Aerospace & Defense

  • March 25, 2024

    DOJ Calls Probe Of Alleged SpaceX Hiring Bias Constitutional

    The U.S. Department of Justice has defended its investigation into allegations that SpaceX refused to hire asylum-seekers and refugees, telling a Texas federal judge that its authority stems from a constitutionally sound provision of federal immigration law barring workplace discrimination based on citizenship status.

  • March 25, 2024

    MNC Capital Ups Vista Outdoor Takeover Bid To $3B

    Dallas, Texas-based investment firm MNC Capital Partners on Monday upped its proposed takeover bid of Vista Outdoor Inc. by approximately $1 billion after the company rejected its initial offer, now offering roughly $3 billion to purchase the sporting and outdoor products company.

  • March 25, 2024

    Class Cert. In United Military Leave Suit Will Have To Wait

    An Illinois federal judge said he had doubts about claims that United Airlines owes pay to pilots taking military leaves, saying he'll wait for several appeals courts to decide the fate of similar suits before signing off on class certification.

  • March 25, 2024

    Boeing CEO To Exit At Year's End Amid 737 Max Crisis

    The Boeing Co. announced Monday that President and CEO Dave Calhoun will exit the company at the end of the year, and the chair of its board will also step down, as the American aerospace giant overhauls its leadership ranks amid an enduring 737 Max crisis.

  • March 22, 2024

    Don't Sweep Ads Into Regs On Foreign Airtime Buys, FCC Told

    A collection of broadcasters groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to keep advertisements out of a potential commission rule requiring disclosures for foreign-sponsored airtime leases, and suggesting that the entire proposal would likely result in a court challenge if adopted.

  • March 22, 2024

    Success Unlikely For Menendez As Independent, Analyst Says

    Although embattled Sen. Robert Menendez, under indictment on federal corruption charges, announced he will not run in New Jersey's Democratic primary but may seek reelection as an independent, the effort is likely to be fruitless, a Garden State political analyst said Friday.

  • March 22, 2024

    Ind. Factory Adds To Historic $112M Bad Faith Coverage Win

    A flooded factory building that was awarded $112 million in a historic bad faith win added to its victory Friday when an Indiana federal court denied its insurers' requests for a new trial and granted the factory more than $7 million in costs and interest.

  • March 22, 2024

    RTX Loses Second Dispute Over Contract Conflict Of Interest

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has tossed RTX Corp.'s lawsuit alleging it was wrongly excluded from a $54.1 million Navy anti-missile technology contract based on an employee's former Navy job, despite RTX's argument that there was no conflict of interest.

  • March 22, 2024

    Plastics Co. Settles Claim It Forced Out Enlisted Worker

    A plastics company that allegedly refused to promote a worker because he was about to deploy with the Ohio Air National Guard has settled claims that it discriminated against him and ultimately forced him to quit because of his military service.

  • March 22, 2024

    Push For Camp Lejeune Jury Trials Seen As Long Shot

    The legal strategy to secure jury trials in the massive Camp Lejeune water contamination case hangs on a single phrase in a special law stating "nothing" shall impair such trials, but the plaintiffs' gambit is a long shot because Congress didn't go far enough in creating a framework for such trials against the government.

  • March 22, 2024

    Senators Call On White House To Declassify TikTok Info

    A pair of U.S. senators is calling on the Biden administration to declassify information from TikTok and its owner ByteDance, citing national security concerns.

  • March 22, 2024

    EU Pushes For Steep Tariffs On Russian And Belarusian Grain

    The European Commission said Friday that it's working to constrain Russia's ability to fund its war against Ukraine by increasing tariffs on cereal, oil seed and grain product imports from Russia and its Union State partner, Belarus.

  • March 22, 2024

    DHS Shrinks Race Bias Suit Accusing It Of Harsh Criticism

    A D.C. federal judge dismissed the bulk of a suit brought by a Black worker accusing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of subjecting him to unfair criticism because of his race and then firing him after he complained, saying he failed to beef up the suit with details.

  • March 21, 2024

    Navy Federal Wants Racial Lending Discrimination Suit Axed

    Navy Federal Credit Union on Thursday urged a Virginia federal court to toss a consolidated proposed class action accusing it of racial lending discrimination following a CNN report last year, arguing the plaintiffs have not shown that they were qualified for the loans they applied for, or that the credit union considered race when denying their applications.

  • March 21, 2024

    SpaceX's Severance Agreement Is Illegal, NLRB Attys Say

    The National Labor Relations Board's Seattle office claimed SpaceX's severance agreement included confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses that violate federal labor law, according to a complaint copy obtained by Law360 on Thursday, with board prosecutors asking for a recorded notice reading scheduled for workers across the country to attend.

