Ban on Contractor Political Contributions Upheld
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 07.13.15
In Wagner v. FEC (July 7, 2015), the D.C. Circuit upheld the seventy-five-year-old ban on political donations by individual contractors to federal candidates and political parties. Despite the First Amendment and equal protection arguments the plaintiffs raised, the court held that the compelling interests that support the contribution ban – protection against quid pro quo corruption and defense of merit-based public administration – are "neither theoretical nor antiquated, but rather are grounded in unhappy experience stretching to the present day."
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Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.11.25
Director Squires Revamps the Workings of the U.S. Patent Office
In March 2025, President Trump nominated John A. Squires for the positions of Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). After being approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 20-2, Squires was confirmed by the Senate on September 17, 2025, by a vote of 51-47 after anti-filibuster measures were invoked. During and after the confirmation process, Squires emphasized several goals for the USPTO during his time as Director. Such goals included:
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.10.25
Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright for Applied Art
Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.10.25
Federal Court Strikes Down Interior Order Suspending Wind Energy Development
Client Alert | 14 min read | 12.10.25
SBA Office of General Counsel Audit of Participants in the 8(a) Program and Beyond
