Aerospace & Defense

  • April 10, 2025

    Cooley-Led Drone Operator Launches Plans For $75M IPO

    Drone systems developer Airo Group Holdings Inc. launched plans Thursday for an estimated $75 million initial public offering amid choppy market conditions, represented by Cooley LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • April 09, 2025

    'Evasive' Unions Told To List Fired Probationary Workers

    The California federal judge who ordered the reinstatement of many fired probationary federal workers before the U.S. Supreme Court stayed his ruling on Wednesday ordered the public sector unions representing federal staffers to provide a list of their booted members, calling their claims that the information would be difficult to produce "evasive."

  • April 09, 2025

    Trump's FCC Nominee Faces Light Scrutiny At Senate Hearing

    The woman that President Donald Trump has tapped to become the fifth member and final member of the Federal Communications Commission and cement the agency's Republican majority mostly skated through her nomination hearing Wednesday morning.

  • April 09, 2025

    New US Sanctions Target Iran's Nuclear Program

    The Trump administration on Wednesday announced sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear program, saying it is imposing them on five entities and one person based in Iran for their support of the program.

  • April 09, 2025

    House Dems Probe Musk's Alleged Conflicts Of Interest

    Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote to four federal agencies seeking answers to how they plan to ensure that Elon Musk isn't using his position at the Department of Government Efficiency to exploit them and enrich himself in violation of federal ethics rules.

  • April 09, 2025

    15 Cos. Win Slots On $7B Army Construction Contract

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded 15 construction companies out of 35 bidders slots on a $7 billion contract for design-build and design-bid-build horizontal construction task orders. 

  • April 09, 2025

    NASA Nom Quizzed On Musk And Colonizing The Moon

    The commercial astronaut and businessman that President Donald Trump intends to make the next head of NASA came under fire during his nomination hearing Wednesday over his ties to billionaire and presidential confidante Elon Musk, who has billions in contracts with the agency.

  • April 09, 2025

    Insurer, Flight School Agree Training Suit Isn't Covered

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a flight school accused in an underlying suit of misrepresenting the education and training that students enrolled in a flight program would receive, according to a consent agreement approved by a North Carolina federal court.

  • April 09, 2025

    Ancora Drops US Steel Pursuit After Trump Flags Nippon Deal

    Ancora Holdings Group said Wednesday it is withdrawing its slate of director candidates for U.S. Steel's upcoming annual meeting, citing "apparent momentum" for the $14.9 billion acquisition by Japan's Nippon Steel after President Donald Trump announced a fresh national security review of the deal Monday. 

  • April 08, 2025

    Ex-Google Engineer Unlikely To Beat AI Trade Secrets Charges

    A California federal judge indicated Tuesday that he's unlikely to toss economic espionage charges against an ex-Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to benefit startups in China, but said he "can't shake the feeling" that prosecutors wouldn't have brought the case if it involved a different country.

  • April 08, 2025

    OIG Finds $1.8M Of Potential 'Overbillings' In VA Contract

    The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General said Tuesday that a transportation services contractor may have overbilled the department by about $1.8 million over two years and recommended that VA contracting officials consider whether they could or should try to recover any money.

  • April 08, 2025

    Feds Take Aim At Judge's Toss Of Bergdahl Conviction

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told the D.C. Circuit it was "inappropriate on every level" for a district court judge to throw out the court-martial conviction and sentence of former U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who deserted his post in Afghanistan.

  • April 08, 2025

    Feds Call Exec Charged With Tax Evasion A Flight Risk

    An aerospace company founder facing tax evasion and other fraud charges should remain in pretrial detention because he's a major flight risk, prosecutors told a D.C. federal court.

  • April 08, 2025

    Barings Snags Aircraft Portfolio Valued At Over $200M

    Investment manager Barings on Tuesday announced that it has agreed to buy an aircraft portfolio valued at more than $200 million through its capital solutions platform.

  • April 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Wary Of Judge Becoming 'King' Of Veteran Housing

    The Ninth Circuit appeared skeptical Tuesday of a California federal court's decision to establish control over a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facility due to inadequate homelessness measures, with one panel member expressing concern the district judge gave himself the overbroad powers of a "king."

  • April 08, 2025

    3M Tells 2nd Circ. Conn. PFAS Suit Belongs In Federal Court

    3M Co. on Monday told the Second Circuit that Connecticut's lawsuit accusing the company of polluting the environment with forever chemicals contained in its consumer products belongs in federal court.

  • April 08, 2025

    Key Witness Against Nadine Menendez Grilled Over Past Lies

    A corrupt former New Jersey insurance broker testifying against Nadine Menendez during her trial on bribery charges admitted Tuesday to a decade of lying prior to his decision to cooperate against her and her husband, former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez.

