Aerospace & Defense

  • February 20, 2025

    Trump Admin Must Obey Order To Restore Aid, Judge Says

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to restore foreign assistance funding in accordance with his temporary restraining order, but stopped short of sanctioning the government officials.

  • February 20, 2025

    DOJ Says It Will Drop Immigrant Bias Case Against SpaceX

    The U.S. Department of Justice told a Texas federal judge Thursday that it plans to drop administrative proceedings alleging Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. refused to hire refugees and asylees.

  • February 20, 2025

    Dems Blast 'Reckless' Nuclear Security Worker Firings

    Seven Democratic legislators sent a letter to newly confirmed Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Thursday pressing for answers as to why the Department of Government Efficiency fired hundreds of National Nuclear Security Administration staff members, calling it a "reckless decision."

  • February 20, 2025

    Jones Day Atty Exits Menendez Bribery Case As Appeal Looms

    Yaakov Roth of Jones Day sought to withdraw Thursday from representing Robert Menendez following the former U.S. senator's convictions on bribery and corruption charges, leaving his Paul Hastings LLP team to steer the case at the trial level on the day after the government argued Menendez should not remain free on appeal.

  • February 20, 2025

    DOD To Shift $50B To Trump Defense Spending Priorities

    U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the agency to shift $50 billion from its 2026 budget away from "Biden-legacy programs" to programs that align with President Donald Trump's "America first" agenda. 

  • February 20, 2025

    Select SPAC Targets Are Soaring Ahead Of The Pack

    A select breed of companies that went public through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies are performing well lately — hailing mostly from a few specific industries — in stark contrast to the vast majority of SPAC merger targets that have flopped over the past few years, according to data released on Thursday.

  • February 20, 2025

    Feds Say DC Judge Can't Bar 'Hypothetical' Spending Freezes

    A Justice Department attorney argued before a D.C. federal judge Thursday that there is no basis to continue blocking the Trump administration from implementing a blanket suspension on federal spending, saying the court cannot bar "hypothetical" future freezes.

  • February 20, 2025

    Nootropics Co. Can't Push Nurse's Suit To Arbitration

    Makers of the Thesis brand of supplements can't push into arbitration a former U.S. Army nurse's lawsuit claiming its nootropics, sometimes called "smart drugs," secretly contained amphetamines, which caused her to fail a drug test and be booted from the military, a Washington federal judge has ruled.

  • February 20, 2025

    Dems Seek Answers, Reversals For 'Reckless' VA Cuts

    Democrats in Congress asked Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins to justify how firing 1,000-plus VA employees could possibly benefit veterans, and they called on him to reverse the cuts, stating that they are causing negative impacts.

  • February 20, 2025

    Bell Textron Says Iran Is Refusing To Pay $1.7M Storage Costs

    Helicopter manufacturer Bell Textron Inc. has sued the Islamic Republic of Iran in Texas federal court, claiming it is owed $1.67 million for its continued storage of equipment once owned by the pre-revolutionary Iranian government. 

  • February 20, 2025

    DOJ Official Flags 'Aggressive' FCA Approach Under Trump

    A senior U.S. Department of Justice official said Thursday that the Trump administration's focus on government efficiency will include "aggressively" enforcing the False Claims Act, including a strong focus on FCA enforcement of foreign trade issues amid recently imposed tariffs.

  • February 20, 2025

    RTX Unit Gets $1.5B F-22 Engine Deal Amid Fleet Uncertainty

    RTX unit Pratt & Whitney was given a three-year contract worth up to $1.5 billion with the U.S. Air Force to maintain engines for F-22 fighter jets, while the government mulls when the next generation of jets will be rolled out to replace them.

  • February 20, 2025

    Holland & Knight Adds Two To New Defense Industry Group

    Holland & Knight LLP has added two members to its new group devoted to the defense and national security industry, hiring a former U.S. Senate counsel for the subcommittee overseeing defense spending and a former Department of Defense technical director.

  • February 19, 2025

    Trump Is Defying Order To Unfreeze Foreign Aid, Groups Say

    The Trump administration is "brazenly" defying an order to restore foreign assistance funding, a pair of aid organizations told a Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday, asking the court to enforce its temporary restraining order and to sanction the government officials until they comply.

  • February 19, 2025

    Judge Criticizes Gov't For Fighting $7K Navy Back Pay Claim

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has remanded a former U.S. Navy seaman's back pay dispute after admonishing the government for fighting against the "relatively small" $7,000 claim despite the Navy having effectively admitted it was wrong.

  • February 19, 2025

    Space Tech Co. Denied Injunction In Amazon Contract Row

    A Swedish space technology provider did not adequately justify its request for a preliminary injunction against an aerospace parts manufacturer while the companies arbitrate over a supply contract for an Amazon Inc. broadband project, a Connecticut federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • February 19, 2025

    Cybersecurity Official Rejoins DOD After Contentious Exit

    Former U.S. Department of Defense official Katie Arrington, a key figure in establishing its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program who previously left the Pentagon after a contentious suspension, announced she has rejoined the DOD as chief information security officer.

