Aerospace & Defense

Expert Analysis

• Arbitrators And Mediators Should Reflect Society's Diversity

  

  Alternative dispute resolution providers have made great strides toward diversity, but recent statistics show there is still work to be done. There are certain steps ADR providers can take to actively recruit more women and minority candidates to serve as arbitrators and mediators, says James Jenkins of the American Arbitration Association.

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• Domestic Sourcing Requirement Doesn’t Fit DOD’s Gloves

  

  A recent Government Accountability Office decision found that a nonavailability exception applied to a Defense Department solicitation for leather combat gloves even though the type of leather at issue was available domestically. The decision sheds light on the regulatory nuances regarding domestic sourcing, say attorneys at Covington & Burling LLP.

• Opinion

  Eyeballs Are Better Than Border Walls

  

  My rough calculations suggest “extreme vetting” of U.S. visa applicants could be as good as building a wall, and the human and economic costs would be much less, says Stephen Pazan, special counsel at Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea and LoTurco LLP and a former consular officer with the U.S. Department of State.

• Circuits Left To Develop FCA Discovery Case Law

  

  Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in two major False Claims Act cases, both involving the government’s knowledge or suspicion of violations allegedly resulting in knowingly false claims. Nichols Liu LLP attorneys consider the implications for the materiality standard and FCA cases going forward.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.

• Handling Corporate Congressional Probes In The Trump Era

  

  President Donald Trump’s approach to crisis communications has changed the game enough to demand companies' consideration of a whole new set of options. John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications and Bill Pittard of KaiserDillon PLLC discuss whether corporations can successfully use similar tactics.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2

  

  Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• Axis V. Northrop Highlights Premature Exhaustion Risks

  

  A California federal court's decision in Axis v. Northrop reminds insureds to consider excess insurers' coverage positions when negotiating coverage with lower-level insurers. Insureds should also be wary of settlements that could be construed as disgorgement of ill-gotten assets, say Caroline Meneau and David Kroeger of Jenner & Block LLP.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 1

  

  Contrary to what the New York City Bar Association concluded in an ethics opinion last year, lawyer-directed nonrecourse commercial litigation funding does not violate New York rules on sharing fees with nonlawyers, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.