Aerospace & Defense

  • March 17, 2025

    Former DOJ, FCC Official Joins Morgan Lewis In DC

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has grown its telecommunications, media and technology practice in Washington, D.C., with the addition of a former senior Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice official, the firm announced on Monday.

  • March 14, 2025

    Trump Revokes Paul Weiss Security Clearances

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP became the third law firm to have workers' security clearances suspended by President Donald Trump, who signed the executive order Friday, citing the firm's DEI hiring practices and the decision by a former attorney there to assist the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Trump.

  • March 14, 2025

    4th Circ. Lets White House Anti-DEI Efforts Proceed

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday lifted a temporary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's administration from implementing the bulk of his executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, though each judge on the panel had differing views on the matter. 

  • March 14, 2025

    Boeing NASA Tech IP Claims Survive Dismissal In Wash.

    A Washington federal judge has narrowed a Colorado firm's suit accusing The Boeing Co. of using stolen technology to support NASA's Artemis moon exploration program, preserving some claims for copyright and trade secret theft while dismissing trademark and counterfeiting allegations.

  • March 14, 2025

    Fort Worth's Unwieldy PFAS Suit Against Gov't, Cos. Gets Split

    A Texas federal judge on Friday ruled that Fort Worth's $420.6 million suit seeking to hold the federal government and various manufacturers liable for PFAS contamination must be split into separate cases, or risk being too unwieldy and confusing for jurors.

  • March 14, 2025

    Md. Judge Joins Calif. In Reversing Federal Workers' Firing

    A Maryland federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who were abruptly fired from 18 federal agencies, saying the Trump administration's lack of required notice left states "scrambling" to pick up the pieces.

  • March 14, 2025

    Claims Court Judge Says GSA Was Wrong To DQ OASIS+ Bid

    A Court of Federal Claims judge on Friday ruled in favor of government contractor Q2 Impact in a spat over its disqualification from bidding in the General Services Administration's massive OASIS+ professional services contract, saying the GSA misinterpreted the 2019 defense bill barring contractors from using Chinese-made telecommunications equipment.

  • March 14, 2025

    Senate Approves Full-Year Funding Resolution

    The U.S. Senate on Friday passed a continuing resolution funding the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2025, after a small group of Democrats sided with Republicans to end debate on the bill.

  • March 14, 2025

    SpaceX Suit Against Coastal Commission Grounded, For Now

    A California federal judge dismissed SpaceX's suit Friday alleging the California Coastal Commission wrongly tried to block its rocket launches, but allowed leave to amend the complaint after warning the company's lawyer he would not grant any leave if he kept up his current line of attack on the suit.

  • March 14, 2025

    Convict Seeks Prison Delay Ahead Of Nadine Menendez Trial

    An associate of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez who is appealing his conviction for bribing the politician with gold and cash asked a New York federal judge Friday to postpone his voluntary surrender for imprisonment as he prepares to testify in the trial of the ex-politician's wife. 

  • March 14, 2025

    Atty Gets 8½ Years For Attempted Embassy Attack

    A Florida attorney who pled guilty to damaging a San Antonio sculpture and unsuccessfully trying to detonate explosives outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 8½ years Friday, after the judge overseeing the case said the defendant's own statements at the hearing likely got him more time.

  • March 14, 2025

    Mass. Court Won't Lift Default Over Discovery Failures

    A California aerospace firm can't get a do-over after repeatedly defaulting on discovery obligations in a Massachusetts lawsuit over an unpaid bill from a tax consultant, the state's intermediate-level appeals court said on Friday.

  • March 13, 2025

    Watchdog Says Federal Landlord Used Prohibited Chinese Drone

    The U.S. General Service Administration's Office of Inspector General on Thursday pressed the Public Buildings Service to tell one of its contractors to stop using a drone manufactured by a Chinese company that the U.S. Department of Defense has identified as a potential national security threat.

  • March 13, 2025

    Judge Trims Claims Of Botched Federal Savings Transition

    A D.C. federal judge trimmed a proposed class of federal employees and their family members' claims against two companies that manage workers' retirement plan and the plan's board Wednesday, tossing claims of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty but leaving breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims intact.

  • March 13, 2025

    Air Force Didn't Properly Assess Labor Rates On $121M Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has sustained a protest over a $121.4 million U.S. Air Force communications support task order, finding the Air Force unreasonably assessed whether the awardee's proposed pay rates were realistic.

  • March 13, 2025

    Drone-Maker Wants DOD Info On Listing As Chinese Military Co.

