Aerospace & Defense

Expert Analysis

• Suspension And Debarment: FY 2019 By The Numbers

  

  The System for Award Management shows that federal agency suspension and debarment activity is experiencing a multiyear, pronounced decline, with the notable exception of an uptick in exclusions of firms, says David Robbins of Crowell & Moring.

• 4 Months After Kisor V. Wilkie, Auer Deference Survives

  

  Recent federal appellate and district court rulings suggest that the predicted radical curtailing of Auer deference in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kisor v. Wilkie has not come to fruition, say Jeffrey Karp and Edward Mahaffey at Sullivan & Worcester.

• DOD Clarifies Contractor Cybersecurity Certification Process

  

  Amy Conant Hoang and Sarah Burgart at K&L Gates explain last week's important changes to the draft Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification procedures, a framework developed by the U.S. Department of Defense to measure a contractor’s ability to safeguard information handled in the performance of DOD contracts.

• Texas Could Take Page From Mass.'s Judicial Selection Book

  

  As Texas and other states review their judicial election processes, they would be well served by taking guidance from Massachusetts' Governor’s Council system, which protects the judiciary from the hazards of campaigning, says Richard Baker of New England Intellectual Property.

• Series

  Judging A Book: McKeown Reviews 'Conversations With RBG'

  

  Reading Jeffrey Rosen’s "Conversations With RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law" is like eavesdropping on the author and his subject while they discuss how the restrained judicial minimalist became the fiery leader of the opposition, says Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown.

• Opinion

  In A Trade War, Everyone Loses

  

  While some countries may temporarily benefit from bilateral trade disputes, in the long term, the Trump administration's protectionist strategy puts at risk the enormous achievements of the last decades, both in the U.S. and globally, says Anahita Thoms at Baker McKenzie.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Jurisdiction, Standing, GAO Limits

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Victoria Angle and Roke Iko at Morrison & Foerster look at three October decisions: The U.S. Court of Federal Claims considered its jurisdiction, the Federal Circuit looked at standing, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office clarified its scope of review over AbilityOne procurement protests.

• Where A Litigator's Advice Can Improve Agreement Drafting

  

  Transactional attorneys should consider consulting with litigation counsel when drafting certain contractual provisions — choice of law, choice of forum, attorney fees and others — that could come into play in a broad range of substantive disputes, says Adrienne Koch at Katsky Korins.

• US Business Strategies To Soften Trade War Impact

  

  By monitoring the shifting trade landscape and deploying appropriate tariff strategies to mitigate risk, American businesses can minimize the negative effects that ongoing changes in global tariffs may have on their bottom line, say Michelle Schulz and Luis Arandia of Polsinelli.

• Opinion

  Trump’s Attempt To Intimidate Whistleblowers Is Failing

  

  As President Donald Trump amps up his anti-whistleblower rhetoric amid Congress' impeachment investigation into his dealings with the president of Ukraine, expect more — not fewer — people of conscience to come out of the woodwork, say Leah Judge and Hallie Noecker at Constantine Cannon.

• Opinion

  Flat-Fee Legal Billing Can Liberate Attorneys

  

  Replacing hourly billing with flat-fee arrangements, especially for appellate work, will leave attorneys feeling free to spend as much time as necessary to produce their highest quality work, says Lawrence Ebner of Capital Appellate Advocacy.

• Spoliation Rule Remains Ambiguous Despite Amendments

  

  Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to provide a uniform standard of culpability for spoliation, cases with similar facts are still reaching differing results because the rule does not specify how a court should evaluate a party's intent, say attorneys at Pepper Hamilton.

• Quid Pro Quo 101

  

  As three House committees investigate allegations that President Donald Trump sought assistance from Ukraine in the upcoming election, the phrase “quid pro quo” is having a moment; its meaning, however, is limited and specific in federal crimes involving graft, says Luke Cass at Quarles & Brady.

• 5 Trends Influencing RFPs For Law Firms

  

  Requests for proposals, the standard tool of companies evaluating law firms, are becoming better suited to the legal industry, says Matthew Prinn of RFP Advisory Group.

• MDLs Are Redefining The US Legal Landscape

  

  With last week’s settlement of a bellwether case in the national prescription opiate multidistrict litigation as one example, a shift toward more expeditious and individualized MDLs is taking place, with the potential to effect profound change in the U.S. legal space, say Alan Fuchsberg and Alex Dang of the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm.