Strategies helps businesses and individuals solve the complexities of dealing with the government at every level. Our team of specialists concentrate exclusively on government affairs, representing clients nationwide who need assistance with public policy, advocacy, and government relations strategies.
This unique program provides innovative and affordable opportunities to startups and early-stage emerging companies with a solid technology or scientific foundation. We help companies that have a quality management team in place and do not have other significant legal representation.
eMerge’s lawyers and technologists work together to deliver strategic end-to-end eDiscovery and data management solutions for litigation, investigations, due diligence, and compliance matters. We help clients discover the information necessary to resolve disputes, respond to investigations, conduct due diligence, and comply with legal requirements.
Make sure to visit Troutman Pepper Locke’s Regulatory Oversight blog to receive the most up-to-date information on regulatory actions and subscribe to our mailing list to receive a monthly digest.
Regulatory Oversight will provide in-depth analysis into regulatory actions by various state and federal authorities, including state attorneys general and other state administrative agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Contributors to the blog will include attorneys with multiple specialties, including regulatory enforcement, litigation, and compliance.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones Shifts Office Priorities
By Ashley L. Taylor, Jr., Graham Bryant, and Gene Fishel
This article was originally published by Virginia Lawyers Weekly and is republished with permission.
Upon taking office Jan. 17, Democratic Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones issued a series of pronouncements in quick succession that signal his administration’s core priorities, and that are sure to reverberate through Virginia’s legal landscape. They include actions involving consumer protection, health data privacy, immigration, education, and environmental issues.
Troutman Strategies and RISE Expand Government Affairs and Regulatory Capabilities With Three Strategic Additions
Troutman Strategies and Troutman Pepper Locke’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) team announced the addition of three professionals who deepen the firm’s federal, state, and regulatory capabilities: Jason A. Smith with the RISE team in Washington, D.C., and New York, Audra Hill as state affairs coordinator in Georgia, and Brian Mann as a government affairs specialist on the federal team in Washington, D.C.
Troutman Pepper Locke Expands Virginia Appellate and State Enforcement Capabilities
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team
Graham K. Bryant, former principal deputy solicitor general and director of Virginia Appellate Litigation in the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, has joined Troutman Pepper Locke’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) practice group and Virginia Appellate team. Graham’s practice centers on Virginia-focused appellate and regulatory matters, drawing on his experience handling high-stakes constitutional and policy litigation in Virginia’s courts and in federal courts, including multiple matters before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Beyond the Buzzwords: Building Bank-Fintech Partnerships That Survive Exams
By Carlin McCrory
In this episode of Payments Pros, host Carlin McCrory is joined by Marissa Tartarini of Elliott Davis to explore how banks can build sustainable, scalable fintech partnerships in a shifting regulatory environment. They begin with the foundational risk questions banks should ask before choosing a partner — speed to market, in-house expertise and gaps, strategic fit, and risk appetite — then turn to practical legal and compliance considerations, including staffing, board oversight, and the need for tailored partnership agreements. Marissa and Carlin discuss the challenges of managing multiple fintech programs at once, maintaining up-to-date policies and marketing, and ensuring that growth does not outpace governance and BSA/AML controls. They highlight what separates successful programs from those that fail, lessons from terminated partnerships, and how to prepare for increasingly technical regulatory exams. Carlin and Marissa close the episode with a look at how regulators’ and banks’ views of fintech partnerships have evolved and what that means for the future of bank-fintech collaboration.
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Florida’s Lab-Grown Meat Ban Against Preemption Challenge
By Matthew Berns and William LaRosa
On March 23, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an effort to preliminarily enjoin Florida’s ban on lab‑grown meat. The Eleventh Circuit held that the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) does not preempt the state law because the outright ban on lab-grown meat does not regulate poultry facilities, operations, or ingredients.
Algorithmic and Surveillance-Based Pricing in State AGs’ Crosshairs
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team, David Navetta, Karla Ballesteros, and Brianna Dally
On March 16, 2026, New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James rallied in support of the “One Fair Price Package” — a pair of bills aimed at curbing algorithmic and surveillance pricing in New York. Together, the bills would prohibit the use of personalized algorithmic pricing based on consumer data, ban electronic shelf labels in large food and drug retailers, and create robust enforcement mechanisms and private rights of action. The announcement from New York comes shortly after New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill backed legislation to ban what she has called “surveillance” pricing, and after California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an investigative sweep focused on businesses that use consumer data to individualize prices for their goods or services earlier this year.
Alabama Enacts App Store Accountability Act Requiring Age Verification and Parental Consent
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team
States including Texas, Utah, Louisiana, and California have begun shifting children’s online safety obligations from individual apps and websites to app stores and operating systems. Alabama has now joined that trend. These laws generally require centralized age checks, parental consent tracking, and tighter coordination between app stores and developers, and they are already generating litigation risk, including a pending First Amendment challenge to the Texas statute.
