2025 marked another notable year in State Attorneys General (AG) enforcement, with both a sharp uptick in multistate AG actions filed against the federal government and significant actions targeting the private sector across industries. We will highlight two issue areas here—antitrust and consumer protection—and describe the escalating friction between State AGs and the federal government as well as distill this year’s trends into actionable takeaways for businesses as we enter 2026.
On December 11, Matt Diehr, Kyle Gilster, and Rebecca Furdek presented this month’s session in Husch Blackwell’s Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations webinar series. They highlighted the capabilities of the firm’s State Attorney’s General practice through a robust discussion about trends in multistate litigation. The presentation focused on enforcement trends in consumer
This year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) increased its focus on white-collar crime enforcement in some areas, prioritized new areas, and shifted resources away from others. Many of these changes are reflected in Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti’s May 12, 2025, memorandum to the DOJ’s Criminal Division (Galeotti Memo), which highlighted 10 high-impact areas of white-collar crime for enforcement:[1]
On October 2, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas stayed Commodity Futures Trading Commission, et al. v. TMTE Inc., et al., a case with potentially consequential implications for the commodities and derivatives markets. As we discussed in our prior update, this $185 million fraud suit was filed against two California precious metals dealers by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and 30 state regulators. In July, the Court denied summary judgment to both parties. The most significant holding from that order was the finding that gold and silver are not commodities under Section 1 of the CFTC’s enacting statute, the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
My colleague Sydney Sznajder and I recently posted an article on the Husch Blackwell website outlining how federal prosecutors are turning their attention to cases that further the administration’s regulatory priorities. Part of this focus falls upon commercial real estate, where there is increasing scrutiny of foreign investment in real estate, as well as international
“Right to repair” laws have recently gained momentum across the United States, becoming a legislative and regulatory priority. Evolving state laws, federal action, and high-profile lawsuits are shaking up the legal landscape in this area for manufacturers, businesses, and consumers.
At its core, the right to repair gives consumers and independent businesses access to the
A recent decision in the Eastern District of Texas highlighted the risks for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives involving market competitors. The decision, when paired with recent enforcement efforts from Republican state attorneys general (AGs), is the latest indicator of the increased scrutiny faced by ESG joint ventures.
Background
Over the past decade, as
On September 23, we launched our Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations webinar series, a new monthly webinar program covering Department of Justice criminal enforcement, False Claims Act, antitrust, and state attorney general topics.
In the kickoff webinar, Jody Rudman, Wendy Arends, Matt Diehr, and I joined in a broad discussion on government enforcement. Jody and I