Aerospace & Defense

Expert Analysis

• A Likely Tipping Point For Nonlawyer Ownership Of Law Firms

  

  The Arizona Supreme Court's recent decision to eliminate prohibitions on nonlawyer ownership of law firms may show that the organized bar's long-standing rhetoric that such rules are essential to protecting the legal profession's core values is overblown, say Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law and Bradley Wendel at Cornell Law School.

• A Quick Take On Trump's Contractor Diversity Training Order

  

  On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that will prohibit government contractors from including nine concepts in their workplace diversity training materials, which contractors should review now to gauge their risk when the order becomes effective in November, says Lucas Hanback at Rogers Joseph.

• New 'Buy American' Rules Bear Risks For Prime Contractors

  

  A recently proposed Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council rule maximizing the use of American-made goods only applies to a narrow set of procurements, but for prime contractors subject to the Buy American Act, the changes may significantly disrupt supply chains, say Amy Conant Hoang and Erica Bakies at K&L Gates.

• A Road Map For Drafting Persuasive Discovery Motions

  

  Best practices that can help litigators write convincing discovery motions include thinking about the audience, addressing a few key questions, and leaving out boilerplate from supporting briefs, says Tom Connally at Hogan Lovells.

• How Congress Can Depoliticize The Supreme Court

  

  Congress has multiple means to take the politics out of federal judicial nominations and restore the independence of the U.S. Supreme Court — three of which can be implemented without a constitutional amendment, says Franklin Amanat at DiCello Levitt.

• Opinion

  The Case For A Nonpolitical Federal Judiciary

  

  For the last 20 years, at the insistence of both parties, U.S. Supreme Court nominations have been fierce ideological battles — which is bad for the country and bad for the public's perception of the legitimacy of the court, say Judge Eric Moyé, Judge Craig Smith and Winston & Strawn partner Tom Melsheimer.

• A Close Look At CFIUS' New Critical Tech Reporting Rule

  

  A recently finalized rule from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, aligning transaction reporting requirements with export control regulations for critical technology, brings several new considerations for buyers and sellers, says Zlatko Hadzismajlovic at McCarter & English.

• The Keys To A Better Privilege Logging Paradigm

  

  Current privilege logging practices to identify what information is being withheld from discovery often lead to costly disputes, so practitioners should adopt a system based on trust and good faith, similar to the presumptions embedded in the business judgment rule for corporate directors and officers, say Kevin Brady at Volkswagen and Charles Ragan and Ted Hiser at Redgrave.

• White House Due Process Memo Could Reform Enforcement

  

  A little-noticed memo recently issued by the Trump administration in response to the pandemic, directing federal agencies to provide greater due process to individuals and companies under regulatory investigation, represents a long-overdue sea change in the way justice is carried out in enforcement proceedings, say Joan Meyer and Norman Bloch at Thompson Hine.

• Law Firm Hiring Considerations In A COVID-19 Economy

  

  Financially robust law firms are entering the recruiting market aggressively knowing that dislocations like the COVID-19 crisis present rare competitive opportunities, and firms that remain on the sidelines when it comes to strategic hiring will be especially vulnerable to having their best talent poached, says Brian Burlant at Major Lindsey.

• Defense Supply Chain Compliance For Midsize Contractors

  

  While no formal certification process exists under the International Traffic In Arms Regulations export controls, there are several important steps midsize, second- and third-tier defense contractors can take to achieve supply chain compliance and document readiness to primary contractors concerned about secondary liability, says Thomas McVey at Williams Mullen.

• Opinion

  Lawyers Must Act To Preserve Democracy This Election

  

  COVID-19 concerns and glaring gaps in registration threaten to dampen voter turnout in the 2020 election, so attorneys should take on the problem by leveraging their knowledge and resources in seven ways, says Laura Brill at Kendall Brill.

• How To Effectively Defend Witnesses In Remote Depositions

  

  When a witness is isolated from the defending lawyer during a remote deposition, carefully planning the logistics and building witness confidence are critical to avoiding damaging admissions, say Jessica Staiger at Archer Daniels and Alec Solotorovsky at Eimer Stahl.

• US Push For Iran Sanctions Heightens Trade Uncertainty

  

  The Trump administration’s recent attempt to trigger United Nations sanctions against Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal's dispute resolution mechanism, despite U.S. withdrawal from the accord, adds uncertainty to an increasingly difficult commercial landscape and could strain trade relations between the U.S. and its European allies, say Leigh Crestohl and Stephanie Limaco at Zaiwalla & Co.

• Whether And How To Compel Remote Arbitration

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  As the pandemic delays in-person arbitration hearings, mediator and arbitrator Theodore Cheng provides arbitrators with a checklist to examine the rationale and authority for compelling parties to participate in remote hearings.