Aerospace & Defense

  • March 05, 2025

    Four Firms Seek Top Roles In Pa. Warehouse Fire Litigation

    Lawyers from four plaintiffs firms across the country have asked a Philadelphia judge to name them class counsel in recently filed litigation over the effects of an aircraft parts warehouse fire and also requested that the court consolidate all related lawsuits in the city.

  • March 05, 2025

    Judge Sides With Feds In Suit Over Illicit Gold Trade

    A D.C. federal judge has upheld Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions against a Belgian gold trafficker, ruling that the government had ample evidence that the man directly or indirectly supported armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

  • March 05, 2025

    High Court Upholds VA's Authority To Doubt Disability Claims

    A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a veterans' appeals court can rely on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' decisions to offer the benefit of the doubt in disability claims cases, rejecting two veterans' efforts to revive their PTSD claims.

  • March 05, 2025

    High Court Allows Release Of Frozen USAID Foreign Aid

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a D.C. federal judge can require the Trump administration to release up to $2 billion in frozen foreign aid funding, but told the judge he must clarify the scope of the government's responsibility and ensure it has enough time to comply with any deadline. 

  • March 04, 2025

    Agencies Have 'Ultimate' Authority Over Firings, OPM Says

    The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday issued a revised version of its January memo directing agency heads to identify all probationary employees, adding a disclaimer that OPM "is not directing agencies to take any specific performance-based actions" and that agencies "have ultimate decision-making authority."

  • March 04, 2025

    Justices Asked To Uphold Ruling Against Anti-Terror Law

    The Palestine Liberation Organization is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a ruling striking down a 2019 law nixing a jurisdictional hurdle for lawsuits stemming from terrorist attacks in Israel and the Palestinian territories, arguing that the law "attempts an end-run around settled constitutional analysis."

  • March 04, 2025

    Gov't Says 2 Lab Owners Billed $40M In COVID Test Scheme

    Federal prosecutors opened their case Tuesday against two laboratory owners, telling jurors in Florida that they ran a more than $40 million scheme to submit medically unnecessary COVID-19 testing claims to healthcare benefit programs.

  • March 04, 2025

    House Aviation Panel Weighs Air Traffic Control Fixes

    Aviation workers' unions and industry stakeholders told lawmakers on Tuesday that years of political inertia and more recent tumult related to the federal workforce firings are impacting efforts to hire more air traffic controllers and overhaul the nation's outdated and overburdened ATC system.

  • March 04, 2025

    US Air Force Base's Faulty Wall Crushed Ga. Teen, Suit Says

    The parents of a Georgia teen who was killed in a wall collapse at Robins Air Force Base filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging that the U.S. Air Force faultily constructed and failed to maintain the concrete structure that toppled over and crushed their child last summer.

  • March 04, 2025

    Trump Admin Can't Pause DEI Injunction, Judge Says

    President Donald Trump's administration cannot suspend a preliminary block on executive orders that scrap diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public and private sectors, a Maryland federal judge ruled, finding that the potential harm of the orders outweighs the president's policy priorities.

  • March 04, 2025

    Former Fried Frank Antitrust Partner Joins Davis Polk

    Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP announced it has hired a former Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP antitrust attorney as a partner in its antitrust and competition practice in New York. 

  • March 03, 2025

    USAID Leader Details Toll On 'Critical' Aid Under Trump

    The U.S. Agency for International Development has been "wholly prevented" from delivering "critical" lifesaving services around the world, and that will lead to preventable death, destabilization and threats to national security "on a massive scale," according to memos from an agency leader made public Monday.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ruling Nixing $1.3B Award May Be In Jeopardy At High Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court appeared poised during oral arguments on Monday to overturn a Ninth Circuit decision refusing to enforce a $1.3 billion arbitral award issued to an Indian satellite communications company, as the justices grappled with a new argument from a unit of India's space agency.

  • March 03, 2025

    ICE Contractor Loses Immunity Bid In Family Separation Suit

    A California federal judge Monday largely denied a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor's attempt to escape litigation that a father and son brought against the transportation company for its role in a policy that separated them and thousands of other immigrant families during the first Trump administration.

  • March 03, 2025

    Ligado Says It's Time To Share Weather Satellite Band

    It's time for the government to start sharing a slice of spectrum previously set aside for weather instruments, Ligado Networks and a host of other industry players are telling the Federal Communications Commission after the agency signaled it was open to considering the idea.

  • March 03, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Black Ex-Boeing Engineer's Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday backed Boeing's defeat of a former engineer's lawsuit claiming he was disciplined for minor issues and ultimately terminated because he's Black, ruling he hadn't provided evidence that the company's actions were based on his race.

  • March 03, 2025

    DC Circ. Asks Crowley For More Info In GSA Audit Powers Suit

    A D.C. Circuit panel directed Crowley Government Services Inc., which has challenged the authority of the General Services Administration to audit its contract with the U.S. Department of Defense's Transportation Command, to file a brief detailing whether the contract included any such audit provision.