  • February 19, 2025

    GAO Says $185M Space Force Contract Was Reasonable

    The Government Accountability Office rejected a Virginia contractor's protest of a $185 million financial services contract for the U.S. Space Force, denying the contractor's claims that the government's price and performance assessments were unreasonable.

  • February 19, 2025

    US Lagging China In Spectrum Use, Experts Tell Senate

    The U.S. is rapidly losing ground to China in developing commercial uses for spectrum because it lacks an aggressive policy to make more government-controlled airwaves available for wireless and satellite communications, experts told the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

  • February 19, 2025

    Judge Calls Trump's Trans Treatment 'Total Discrimination'

    The D.C. federal judge who on Tuesday called President Donald Trump's executive order purporting to ban transgender people from serving in the military "unadulterated animus" pressed government attorneys once again Wednesday, asking how they could view the administration's numerous actions against trans people as "anything other than total discrimination."

  • February 19, 2025

    Vets Urge 9th Circ. To Bar UCLA From Baseball Lease Row

    A group of disabled military veterans asked the Ninth Circuit to uphold a California federal judge's ruling that it's too late for the University of California system to join a suit over a campus that the veterans say should have been used for housing.

  • February 19, 2025

    Fired Watchdogs 'Must Be Reinstated,' Senate Democrats Say

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and 28 other Senate Democrats have filed an amicus brief to support a lawsuit by eight of the inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump.

  • February 19, 2025

    Nadine Menendez Loses Bid To Have Expert Testify On Gifts

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday rejected a request by Nadine Menendez to have a witness testify that receiving gold bars as gifts is normal in her culture, dealing the wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez a setback ahead of her corruption trial.

  • February 18, 2025

    Health Net Pays $11.25M To Settle Cybersecurity FCA Claims

    Health Net and its parent Centene Corp. have reached an $11.25 million False Claims Act settlement to resolve allegations that the health plan administrator falsely certified compliance with cybersecurity requirements under a U.S. Department of Defense contract.

  • February 18, 2025

    Trump Exec Order Expands Control Over Independent Agencies

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to limit the autonomy of independent agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission by requiring them to submit draft regulations for presidential review.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • How Trump's 2nd Term May Alter The Immigration Landscape

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    Rhetoric from Donald Trump's campaign and his choice of hardline appointees indicate that a more restrictive and punitive approach to immigration is in our immediate future, especially in areas like humanitarian relief, nonimmigrant visa processing, and travel and green card eligibility, says John Quill at Mintz.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Inside The Appeals Board's 2024 Report To Congress

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    An in-depth examination of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ annual report reveals ​a continuing decline in new cases, motions and hearings, a trend that may correspond with ​t​he increased use of alternative dispute resolution, and expedited or accelerated proceedings, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How Boards And Officers Should Prep For New Trump Admin

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    In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and mass deportation campaign, company officers and board members should pursue proactive, comprehensive contingency planning to not only advance the best interests of the companies they serve, but to also properly exercise their fiduciary duty of care, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence

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    The Bureau of Industry and Security’s recent removal of a Canadian surveillance provider from its export blacklist, after just eight months, illustrates the importance of integrating human rights due diligence into the vetting process by asking a few targeted questions, say attorneys at Cravath.

  • DC Circ. Decision Opens Door To NEPA Regulation Litigation

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    A recent D.C. Circuit decision in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration could open the door to more litigation over the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act regulations, and could affect how many agencies conduct and interpret environmental assessments, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Perils Of Perfunctory Interpretation

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    Attorneys at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions in which the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and the Federal Circuit ruthlessly dismantled arguments that rely on superficial understandings of different contract terms.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • Key Points From New Maritime Oil Price Cap Advisory

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    The Price Cap Coalition's updated advisory regarding the maritime oil industry's compliance with the Russian oil price cap highlights the role of governmental authorities, additional areas warranting due diligence and the need for training programs, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Trump Patent Policy May Be Headed In Unexpected Direction

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    While commentators have assumed that the patent policy of President-elect Donald Trump's second administration will largely mirror the pro-patent policy of his first, these predictions fail to take into account the likely oversized influence of Elon Musk, says Jorge Contreras at the University of Utah.

  • Takeaways From Final Regulations For China Investment Ban

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    ​The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rule banning U.S. investment in emerging Chinese technology clarifies some key requirements, includes additional exceptions for covered transactions and attempts to address concerns that the rule will put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Compliance Considerations Of DOJ Data Security Rule

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    Under the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule aiming to prevent certain countries' access to bulk U.S. sensitive personal data, companies must ensure their vendor, employment and investment agreements meet strict new data security requirements — or determine whether such contracts are worth the cost of compliance, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

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