Aerospace & Defense

  • July 18, 2024

    More Novel Protests May Follow OTA Jurisdiction Ruling

    A Court of Federal Claims decision asserting jurisdiction over certain disputes stemming from the U.S. government's authority to mimic commercial purchasing practices could open the door for more novel protests challenging the use of that authority.

  • July 18, 2024

    SpaceX Tells 5th Circ. It Will Win Challenge To NLRB Structure

    The Fifth Circuit should block claims that SpaceX violated labor law from proceeding before the National Labor Relations Board because the company has a good shot at winning its constitutional challenge to the agency's structure, SpaceX argued.

  • July 18, 2024

    Menendez Appeal Could Make Hay From Bribery Case Law

    Sen. Robert Menendez's planned "aggressive" appeal will almost certainly include broadsides against his novel foreign-agent conviction and attempt to capitalize on the U.S. Supreme Court's proven appetite for bribery cases, experts say.

  • July 18, 2024

    BAE Gets Wage Claims Cut From Engineer's Retaliation Suit

    A former engineer for BAE Systems adequately alleged that it understood he was raising concerns about his overtime pay when it chose to fire him, a Maryland federal magistrate judge ruled, keeping alive the ex-worker's retaliation claim while cutting his wage claims against the U.S. Navy contractor.

  • July 18, 2024

    Feds Say Loper Bright Not Relevant In IVF Policy Suit

    The U.S. Department of Defense urged a New York federal court Thursday to throw out a nonprofit's lawsuit challenging its in vitro fertilization coverage policy for service members, countering the group's argument that the agency can't shake the suit because the U.S. Supreme Court upended Chevron deference.

  • July 18, 2024

    SolarWinds Beats Most Claims In SEC's Data Breach Suit

    A New York federal judge on Thursday delivered a heavy blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against software developer SolarWinds Corp. by dismissing substantial portions of the lawsuit, including claims that the company committed securities fraud by minimizing the severity of a state-sponsored attack on its flagship product.

  • July 17, 2024

    Defense Contractor CAE Faces Investor Suit Over Overruns

    Defense contractor CAE was hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it misrepresented major incurred costs related to contracts the company entered into before the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • July 17, 2024

    Special Counsel To Appeal Ax Of Trump Classified Docs Case

    Special Counsel Jack Smith told a Florida federal court Wednesday that he was challenging U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order earlier this week tossing the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump, according to a notice of appeal.

  • July 17, 2024

    Firm Can't Dodge Veteran's Class Claims Over Fees

    A North Carolina federal judge has refused to throw out a proposed class action alleging that a consulting firm charged veterans millions in illegal fees, saying the suit needs more litigation before a dismissal is considered.

  • July 17, 2024

    Watchdog Says Army Didn't Properly Review Ukraine Invoices

    A U.S. Department of Defense watchdog has criticized the U.S. Army for failing to properly oversee a task order supporting maintenance and repair of equipment for Ukraine, saying the Army allowed $20 million in contractor invoices to be paid without checking they were legitimate.

  • July 17, 2024

    Russian Gets 3 Years For Smuggling US Military Technology

    A Russian national was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday by a New York federal judge after admitting to scheming to smuggle U.S. microelectronics used in military settings.

  • July 17, 2024

    Judge Trims Sentence For Crypto Expert Who Aided N. Korea

    A New York federal judge has cut seven months from the sentence of a computer expert convicted of furthering North Korean blockchain development in light of recently revised U.S. sentencing guidelines.

  • July 17, 2024

    6th Circ. Skeptical About Nixing Diver's Harassment Verdict

    The Sixth Circuit appeared inclined Wednesday to uphold a $58,000 verdict awarded to a commercial diver who accused an environmental cleanup company of subjecting her to harassment and belittlement, with several judges expressing doubt about superseding the jury's conclusion. 

  • July 17, 2024

    New Mexico Adds Superfund Claims To PFAS Suit Against US

    New Mexico is expanding its lawsuit against the federal government over costs related to cleaning up forever chemicals near military sites by utilizing a new rule listing the substances as hazardous under the Superfund law.

  • July 16, 2024

    Feds Say Ex-CIA Analyst Secretly Worked For Korea

    Federal prosecutors have accused a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and prominent foreign policy expert of advocating for South Korea's policy positions and working with its spies in exchange for luxury goods, "high-priced dinners" and other gifts, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in New York federal court.

  • July 16, 2024

    Claims Court Can Decide Follow-On Other Transaction Deal

    A Court of Federal Claims judge ruled that her court has jurisdiction to hear a dispute over a contract following on from a U.S. Army Other Transaction Authority agreement, but threw out the case anyway because the protester let a required federal registration lapse.

  • July 16, 2024

    Musk Says X, SpaceX Moving To Texas Over Calif. Gender Law

    Elon Musk took to X Tuesday to announce he will be moving the headquarters of the social media company and his astronautics company, SpaceX, out of California to Texas, after Golden State Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that bars policies mandating that teachers notify parents about students' gender identity.

