Insights

Election years are key times for corporations, associations and nonprofit organizations to engage with candidates and officeholders who can impact important policy decisions. Supporting candidates through direct campaign contributions or indirectly through SuperPACs or other independent advocacy efforts can help your organization secure “a seat at the table.” 

For many corporations, associations, and nonprofit organizations, there is a lot at stake in Congress and with the Trump Administration. More organizations are thinking about engaging in federal lobbying to promote and protect their interests, and even to ensure their survival. At a certain point, engagement with legislators and executive officials will trigger registration under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA).   

Since 2020, Virginia has prohibited employers from having non-compete agreements with “low wage employees” who earn below the average weekly wage in Virginia. Last year, the Virginia General Assembly amended the “low wage employee” definition to include non-exempt employees entitled to overtime compensation for hours worked more than forty hours a week. On July 1, 2026, two new restrictions will take effect.

Patent enforcement has always required two decisions, not one.

The first is the obvious question: can the patent owner prove infringement and survive the expected validity challenges?

The second is the question that often drives the boardroom discussion: if the case goes badly, how much additional exposure does the plaintiff face?

That second question has become harder to answer. Section 285 of the Patent Act allows a court to award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in “exceptional cases.” Section 1927 can expose counsel personally when an attorney unreasonably and vexatiously multiplies proceedings. Those are serious tools. They are also easy to overstate when a defendant has just won and wants the court to treat the plaintiff’s loss as proof that the case never should have been filed.

Update: Assessing ‘Missing Middle’ Housing Policies: Procedural Pitfalls And Policy Implications In Virginia And Beyond

Assessing ‘Missing Middle’ Housing Policies: Procedural Pitfalls and Policy Implications in Virginia and Beyond