News and Insights

Advocating for Justice in 9/11 Guantanamo Case

In January 2025, on behalf of the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), the oldest and largest torture rehabilitation organization in the United States, Katya Jestin, Matthew Hellman, Ian Moss, and Mary-Claire Spurgin filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for mandamus to the DC Circuit.  The amicus brief advocated for the reinstatement of plea agreements entered by the accused co-conspirators of the 9/11 attacks in the 9/11 Guantanamo Military Commission case.  In August 2024, the plea a...READ MORE

GSA PSA: New Certifications for All Federal Funding Recipients and How to Prepare

The General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced proposed updates to certification requirements for federal grantees on the System for Award Management (SAM, available at sam.gov), the GSA-run, official US Government system for, among other things, recipients of federal funding to make representations and certifications about their organizations. These proposed changes, published in a Federal Register notice on January 28, 2026, would impact all entities receiving federal financial a...READ MORE

What to Expect in 2026 for Higher Education

After a year of significant upheaval for higher education institutions, additional changes are on the horizon in 2026. The most recent Unified Agenda, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and other developments mean additional changes for—as outlined below—civil rights enforcement, admissions, foreign gift reporting, accreditation, visa requirements and eligibility, grant funding, student loans, patent revenue, and student privacy. Understanding and anticipating these developments will help position ...READ MORE

DOJ Eliminates Disparate-Impact Liability Under Title VI. What’s Next?

On December 9, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a final rule rejecting the use of disparate-impact liability, i.e., holding entities liable for discrimination due to a policy’s disproportionate effect on a certain group, even without evidence of intentional discrimination. The rule removes such liability from its regulations implementing Title VI,1the statute that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs that receive federal financial assistanc...READ MORE