  • March 21, 2024

    GAO OKs Trade Compliance In Defense Container Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office backed the Defense Logistics Agency's reliance on a contractor's certification that containers it was tapped to ship would use South Korean materials, rejecting a protester's contention the agency should have suspected materials would instead come from China.

  • March 21, 2024

    Sens. Launch Satellite License Streamlining Bill

    Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced legislation Thursday to reduce hurdles to satellite licensing after a similar effort fell short on the House side last year.

  • March 21, 2024

    Army's Rush For New Strykers Backfired, GAO Says

    The U.S. Army introduced risks to a program meant to increase the lethality of Stryker combat vehicles by ordering more than 260 upgraded vehicles without first reviewing whether the contractor was ready to produce them, a federal watchdog has reported.

  • March 21, 2024

    VA May Have Acted In Bad Faith On $30M Debt Collection Deal

    The U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals refused to toss a $29.6 million appeal accusing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of hampering a contractor's efforts to collect funds from outside insurers, saying the VA may have acted in bad faith.

  • March 21, 2024

    Wells Fargo Overcharged Military Members, Suit Says

    Wells Fargo was hit with a potential class action Wednesday alleging that the bank violated federal law and broke a program's promises by overcharging active duty military members in fees and interest while trying to hide the indiscretion.

  • March 21, 2024

    Sens. Want Spectrum Pipeline, But Worry Over Nat'l Security

    Lawmakers warned Thursday that the U.S. could lose its global leadership role in telecommunications technology by delaying plans to auction more spectrum for commercial use, but said they must first deal with the national security concerns posed by shared use of the airwaves with defense users.

  • March 21, 2024

    Sen. Menendez's Wife Keeps Attys After Feds Allege Conflict

    Nadine Menendez, the wife of New Jersey's U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, told a Manhattan federal judge Thursday that she will stick with her Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears LLP lawyers ahead of their corruption trial after prosecutors alleged an ethical conflict.

  • March 21, 2024

    Plan Admin. Escapes Ex-Aerospace Execs' Death Benefits Suit

    A third-party administrator isn't liable for misrepresentation and negligence claims from former aerospace company executives over death benefits, a Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled, saying the administrator isn't to blame for the plaintiffs' lack of understanding about the termination of a deferred compensation plan.

  • March 20, 2024

    Journalist Can Sue UAE Over Alleged Hacking, Court Says

    A court has given a British journalist the green light to sue the United Arab Emirates over its alleged use of spyware to infiltrate her mobile phone, in the first U.K. case of its kind, lawyers for the reporter said on Wednesday.

  • March 20, 2024

    How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron

    After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

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    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • FARA Enforcement May Soon Be In The Halls Of Higher Ed

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    Given Congress’ increased attention to rising foreign influence on U.S. college campuses, the U.S. Department of Justice may soon turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act spotlight on educational institutions and groups, which will need to review their possible obligations under the statute, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • How The FAA Is Embracing Simplified Flight Controls

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    The Federal Aviation Administration's openness to approving simplified flight controls as part of its forthcoming refresh of regulations governing light-sport aircraft and sport pilot certificates is valuable and welcome — and the same approach can be brought to general aviation aircraft, says Paul Alp at Adams and Reese.

  • Making The Pitch For A Civil Resolution In A Criminal Case

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    Even without the depth of visibility into prosecutorial decision making offered by special counsel Robert Hur’s recently released report, defense counsel may be able to make the case for civil resolutions of criminal investigations while minimizing a potential negative response from prosecutors to such an argument, says Bill Athanas at Bradley Arant.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Practical Steps For Navigating New Sanctions On Russia

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    After the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia – the largest to date since the Ukraine war began – companies will need to continue to strengthen due diligence and compliance measures to navigate the related complexities, say James Min and Chelsea Ellis at Rimon.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Conflict, Latent Ambiguity, Cost Realism

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Markus Speidel at MoFo examines a trio of U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions with takeaways about the consequences of a teaming partner's organizational conflict of interest, a solicitation's latent ambiguity and an unreasonable agency cost adjustment.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Should Loosen Restrictions On Arbitration Services

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    The Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations should be amended so that U.S. persons can provide arbitration services to sanctioned parties — this would help align OFAC policy with broader U.S. arbitration policy, promote efficiency, and effectively address related geopolitical and regulatory challenges, says Javier Coronado Diaz at Diaz Reus.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls

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    Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.

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