  • February 28, 2025

    Strict Mandates In Contracting Order May Undercut Efficiency

    An executive order proposing to bring more transparency and efficiency to federal contracting could undermine any efficiency gains by putting additional compliance burdens on an already-strained acquisition workforce that is set to shrink further under the Trump administration.

  • February 28, 2025

    Trump Still Isn't Obeying Order To Free FEMA Funds, AGs Say

    The Trump administration still has not restored millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds as part of a temporary restraining order barring a freeze on funding for federal grant and aid programs, a coalition of states told a Rhode Island federal judge Friday, asking the court to enforce its order.

  • February 28, 2025

    Ex-Iranian Intel Official Accused Of Torture In Fla. Suit

    A former top Iranian intelligence official was accused of human rights abuses in a Florida federal lawsuit brought by three California men, alleging he played a major role in maintaining the deposed shah's repressive regime through the arrest, mass torture and imprisonment of perceived political dissidents.

  • February 28, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Gun Violence Liability & Nuclear Waste

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench Monday to consider Mexico's attempt to hold gun manufacturers and distributors liable for cartel-related gun violence and a nuclear waste site dispute that could determine who can challenge future agency actions.

  • February 28, 2025

    Insurer Settles $6.7M Jet Engine Damage Dispute

    An insurer for a subsidiary of aerospace and defense giant RTX Corp. told a Connecticut federal court it has settled its subrogation action against various contractors over more than $6.7 million in coverage the insurer said it paid for a jet engine damaged in a truck crash.

  • February 28, 2025

    Space Co. Lied About Rocket Launch Timeline, Investors Say

    Aerospace company Rocket Lab USA Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action in California federal court alleging it intentionally concealed issues that would delay the test and commercial launches of a vehicle it developed.

  • February 28, 2025

    Software Engineer Faces Prison For Sharing Info With China

    A Southern California man has pled guilty to downloading sensitive technology from a former employer and using it to market his own competing business to a company in China, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • February 28, 2025

    3M Wants Texas 'Forever Chemical' Suit Tossed

    3M Co. told a Texas federal judge that the Lone Star State's lawsuit accusing chemical manufacturers of selling forever chemical-containing products despite knowing they present health risks to humans should be tossed because the court doesn't have jurisdiction over the companies.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Expect From Federal Cybersecurity Policy In 2025

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    There are 12 cyber policy questions to keep an eye on as the new administration and Republican control of Congress present an opportunity to advance less regulatory approaches and revisit some choices from the prior administration, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Republican Trifecta Amplifies Risks For Cos. In 3 Key Areas

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    Expected coordination between a Republican Congress and presidential administration may expose companies to simultaneous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, particularly with regard to supply chain risks in certain industries, government contracting and cross-border investment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Certification, Lateness, SBA Eligibility

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Cody Fisher at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that address the treatment of a proposal that was timely submitted but received late, and highlight nuances of certification and small business eligibility requirements.

  • Anticipating The Maritime Sector's Future Under Trump 2.0

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    With the Republicans taking control of a governance trifecta, the maritime sector should brace for both familiar leadership and new change that could significantly shift shipping and defense priorities, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025

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    This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • How Trump 2.0 May Change Business In Latin America

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    Companies in Latin America should expect to face more trade restrictions, tighter economic sanctions and enhanced corruption risks, as the incoming administration shifts focus to certain non-U.S. actors, most notably China, says Matteson Ellis at Miller & Chevalier.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • The OIG Report: Preparing For Oversight In 2025

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    Across sectors, Office of Inspector General work plans and challenge reports for 2025 provide a trove of information on the issues and industries that will likely be the focus of government oversight in the year to come, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: How Court Nixed Boeing Plea Deal Over DEI

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    A Texas federal court's rejection of the plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing over the 737 Max aircraft gratuitously injected the court's views on diversity, equity and inclusion into a case that shouldn't have been a criminal matter in the first place, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • How To Manage During A Trade Dispute With USMCA Partners

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    Companies can try to minimize the potential impacts of future tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, and uncertainty about future trade relations, by evaluating supply chains, considering how they may be modified, and engaging with the new administration over exemptions and the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What FARA Enforcement In 2024 Reveals For The Year Ahead

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    A number of developments, from indictments to legislation, shaped the Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement landscape last year, and following the U.S. Department of Justice's recently released long-awaited proposed amendments to the law, 2025 shows no signs of slowing down, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • How New Fraud Enforcement Tool Affects Gov't Contractors

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    Government contractors will likely face greater scrutiny under the recently enacted Administrative False Claims Act, which broadens federal agencies' authority to pursue low-dollar fraud claims, but contractors may also find the act makes settlement of such claims easier to negotiate, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

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