Aerospace & Defense

  • January 14, 2026

    GAO Denies Protest Of $43.6M Navy Modular Building Award

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said the U.S. Navy correctly found that the absence of a transportation security plan and other technical details from a modular construction company's building proposal constituted a weakness that gave the winning bidder the upper hand.

  • January 14, 2026

    Trump Imposes 25% Tariff On Select Semiconductor Imports

    President Donald Trump signed executive orders Wednesday taking action on semiconductor and mineral imports, choosing to impose a 25% tariff beginning Thursday on a narrow set of chips and their derivative products while emphasizing dealmaking to secure key minerals.

  • January 14, 2026

    FAA Worker's Suspension Not Race-Based, 11th Circ. Affirms

    The Eleventh Circuit backed an early win Wednesday for the Federal Aviation Administration in a discrimination suit from an air traffic controller, ruling that "all evidence in the record" supports the conclusion that he was disciplined for failing to complete workplace training on time.

  • January 14, 2026

    Ligado Judge To Issue Ruling On Inmarsat Satellite Row

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Wednesday he would issue an oral ruling "in very short order" on telecommunications group Ligado Networks LLC's bid to stop litigation launched by Viasat unit Inmarsat Global Ltd. over Ligado's request to the government to let it license out spectrum rights.

  • January 14, 2026

    Calif. Car Cos. Hit With $200M Chancery Fraud Suit

    Several California-based car companies, as well as their leader and current and former executives, orchestrated a fraudulent acquisition and asset transfer scheme designed to render a lucrative fuel trading contract worthless and shield a defense contractor from more than $200 million in liabilities, a lawsuit brought Wednesday in the Delaware Chancery Court says.

  • January 14, 2026

    Senate Bill Would Give FCC One Year For Satellite Licensing

    A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill unveiled Wednesday would speed up satellite applications by limiting their review at the Federal Communications Commission to one year.

  • January 14, 2026

    3rd Circ. Nixes Engineer's Plea For Sharing Navy Contract Info

    In a precedential opinion Wednesday, a split Third Circuit panel ruled that a lower court should not have accepted the guilty plea of a Navy engineer charged with disclosing bid information related to a contract for submarine propeller machinery, holding that prosecutors based the plea deal on shaky legal ground.

  • January 14, 2026

    Czech Co. Seeks $873M IPO On Defense Spending Wave

    Prague-based defense company Czechoslovak Group said Wednesday that it plans to raise some $873 million by listing on Euronext Amsterdam in the coming weeks in an initial public offering following rising defense spending from European and NATO governments.

  • January 14, 2026

    Trump Admin Drops Appeal In Transportation Funds Suit

    The Trump administration has dropped its First Circuit appeal of an order blocking it from tying billions of dollars in federal transportation funding to states' cooperation with its immigration crackdown.

  • January 14, 2026

    Boeing Settles Latest 737 Max Ethiopian Air Case Before Trial

    Boeing has agreed to settle the wrongful death case of a man who lost his parents and sister in the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crash of 2019, striking a deal following the selection of a jury and just ahead of planned opening arguments in the Chicago trial on Wednesday morning.

  • January 13, 2026

    Ex-CIA Analyst Says FARA Case Is Flawed, Unconstitutional

    A former CIA analyst, White House official and foreign policy expert on Tuesday urged a Manhattan federal judge to throw out the criminal case accusing her of secretly acting as an agent of South Korea while in the United States, calling the charges defective and unconstitutional.

  • January 13, 2026

    Google Engineer Cut-And-Pasted To Evade Security, Jury Told

    A Google security manager took the stand Tuesday in the criminal trial of an engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets, testifying that his investigation showed that Linwei Ding evaded Google's internal security systems by cutting and pasting the data in a way that stripped information identifying Google's authorship.

  • January 13, 2026

    GAO Denies Challenge To DOD Agency's $472M Support Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a protest challenging experience and cost evaluations that the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency relied on to award a $472 million contract aimed at modernizing a national background investigation system used to vet federal personnel.

  • January 13, 2026

    EEOC Disability Bias Win Stands, But Damages Shrink

    A Florida federal judge declined a senior living facility's bid for a new trial in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disability bias suit claiming it wouldn't hire a veteran who has PTSD, but cut a $400,000 jury verdict to $50,000 in line with a damages cap.