  • July 16, 2024

    KBR Whistleblower Loses $1.1M Settlement Award At 5th Circ.

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday reversed a KBR Inc. whistleblower's $1.1 million share of a False Claims Act settlement over alleged Iraq War contract kickbacks, agreeing with the federal government that the now-deceased whistleblower's estate deserved nothing since none of his claims were settled.

  • July 16, 2024

    3 Reasons Why 2nd Menendez Bribery Case Was The Charm

    Nearly seven years after the government's first bribery case against longtime U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez collapsed in a hung jury, prosecutors avenged that loss Tuesday by sealing a conviction on a new round of corruption charges.

  • July 16, 2024

    Trump Special Prosecutor Ruling Could Find Favor On Appeal

    When U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Florida over what she said was an unconstitutional appointment of a special prosecutor, she staked out a position that few other jurists have taken, but that could find support among some appellate judges, experts said.

  • July 16, 2024

    Kaspersky To End US Operations After Commerce Dept.'s Ban

    A Russian cybersecurity and antivirus provider will begin closing U.S. operations and laying off workers Sunday, after the U.S. Department of Commerce banned it from selling its products in the U.S. or to U.S. citizens.

  • July 16, 2024

    SpaceX Loses Bid To Block Rival's Earth Station Renewals

    The Federal Communications Commission denied SpaceX's request to reconsider the agency's renewal of licenses for three earth stations from satellite communications company DBSD Corp., saying in a new order that SpaceX showed little to support its claim that DBSD was using "obstructionist" tactics to interfere with SpaceX operations.

  • July 16, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Iraq Immune To $120M Contract Row

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday threw out a $120 million judgment levied against Iraq for its refusal to pay a Pennsylvania defense contractor for rebuilding the country's military equipment, ruling after more than a decade of litigation that Iraq is immune from the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts.

  • July 16, 2024

    Ex-Mozambique Official Accused Of $2B Fraud As Trial Opens

    Federal prosecutors told a Manhattan jury Tuesday that Mozambique's former finance minister took $7 million in bribes in a "corrupt" plot to enrich himself and defraud investors after $2 billion in state-backed development projects flopped.

  • July 16, 2024

    Pentagon, GSA Seek 'Record-Setting' Clean Energy Projects

    The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. General Services Administration say they are going for "record-setting federal purchases of clean energy" in a joint statement seeking contractors who will be able to get multiple federal facilities running entirely on carbon-pollution-free power by 2030.

Expert Analysis

  • How Harsher Penalties For AI Crimes May Work In Practice

    Author Photo

    With recent pronouncements from the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecutors may seek sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, defense counsel should understand how the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will come into play, says Jennie VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.

  • Document Retention Best Practices To Lower Litigation Risks

    Author Photo

    As new technologies emerge and terabytes of data can be within the purview of a single discovery request, businesses small and large should take four document management steps to effectively minimize risks of litigation and discovery sanctions long before litigation ensues, says Kimbrilee Weber at Norris McLaughlin.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

    Author Photo

    Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

    Author Photo

    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

    Author Photo

    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Risks Of Nonmutual Offensive Collateral Estoppel In MDLs

    Author Photo

    After the Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. personal injury litigation, nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel could show up in more MDLs, and transform the loss of a single MDL bellwether trial into a de facto classwide decision that binds thousands of other MDL cases, say Chantale Fiebig and Luke Sullivan at Weil Gotshal.

  • Wesco Ch. 11 Ruling Marks Shift In Uptier Claim Treatment

    Author Photo

    A Texas bankruptcy court’s recent decision in In re: Wesco Aircraft Holdings leaves nonparticipating creditors with a road map to litigate to judgment non-pro rata liability management transactions, and foreshadows that bankruptcy courts may no longer be a friendly forum for these types of claims, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

    Author Photo

    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • FARA Enforcement May Soon Be In The Halls Of Higher Ed

    Author Photo

    Given Congress’ increased attention to rising foreign influence on U.S. college campuses, the U.S. Department of Justice may soon turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act spotlight on educational institutions and groups, which will need to review their possible obligations under the statute, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

    Author Photo

    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • How The FAA Is Embracing Simplified Flight Controls

    Author Photo

    The Federal Aviation Administration's openness to approving simplified flight controls as part of its forthcoming refresh of regulations governing light-sport aircraft and sport pilot certificates is valuable and welcome — and the same approach can be brought to general aviation aircraft, says Paul Alp at Adams and Reese.

  • Making The Pitch For A Civil Resolution In A Criminal Case

    Author Photo

    Even without the depth of visibility into prosecutorial decision making offered by special counsel Robert Hur’s recently released report, defense counsel may be able to make the case for civil resolutions of criminal investigations while minimizing a potential negative response from prosecutors to such an argument, says Bill Athanas at Bradley Arant.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

    Author Photo

    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Aerospace & Defense archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!