Federal Judge Holds Generative AI Communications Are Not Privileged in Decision Likely to Impact Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team and Lauren Hancock Miller
As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in day-to-day life and in the legal field, in particular, thorny questions arise regarding the implications of that use. One such question is whether exchanges with a publicly available generative AI platform in connection with pending litigation are protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. In a matter of first impression nationwide, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York answered that question in the negative and required a defendant to provide the prosecution documents memorializing litigation-related communications with a generative AI platform.[1] Applying traditional principles governing the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine, the court reasoned that the communications did not involve an attorney-client relationship, were not confidential, were not made for the purpose of obtaining legal advice, and did not reflect an attorney’s trial strategy.[2] The ruling will likely impact whether legal protections are afforded to AI communications, prompts, and output in both litigation and regulatory inquiries, including state attorneys general (AG) investigations.
FTC Revives Negative Option Rulemaking
By Clayton Friedman, Michael Yaghi, Zoe Schloss, and Namrata Kang
On March 11, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on negative option marketing. The ANPRM restarts the agency’s effort to regulate subscriptions and automatic renewals after the Eighth Circuit vacated the prior “Click to Cancel” rule, from the Biden administration era, on procedural grounds. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication.
Vermont AG Settles With United Counseling Services Emphasizing Public Safety and Organizational Reforms
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team
On March 12, 2026, Vermont Attorney General (AG) Charity Clark announced a settlement with United Counseling Service of Bennington County, Inc. (UCS), an organization contracted with Vermont’s Medicaid program to provide services to vulnerable adults in Vermont. The settlement agreement resolves Vermont’s allegations related to service failures that resulted in alleged safety risks to Medicaid recipients and the public, and requires UCS to pay the state $483,464 and implement various “dramatic organizational reforms” to improve oversight and monitoring.
New York AG Settles Ghost Network Investigation
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team
New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James reached a $2.5 million settlement with health insurer EmblemHealth following an investigation of the behavioral health provider “ghost networks.” “Ghost networks” are provider networks in which many of the providers listed in the insurer’s directory of “in-network” providers are actually unavailable, not accepting new patients, or not actually participating in the network. The investigation also focused on compliance with state and federal behavioral health parity laws. As part of the settlement, the insurer will pay more than $2.5 million and undertake changes to its policies and procedures.
Federal Approval Is No Safe Harbor: State AGs Redefine Merger Risk in Trump 2.0 as 8 States Sue to Block $6.2B Nexstar-Tegna Merger
By Daniel Anziska, Clayton Friedman, Christy Matelis, and Brad Smutek
On March 19, 2026, a group of eight state attorneys general (AGs) filed a lawsuit to block the $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna Inc. by Nexstar Media Group, two of the largest American broadcast companies. The suit came after federal regulators cleared the transaction, sharpening an increasing divide between the administration and states’ views on the same transactions.
State AGs Reject Federal Live Nation Deal and Press Ahead
By Chris Carlson, Clayton Friedman, Ashley L. Taylor, Jr., and William LaRosa
State attorneys general (AGs) from across the political spectrum have refused to join the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) midtrial settlement with Live Nation. The bipartisan multistate coalition vowed to “keep fighting this case without the federal government,” underscoring that state AGs are increasingly prepared to part with the DOJ and take the lead in complex enforcement actions.
Trucking and Delivery Company Settles New Jersey Worker Misclassification Allegations
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team
PDX North, Inc. (PDX), a last-mile automotive parts distribution company, recently settled with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) and New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (OAG) (collectively, the state) to resolve allegations that PDX violated New Jersey’s worker classification laws.
FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Flavored ENDS PMTAs
By Bryan Haynes, Agustin Rodriguez, and Zie Alere
On March 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft guidance document describing the agency’s perspective on premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
North Carolina Court Affirms Sealed Container Defense in Vape Battery Malfunction Case
By Bryan Haynes and Nick Ramos
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently issued a decision strengthening the “sealed container” defense available to non‑manufacturing sellers in products liability cases. In Weaver v. AMV Holdings LLC, the court found in favor of a vape retailer and distributor after a lithium‑ion battery malfunctioned in a customer’s pocket, causing serious burns. For retailers and distributors — particularly those dealing with lithium‑ion batteries — this decision underscores the continued viability of sealed container defenses.
Changes to California’s Prop 65 Warnings: Four Things Nicotine Product Sellers Should Know
By Bryan Haynes and Michael Jordan
California recently finalized changes to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) warning rules that included significant changes to short-form warning statements for product labels. These changes directly affect nicotine‑containing products — including e‑cigarettes, e‑liquids, oral nicotine products, and other consumer goods that can expose consumers to nicotine.
Prediction Markets Company’s Preemptive Lawsuits Aim to Carve Out a Federal Safe Harbor for Prediction Markets
By Stephen C. Piepgrass and Ayana Brown
On March 11, Kalshi filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa against Attorney General (AG) Brenna Bird and members of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Kalshi’s complaint asks the court to declare that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) “exclusive jurisdiction” over trading on designated contract markets preempt Iowa’s gambling and election‑wagering provisions as applied to Kalshi’s event contracts.
