Government Regulation and Public Sector Law

The US Treasury Department has launched a sweeping enforcement initiative under Operation Economic Outcast, targeting Iranian military procurement networks, industrial sectors, and shadow banking systems used to evade sanctions. These coordinated actions by OFAC and FinCEN expand sanctions exposure across Iran's automotive and rail industries while designating entities in multiple jurisdictions involved in weapons procurement and illicit financial flows.

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Assets Control have launched coordinated enforcement actions targeting the A7 Network, a sophisticated global financial infrastructure allegedly designed to help sanctioned entities from Russia, Iran, and North Korea move funds through the international banking system.

Israel implements diplomatic countermeasures against the UK following sanctions on West Bank settlements, while the US authorizes Russian diesel imports amid record-high prices. The UK and EU expand Russia sanctions targeting oil revenues and military supply chains, and OFAC reaches a settlement with a logistics company for counter-narcotics sanctions violations.

Congress faces a December 11 funding deadline with unfinished FY27 appropriations bills, and the path forward depends on more than just election results. Will lawmakers complete the bills in a lame duck session, extend funding into 2027, or pursue a hybrid approach? The answer hinges on whether negotiators can reach a funding agreement quickly enough and whether congressional leaders and the White House will support the necessary compromises.

Global public debt has surged to unprecedented levels, forcing governments worldwide to confront difficult choices between rising spending commitments and limited revenue. As interest costs consume growing shares of national budgets and populations age, the political consensus needed to stabilize debt burdens remains elusive.

Congress faces mounting pressure to address the nation's long-term fiscal challenges, including rising debt, growing interest costs, and projected Social Security funding shortfalls. A bipartisan fiscal commission, paired with shared political risk and commitment to action, could help lawmakers tackle these critical issues before a crisis forces more painful solutions.

Lowenstein lawyers and business services professionals discuss the firm's comprehensive pro bono program, demonstrating how attorneys across all practice areas—from white collar defense to real estate—contribute to matters serving individuals, nonprofits, and communities. The video explores how pro bono work provides meaningful opportunities for client interaction, hands-on responsibility, and professional development while receiving the same attention as billable client matters.

Lowenstein attorneys and business services professionals share powerful stories of pro bono work that transformed lives and communities. From representing transgender women in federal prisons to helping clients navigate immigration, civil rights, and domestic violence cases, these legal advocates reveal the profound personal and professional impact of providing access to justice for those who need it most.

As forced labor import bans proliferate globally, traditional M&A due diligence methodologies are proving inadequate for identifying and pricing supply chain risks that can instantly freeze inventory at borders and destroy deal value. This analysis examines why conventional approaches fail to detect upstream vulnerabilities in multi-tier supply chains and proposes enhanced diligence frameworks that integrate customs enforcement priorities, origin-level traceability, and specialized contractual protections

With the ever-growing barrage of rhetoric over just how, when, and if, AI will kill us all, the conversation also lends itself to, do we believe it will be AI that kills us, or a bad actor using AI? If I showed you a picture of East Asia at night from space and pointed out that you can’t see North Korea for the lack of available electricity, (It’s 99% blacked out, and only Pyongyang shows a small cluster of light) would you think for a minute that they would have the tech savvy, and high end software, or even hardware, necessary to steal $6.7 billion in crypto since 2017?

The US Treasury Department has launched a sweeping enforcement initiative under Operation Economic Outcast, targeting Iranian military procurement networks, industrial sectors, and shadow banking systems used to evade sanctions. These coordinated actions by OFAC and FinCEN expand sanctions exposure across Iran's automotive and rail industries while designating entities in multiple jurisdictions involved in weapons procurement and illicit financial flows.

The Government Accountability Office recently affirmed the Navy's authority to preserve critical manufacturing capacity through sole-source contracting, even when an incumbent contractor remains capable of meeting requirements. This decision addresses whether defense agencies must prove a manufacturer will exit the market without a contract, or whether a reasonable basis for industrial mobilization concerns suffices. The ruling has significant implications for contractors investing in specialized defense ma