    Drone manufacturer DJI wants the U.S. Department of Defense to turn over classified information behind the decision to list it as a Chinese military company, claiming the materials are essential for its lawsuit contesting the designation.

  • March 13, 2025

    FCC Creates New Nat'l Security Arm Focused On China

    The Federal Communications Commission will operate a new organization within the agency focused solely on national security, particularly cybersecurity threats emerging from the Chinese government.

  • March 13, 2025

    Judge Hits 'Reset Button' In 3M, DuPont PFAS Cleanup Case

    New Jersey's environmental regulators have tried to force EIDP and DuPont Chemours to begin remediation efforts on "forever chemical" contamination at a former facility in Salem County — which is at the center of ongoing litigation — a move that seemingly undermined a federal judge's authority and put in jeopardy a looming May trial date.

  • March 13, 2025

    Who Is FCC Nominee Olivia Trusty? Here's What We Know

    Republicans on the five-seat Federal Communications Commission need a critical third vote to push through many of the changes they envision for the nation's telecom policies, and the White House has chosen longtime Capitol Hill aide Olivia Trusty for the role.

  • March 13, 2025

    Navy Escapes Civilian Mechanic's Race Bias Suit

    The U.S. Navy defeated a Black civilian mechanic's suit claiming he was denied training opportunities and humiliated by a racist video in front of white and Hispanic colleagues, with a California federal judge finding the actions didn't negatively impact his employment.

  • March 13, 2025

    Judge Orders Reinstatement Of Many Fired Federal Workers

    A California federal judge on Thursday ordered the immediate reinstatement of certain probationary employees fired from six federal agencies, saying the Office of Personnel Management did not have the authority to direct those terminations, making the firings "unlawful."

  • March 12, 2025

    DC Judge Challenges DOD Over Trans Military Ban Policy

    A D.C. federal judge said at a hearing Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth either intends to ban transgender people from the military entirely or he's "sloppy" and says things on social media that contradict the policy he wrote.

  • March 12, 2025

    3M's $6B Deal In Earplug MDL Cut Federal Caseload 14%

    A single settlement produced a 14% decrease in the number of pending cases in federal district courts over fiscal 2024, and that was 3M's $6 billion deal to end multidistrict litigation over its combat earplugs, according to a Tuesday report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

  • March 12, 2025

    'Delete, Delete, Delete': DOGE-Linked Effort Launched At FCC

    The nation's telecom rules will get a makeover to "delete" a lot of requirements the Federal Communications Commission has determined are no longer needed under an effort launched Wednesday by FCC Chair Brendan Carr.

  • March 12, 2025

    Binance Asks Judge To Rethink Upholding Terror Victims' Suit

    Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao have asked a New York federal judge to reconsider his ruling allowing a bulk of claims from a group of Hamas attack survivors to move forward, arguing that the survivors do not allege that Binance had a "close nexus" to the terrorist groups that allegedly used its platforms.

Expert Analysis

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • 'Minimum Contacts' Issues At Stake In High Court FSIA Case

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    In CC/Devas v. Antrix, the U.S. Supreme Court must decide whether a "minimum contacts" requirement should be implied in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, with the potential to dramatically change the legislative landscape through the establishment of a new and significant barrier to U.S. suits against foreign states, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure

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    Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Series

    Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Debriefings, Timeliness, Documentation

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    ​James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims concerning an agency's decision not to hold post-award discussions, a timeliness trap in certain Federal Supply Schedule procurements and the importance of providing contemporaneous documentation in price-evaluation protests.

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

  • Series

    Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.

  • Aviation Watch: Boeing Plea Agreement May Not Serve Public

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    The proposed plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing — the latest outgrowth of the company's 737 Max travails — is opposed by crash victims' families, faces an uncertain fate in court, and may ultimately serve no beneficial purpose, even if approved, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Secret Service Failures Offer Lessons For Private Sector GCs

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    The Secret Service’s problematic response to two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump this summer provides a crash course for general counsel on how not to handle crisis communications, says Keith Nahigian at Nahigian Strategies.

  • Managing Sanctions Defense Across Multiple Jurisdictions

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    Companies called before multiple regulators to account for the same conduct in this era of increased global sanctions and import-control enforcement should consider national differences in law and policy, and proactively coordinate their responses in certain key areas, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • 4 Ways To Prepare For DOD Cyber Certification Rule

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    Given the U.S. Department of Justice's increased scrutiny of contractor compliance with cybersecurity requirements, it is critical that contractors take certain steps now in response to the U.S. Department of Defense's proposed Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification implementation rule, say Townsend Bourne and Lillia Damalouji at Sheppard Mullin.

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