  • January 13, 2026

    DHS Bid To Nix TSA Union After Injunction Gives Judge Pause

    A Washington federal judge pushed back Tuesday against the federal government's insistence that it can proceed with canceling a union deal covering Transportation Security Administration workers despite a June ruling that blocked termination of the same agreement, remarking the move could be seen as an "end-run around an injunction."

  • January 13, 2026

    Astronomers Seek Upper C-Band Coordination With Wireless

    As the U.S. government moves toward an auction of upper C-band airwaves to wireless carriers, the nation's radio astronomers said the carriers should be required to coordinate with observatories to keep mobile services from disrupting their observations in space.

  • January 13, 2026

    Ex-Navy Sailor Gets 16 Years For Selling Secrets To China

    A former U.S. Navy sailor convicted of espionage for selling classified information to a Chinese intelligence officer was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

  • January 13, 2026

    Holland & Knight Hires Drone Delivery Co. Policy Head

    The former leader of global policy for an international drone delivery company has joined Holland & Knight LLP in Washington, D.C., where he'll work as a senior policy adviser in the public policy and regulation practice group.

  • January 12, 2026

    Ex-Google Engineer Stole AI Secrets To Help China, Jury Told

    Driven by greed, ex-Google engineer Linwei Ding stole thousands of confidential documents from the tech giant, launched his own startup and then offered Google's artificial intelligence trade secrets to China, a federal prosecutor told a California jury Monday at the start of Ding's high-profile economic espionage trial.

  • January 12, 2026

    Army Contractor Seeks To Limit Evidence In Fraud Trial

    Fluor Corp. told a South Carolina federal judge that evidence and testimony related to a suicide bombing at Bagram Airfield and to fraud allegations must be excluded from a trial over accusations that the company overcharged the military.

  • January 12, 2026

    Sen. Kelly Sues Hegseth Over Alleged Retaliation For Remarks

    Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Monday, urging a D.C. federal court to declare unlawful Hegseth's attempt to reduce the lawmaker's Navy rank over statements reminding service members of their obligation to disregard unlawful orders.

  • January 12, 2026

    US Magnesium Creditors Say Sale Process Was Rigged

    The unsecured creditors committee in the U.S. Magnesium bankruptcy has urged a Delaware bankruptcy judge to not give the company permission to sell its assets to its parent company, accusing the parent of manipulating the transaction to grab the assets while leaving other creditors behind.

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Wary Of Broader Removal In Coastal Pollution Suits

    U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday questioned a bid by ExxonMobil and Chevron to move Louisiana pollution lawsuits to federal court, appearing hesitant to embrace the companies' argument that their World War II-era oil production clearly was federal in nature.

  • January 12, 2026

    DOL Tells 4th Circ. Lockheed Pensioner Class Lacks Standing

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Fourth Circuit to shut down a proposed class action from Lockheed Martin Corp. pension plan participants challenging the company's $9 billion pension risk transfer, arguing a Maryland federal court erred in holding that retirees had established standing.

  • January 12, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Cellphone Misuse Firing Of Navy Engineer

    The Federal Circuit on Monday affirmed a Merit System Protection Board decision that upheld the Navy's firing of a chief engineer for improper use of his government-issued cellphone, finding the termination was based on substantial evidence.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • New FCPA Guidance Creates 5 Compliance Imperatives

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    In light of new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines that mark a fundamental shift in enforcement priorities, companies should consider several specific steps to ensure compliance, from enhanced due diligence to robust whistleblower protections, says Andrew Wirmani at Reese Marketos.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Evading DOJ Crosshairs As Data Security Open Season Starts

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    As the U.S. Department of Justice begins enforcing its new data security program — aimed at preventing foreign adversaries from accessing government-related and personal sensitive data — U.S. companies will need to understand the program’s contours and potential pitfalls to avoid potential civil liability or criminal scrutiny, say attorneys at Cohen & Gresser.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • How Trump's Trade Policies Are Shaping Foreign Investment

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    Five months into the Trump administration, investors are beginning to see the concrete effects of the president’s America First Investment Policy as it presents new opportunities for clearing transactions more quickly, while sustaining risk aversion related to Chinese trade and potentially creating different political risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations

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    As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • Measuring The Scope Of COFC's Telesto Bid Protest Ruling

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    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims described its recent denial of bid protest jurisdiction in Telesto v. U.S. over other transaction agreements as a modest departure from prior decisions, but the holding also makes it difficult to distinguish between a follow-on procurement and a definitive agreement to proceed, say lawyers at Wiley.

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