Mary-ClaireSpurgin

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

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

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

The Department of Justice has quietly created a new power center that will expand its ability to pursue investigations and bring politically charged lawsuits against both corporations and state actors. For companies navigating federal scrutiny across multiple regulatory fronts—from consumer protection to immigration—this shift could reshape how enforcement risk manifests in 2026 and beyond. Below, we discuss what this shift means—and how your organization should be preparing in anticipation of a

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