Client Alert: California Quickly Adopts DHS Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, While New York and Pennsylvania Promulgate Their Own Lists of Essential Businesses

On July 21, Jenner & Block's Washington, DC office hosted an evening reception bringing together active-duty and veteran attorneys, their attorney spouses and partners, and in-house counsel for an evening of conversation and connection.

Partner Rachel Alpert co-authored an article for Lawfare examining what the year-long process of unwinding US sanctions on Syria suggests about the far more complex challenge of any future sanctions relief for Iran.

Since 2015, large companies doing business in the UK have had to publish an annual statement setting out the steps they take to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, under s.54 of the UK’s Modern Slavery Act (the MSA). In practice, the MSA has little bite: there are no mandatory requirements on statement content and no penalty for non-compliance.

On June 17, 2026, the General Services Administration (GSA) published a revised proposed contract clause, 552.239-7001, “Basic Safeguarding of Data within Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence Systems (LLMs),” which would impose substantial obligations on contractors processing government data through LLMs. This alert follows up on our prior coverage of GSA’s developing rules on the use of AI in GSA contracts.

Last month, the Supreme Court decided Cisco Systems v. Doe, holding that aiding-and-abetting claims are not available under two statutes frequently invoked in human rights litigation, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA). In holding that an American company and its executives could not be liable for allegedly aiding and abetting violations of international law under the ATS and TVPA, the Court reaffirmed that the ATS is a jurisdictional statute and “c

On July 13, 2026, the Department of War (DoW) announced the immediate suspension of the Phase II requirements of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, which had been scheduled to take effect on November 10, 2026. The suspension, memorialized in a memorandum dated July 10, 2026, and signed by DoW Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies, also halts the pending Phase III and Phase IV implementation milestones and directs a comprehensive, 60-day review of the program.

Partner Joanna Ludlam - Chair of Jenner & Block's London Public Law and Crisis Management Practice, Co-Chair of the firm's Global Hearing Preparation and Global Crisis Management and Strategic Risk practices, and Co-Chair of the firm's Investigations Department - was featured in City AM's examination of the mounting pressure for a broader overhaul of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) following John Edwards' resignation.

On July 14, Partner Karin Dryhurst will speak on a panel hosted by the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s In-House Counsel Committee titled "How to Handle Current Discrimination Risks Across Industries: What In-House Counsel Need to Know About the Evolving Landscape."

Jenner & Block ranked among the top three firms in Law360's annual scorecard of which firms argued most frequently before the US Supreme Court during the 2025–26 term.

London Partner Lucy Blake was featured in Forward Law Review, where she commented on the UK government's proposed overhaul of the Modern Slavery Act 2015's corporate reporting regime - the biggest changes to section 54 since it was introduced. Lucy's insights highlight the shift toward mandatory disclosure, board-level accountability, and financial penalties for organisations and public authorities that fail to comply.

In a recent "My Path to Law" profile, Partner Katya Jestin shares the experiences that shaped her career, from prosecuting the Mafia as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, to running a busy white collar defense practice, to representing Guantánamo Bay high-value detainee Majid Khan in a pro bono matter.

Partner Ashley Callen spoke with Global Investigations Review about the likely uptick in congressional oversight of companies if Democrats retake a chamber of Congress in the November 2026 US midterm elections.

Associate Christina Lopez has been honored by the Chicago Bar Foundation with the Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award at its Pro Bono & Public Service Award Luncheon.