBA salary cap when reporter Pablo Torre asserted that star player Kawhi Leonard received a $28 million no-show endorsement from Aspiration, a company with financial ties to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. These allegations have led to the increased examination of current NBA policies and raised questions as to whether the NBA can take a more proactive approach to compliance.

The “Fix” Feels Confusing: The USPTO’s New Bifurcated Process for Patent Reviews

Posted on Categories Intellectual Property

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently changed how it decides whether to move forward with patent challenges known as inter partes reviews (IPRs). Instead of a single panel deciding both discretionary and merit questions, Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart (Stewart) created a bifurcated, two-step process. First, the Director decides whether to deny a case based on discretionary factors. If the case is approved, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel will then evaluate the merits.

Although designed to streamline review and manage workload, the new system has instead generated conflicting guidance and expanded discretion. Some of the new factors tend to favor patent owners, while others favor petitioners. Without clearer guidance, both sides are left uncertain: patent owners cannot reliably gauge whether their rights will hold, and petitioners cannot predict when their challenges will be heard. Clearer instruction should be given by the USPTO.

Who Owns the Airwaves? FCC Compliance and the Fight for Free Expression

Posted on Categories Antitrust, Regulation

The struggle to balance government oversight, corporate power, and free expression has placed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the heart of America’s media debate. The FCC plays a central role in U.S. media regulation, overseeing licensing, national ownership limits, and broadcasters’ statutory “public interest” obligations. The FCC’s national television ownership rule prevents any one company from controlling stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. households. This mandate was designed to ensure that no single corporation could dominate the public airwaves. Yet, as recent events surrounding FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna Inc., and the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live reveal, these safeguards are under mounting pressure. What began as a technical question of regulatory compliance has evolved into a broader confrontation over free speech, political influence, and the fragility of democratic guardrails in American broadcasting.
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America’s Fractured Approach to AI Regulation

Posted on Categories Artificial Intelligence, Regulation

Federal efforts to promote artificial intelligence (“AI”) innovation by avoiding comprehensive regulation has prompted state legislatures to fill the regulatory void, creating a fractured regulatory landscape. This threatens the very innovation AI was meant to create in a global race towards general AI. Today’s AI systems are examples of Artificial Narrow Intelligence, trained to perform specific tasks but are unable to operate outside their defined parameters. In contrast, Artificial General Intelligence, or Strong AI, is a theoretical form of AI capable of apply prior knowledge and skills to new contexts, enabling it to learn and perform any intellectual task a human can without additional human training of the underlying models. This pursuit has driven unprecedented investment, technology corporations have poured billions of dollars into AI capital expenditures with this number only continuing to rise. Compliance teams are left scrambling to manage an increasingly complex regulatory environment that is evolving faster than legal departments and regulators can effectively manage.
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