  • April 08, 2025

    Split 4th Circ. Lifts Block On DOGE's Access To Gov't Data

    A split Fourth Circuit panel paused Monday a ruling blocking the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive information on millions of Americans held by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management, while a dissenting judge disagreed "with all the energy an old judge can muster."

  • April 08, 2025

    Justices Halt Order To Reinstate Federal Workers

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday hit pause on a California federal court order reinstating tens of thousands of probationary federal workers who were fired from six agencies, agreeing with the Trump administration that the nonprofit groups that obtained the order lack standing to challenge the firings. 

  • April 07, 2025

    Homeland Secretary Waives Fed Laws For Calif. Border Wall

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has issued a federal notice that she is waiving a slew of environmental and historical preservation laws to facilitate the construction of a barrier wall and roads in the San Diego area, citing illegal border crossings and drug trafficking.

  • April 07, 2025

    USAA Wants Full Fed. Circ. To Hear PNC's Patent Board Wins

    A San Antonio-based bank that lost two of its patents covering technology used to deposit checks through smartphones — including one tied to a $218 million jury verdict against PNC Bank — is arguing that a Federal Circuit panel has allowed the patent board "to escape its obligation to explain itself."

  • April 07, 2025

    FAA, SpaceX Failed Adequate Review For Starship, Groups Say

    Conservation groups told a federal court Friday that there is "clear record evidence" that the Federal Aviation Administration and SpaceX failed to complete an adequate environmental review for SpaceX's Starship rocket launch program in Texas.

  • April 07, 2025

    OMB Issues Guidance On Agency Use, Purchasing Of AI

    The Office of Management and Budget issued a pair of memorandums last week that replaced the Biden administration's safeguards on the federal acquisition of artificial intelligence with a policy aimed at accelerating federal agencies' use and procurement of artificial intelligence.

  • April 07, 2025

    Judges Probe Greek Air Force Contract Dispute's Timeliness

    Skeptical Federal Circuit judges pushed Greece's Air Force on Monday to explain why its $21.75 million suit over faulty reconnaissance cameras wasn't untimely, saying it seemed to be aware of related issues years before suing the U.S. government.

  • April 07, 2025

    Trump Reopens Security Review Of US Steel-Nippon Deal

    President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a fresh national security review of Nippon Steel's proposed $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel, reviving a deal blocked by his predecessor and giving the companies some of the relief they sought in court.

Expert Analysis

  • Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Interacting With A Designated Cartel

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    There are steps companies doing business in Latin America should take to mitigate risks associated with the Trump administration's designation of several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and the terrorism statute's material-support provisions, which may render seemingly legitimate transactions criminal, say attorneys at Covington.

  • The PFAS Causation Question Is Far From Settled

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    In litigation over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the general causation question — whether the type of PFAS concerned is actually capable of causing disease — often receives little attention, but the scientific evidence around this issue is far from conclusive, and is a point worth raising by defense counsel, says John Gardella at CMBG3 Law.

  • Series

    Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From SEC To BigLaw

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    As I adjusted to the multifaceted workflow of a BigLaw firm after leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, working side by side with new colleagues on complex matters proved the fastest way to build a deep rapport and demonstrate my value, says Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block.

  • Weathering Policy Zig-Zags In Gov't Contracting Under Trump

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    To succeed amid the massive shift in federal contracting policies heralded by President Donald Trump's return to office, contractors should be prepared for increased costs and enhanced False Claims Act enforcement, and to act swiftly to avail themselves of contractual remedies, says Jacob Scott at Smith Currie.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

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    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

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    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Prejudice, Injunctions, New Regulations

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Markus Speidel at MoFo looks at three recent decisions that consider whether a past performance evaluation needs to show prejudice to be successfully challenged, the prerequisites for injunctive relief and the application of new regulatory requirements to indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • Preparing For Disruptions To Life Sciences Supply Chains

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    Life sciences companies must assess how new and escalating tariffs — combined with other restrictions on cross-border activity singling out pharmaceutical products and medical devices — will affect supply chains, and they should proactively prepare for antitrust and foreign direct investment regulatory review processes, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Steering Clear Of US Sanctions While Paying Pirates Ransom

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    Maritime operators, insurers and financial institutions must exercise extreme caution when making ransom payments related to Somali piracy, as the payments could trigger primary and secondary sanctions enforcement by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, says Chelsea Ellis at LMD Trade Law.

  • Justices Likely To Issue Narrow Ruling In $1.3B Award Dispute

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    After last week's argument in Devas v. Antrix, the Supreme Court appears likely to reverse the holding that minimum contacts are required before a federal court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign state and remand the case for further litigation on other important constitutional questions, say attorneys at Cleary. 

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.

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