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Government Contracts
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July 18, 2024
PharMerica Inks $100M Deal In 13-Year-Old Whistleblower Suit
PharMerica Corp. has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a former New Jersey nursing home owner's long-running whistleblower litigation over an alleged drug kickback scheme, according to the plaintiff's law firm.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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July 17, 2024
DOE Says Challenge Of $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award Must Fail
The U.S. Department of Energy is urging a California federal judge to throw out a suit challenging its award of $1.1 billion of credits to help Pacific Gas & Electric Co. keep two generation units running for now at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
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July 17, 2024
Yet Another Patent Owner Wants High Court To Review Alice
A small Alabama company that claims to have invented a new way of "processing returned mail" is the latest to complain to the U.S. Supreme Court about the state of patent eligibility law after the company was unable to enforce its patent against the U.S. Postal Service.
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July 17, 2024
Fed. Gov't Can't Slip Suit Over Affordable Housing Loan
A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has refused to dismiss a company's suit alleging the federal government violated a loan agreement and now owes the company for the taking of its property.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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July 16, 2024
Ill. Judge Wants Expert Testimony Preview In Madigan Trial
An Illinois federal judge said Tuesday that he needs to hear more about potential testimony from certain Chicago politics experts and a proposal to research potential jurors before he decides whether either are appropriate for former state House speaker Michael Madigan's corruption trial.
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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.
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July 16, 2024
Development Co. Says Chubb Unit Must Cover Defense Costs
An economic development company told a Delaware federal court its insurer must cover the over $7.6 million it has incurred while facing a government agency's allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with the agency's claim that one of its subcontractors overbilled the agency.
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July 16, 2024
Full 4th Circ. Won't Hear Student Loan Biz's Sealed Docs Case
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday declined to grant a full court rehearing to a student loan provider that wanted to shield court filings from a filmmaker after a panel found he had a First Amendment right to the information.
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July 16, 2024
Durbin Probes ICE Healthcare Measures After Death Reports
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Tuesday pressed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to explain its protections for medically vulnerable detainees after human rights organizations reported that the agency could have prevented most detainee deaths between 2017 and 2022.
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July 16, 2024
Columbia U. Aims To Keep $600M Patent Win Over Norton
Columbia University has urged the Federal Circuit to preserve its $600 million willful patent infringement judgment against NortonLifeLock Inc., telling the court that Norton's "kitchen-sink" appeal "raises a slew of issues, hoping something will stick" and challenging Quinn Emanuel's appeal of a civil contempt ruling as "baseless and, ultimately, academic."
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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.
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July 16, 2024
Miami-Dade Tries To Nix Seaquarium Operator's Eviction Suit
Miami-Dade County has asked a federal judge to toss a lawsuit from the operator of the Miami Seaquarium, which claimed the county is evicting it after its CEO responded to a "disrespectful" email from an official concerned about manatees held at the aging facility.
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July 16, 2024
Vertex Pharma Widens War On Watchdog's Kickback Views
A lawsuit from gene therapy-drug maker Vertex Pharmaceuticals over fertility treatment access is a new battle over enforcement kickback theories and health officials' interpretation of "inducement."
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July 16, 2024
The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
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July 16, 2024
These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
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July 16, 2024
Ex-Philly Charter School Exec Gets 7 Years For Embezzlement
Abdur Rahim Islam, who ran famed R&B producer Kenny Gamble's Philadelphia-based housing and education nonprofit, was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization and using the ill-gotten gains for Caribbean vacations.
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July 15, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Revive Challenge Of US Military Aid To Israel
Palestinian human rights activists cannot revive their lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's support for Israel's military efforts in Gaza, the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday, saying the decision to provide military or other aid to a foreign nation is a political arrangement that does not belong in the courts.
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July 15, 2024
Fed. Circ. Rejects FEMA Contractor's Water Restocking Fees
The Federal Circuit on Monday upheld the rejection of an embattled government contractor's claim for $13.5 million in restocking fees after the Federal Emergency Management Agency sharply reduced the amount of bottled water the agency ordered in response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
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July 15, 2024
Gov't Facing Sanctions Over Docs Withheld In Contract Row
A Court of Federal Claims judge has ordered the federal government to explain why it shouldn't be sanctioned for wrongly asserting privilege and withholding documents in a dispute over the allegedly bad faith cancelation of a U.S. Air Force construction task order.
Expert Analysis
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain
The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.
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Adopting 7 Principles May Improve Voluntary Carbon Markets
The Biden administration's recently issued joint policy statement on improving the integrity of voluntary carbon markets may help companies using carbon credits to offset their emissions withstand scrutiny by government agencies, the public and investors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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5 Steps For Gov't Contractor Affirmative Action Verification
As the federal contractor affirmative action program certification deadline approaches, government contractors and subcontractors should take steps to determine their program obligations, and ensure any required plans are properly implemented and timely registered, say Christopher Wilkinson at Perkins Coie and Joanna Colosimo at DCI Consulting.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 2
Strategy documents recently published by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Space Force confirm the importance of the commercial space sector to the DOD, but say little about achieving the institutional changes needed to integrate commercial capabilities in support of national security in space, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.
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National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 1
The recently published U.S. Department of Defense space strategy represents a recalibration in agency thinking, signaling that the integration of commercial space capabilities has become a necessity and offering guidance for removing structural, procedural and cultural barriers to commercial-sector collaboration, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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Contractors Must Prep For FAR Council GHG Emissions Rule
With the U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council expected to finalize its proposed rule on the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk this year, government contractors should take key steps now to get ready, say Thomas Daley at DLA Piper, Steven Rothstein at the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, and John Kostyack at Kostyack Strategies.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.