Arizona Files First-Ever Criminal Suit Against Kalshi
By Stephen C. Piepgrass and Ayana Brown
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed against Kalshi what appears to be the first criminal case in the U.S. against a federally regulated prediction market platform. The state alleges Kalshi is operating an illegal gambling enterprise and facilitating unlawful election wagering by Arizona residents.
CFTC Issues New Guidance for Prediction Markets
By Stephen C. Piepgrass, Zoe Schloss, and Cole White
On March 12, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight issued Staff Advisory Letter No. 26-08 to all designated contract markets (DCMs), signaling a supportive stance toward prediction markets and other event-based derivatives, including contracts based on the outcome of sporting events. While reiterating existing compliance obligations, the advisory emphasizes the agency’s interest in fostering innovation and growth in these markets within the framework of the Commodity Exchange Act. At the same time, the CFTC released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking broad public comment on whether and how to further regulate event contracts.
Tennessee Federal Court Addresses State Authority Over Sports-Event Contracts
By Stephen C. Piepgrass and Ayana Brown
A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee marks a significant development in the ongoing dispute over whether sports event contracts offered on prediction market platforms are properly regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or whether such contracts should be regulated by the states as sports betting. Tennessee officials had issued a cease‑and‑desist order contending that certain sports‑linked event contracts were akin to unlicensed sports wagering under state law. Prediction contract platform provider, Kalshi, responded by filing suit in federal court, arguing that these contracts were “swaps” governed exclusively by the Commodity Exchange Act and subject to the CFTC’s jurisdiction, not Tennessee’s sports‑betting framework.
DC Federal District Court Confirms Jarkesy Does Not Bar SEC From Seeking Industry Bars in Follow-On Proceedings
By Jay Dubow and Ghillaine Reid
In Sztrom v. SEC, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia confirmed that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, which curtailed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ability to seek civil penalties in its administrative forum, does not eliminate the agency’s long-standing ability to pursue industry bars through administrative follow-on proceedings. The opinion underscores that, even after Jarkesy and other recent limits on agency power, the SEC may still use its in-house process to determine whether to bar previously enjoined defendants from the securities industry, with independent review limited to the courts of appeals.
SEC–CFTC ‘Historic’ MOU Signals New Phase of Harmonized Oversight and Innovation-Focused Regulation
By Jay Dubow and Ghillaine Reid
On March 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that both agencies describe as “historic.” The MOU is intended to reset the relationship between the agencies by reducing turf battles, avoiding duplicative regulation, and providing clearer, technology-neutral oversight — particularly in markets where securities and derivatives regimes overlap, including crypto. While it does not change either agency’s statutory authority, it creates a formal framework for coordination that will materially affect how policy, examinations, and enforcement play out in practice.
Political Law Quarterly – Q1 2026
By Warren F. “Jay” Myers, Sydney Goldberg, and Timothy Shyu
Political activities sit at the intersection of law, policy, and reputation. Companies operating in highly regulated industries cannot avoid political law issues, and it is frequently more complex than expected.
State AGs Settlement With WeChat Requiring Proactive Anti-Fentanyl Money Laundering Controls
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team
A bipartisan coalition of seven state attorneys general (AG) reached a settlement with the Chinese-owned messaging and payment platform WeChat under which the company committed to take steps to combat the use of its platform in fentanyl-related money laundering. The agreement focuses on improving law enforcement cooperation, preserving and producing user data in response to law enforcement requests, and proactively detecting illicit activity on the service. The settlement is part of a broader enforcement campaign by state AGs to push online platforms to adopt proactive measures to monitor illicit activity on their services and improve cooperation with law enforcement.
Virginia AG Joins Multistate Suit Over CFPB Funding Signaling More Aggressive Enforcement in the Commonwealth
By Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team
Virginia Attorney General (AG) Jay Jones has joined an ongoing lawsuit by 23 Democratic AGs challenging Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Russell T. Vought’s interpretation of the CFPB’s statutory funding mechanism that would leave the agency without operating funds.
Stephanie Kozol, Senior Government Relations Manager – State Attorneys General, also contributed to this newsletter.
Our Cannabis Practice provides advice on issues related to applicable federal and state law. Marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law.
Speaking Engagements
Epiq Mass & Class 2026
April 30, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Kiawah Island Golf Resort
1 Sanctuary Beach Drive, Kiawah Island, SC 29455
Speaking Engagements
Cool Compensation Considerations for the Private Company 2026: Pay, Performance, and Perspectives
April 30, 2026 | 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM ET
Virtual
Webinars
Annual eDiscovery Updates Webinar
April 28, 2026 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
Zoom
Sponsored Events
Troutman Pepper Locke Sponsors ACG’s DealMAX 2026 Conference
April 27 – 29, 2026
ARIA Resort & Casino
Las Vegas, NV
