Aerospace & Defense

  • August 24, 2026

    DOD Invests $750M To Buy Rare-Earth Elements From Brazil

    The U.S. Department of Defense said on Monday that it's investing $750 million in a special purpose vehicle meant to facilitate the U.S. government's purchase of mixed rare-earth carbonates processed by a company in Brazil.

  • August 24, 2026

    Fla. Judge Wants Discovery Cap In Navy Base Shooting Suit

    A Florida federal judge on Monday indicated that she'll unpause a lawsuit accusing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of gross negligence over a Navy base mass shooting perpetrated by one of its Royal Air Force Officers, saying a magistrate judge first must define the scope of discovery in the case.

  • August 24, 2026

    Calif. Takes Trump Admin Pipeline Fight To 9th Circ.

    California has asked the Ninth Circuit to review a district court's rejection of its bid to block the Trump administration's reopening of a controversial coastal oil pipeline, which a judge said was a valid use of federal emergency authority under the Defense Production Act.

  • August 24, 2026

    Aviation Cos. Urge FCC To Pull Ligado Network Order

    The FCC ought to revoke its controversial 2020 order giving Ligado Networks permission to build a mobile satellite network because the company won't be able to build it in a way that meets the "stringent conditions" the agency gave it, a coalition of groups and companies tells the agency.

  • August 24, 2026

    Drone Co. Investor Says Early Lock-Up Waiver Tanked Stock

    Drone-maker Aevex Corp. has been accused in a shareholder's proposed class action of abruptly ending share restrictions after its April initial public offering, allowing a major stakeholder to profit while the company lost $900 million in market share due to a resulting decline in share price.

  • August 24, 2026

    CFTC Weighs In On Criminal Case Over Soldier's Maduro Bet

    A Manhattan federal judge gave leave Monday for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to oppose a bid by a U.S. Army sergeant to sink criminal charges over his alleged Polymarket bets on the capture of deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

  • August 24, 2026

    FCC's Trusty Sees Need For Fresh Look At Universal Service

    Since taking a seat on the Federal Communications Commission more than a year ago, Olivia Trusty says her travels around some of the most rural parts of the country have convinced her of a need to bring the FCC's universal service programs up to date.

  • August 24, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Agrees To Speed Up Args In COVID Vax Patent Case

    The Federal Circuit on Monday agreed to accelerate the schedule in a COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute between Moderna and Arbutus Biopharma Corp. by holding arguments in November.

  • August 24, 2026

    Residents Ask To Drop SpaceX From Data Center Noise Suit

    A proposed class of Mississippi residents told a federal court that they are OK with SpaceX exiting their lawsuit, which accused a trio of companies led by Elon Musk of causing a public nuisance with the noise from power generators at three AI data centers.

  • August 24, 2026

    DOD's $285B Maintenance Backlog Creates Risks, GAO Says

    A Government Accountability Office report found that a $285 billion maintenance backlog by the U.S. Department of Defense has led to widespread deterioration of its facilities, including buildings plagued by mold and algae and cramped workspaces.

  • August 24, 2026

    Dems Seek GAO Review Of Federal Agencies Hacking Americans

    U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, have requested that the Government Accountability Office conduct a comprehensive review of federal law enforcement agencies' hacking of Americans' electronic devices.

  • August 23, 2026

    US-Canada Trade Talks Crater Ahead Of 50% Tariffs

    Canada will place tariffs on American goods in response to 50% U.S. tariffs that took effect Saturday on goods arriving from across the Northern border after talks to strike a broader economic deal fell apart.

  • August 21, 2026

    Verdict Bars Ex-Fla. Rep's 'Sham' Contract Claim, Oil Co. Says

    The U.S. affiliate of Venezuela's state oil company urged a New York federal court Friday to toss a former Florida congressman's counterclaim alleging he's still owed $30 million under a consulting contract, saying his conviction on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent shows the agreement was a "sham."

  • August 21, 2026

    Trump Seeks Justices' Review Of DEI Grant Termination Case

    The Trump administration is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision requiring the federal government to reinstate research grants that were terminated due to presidential orders against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

  • August 21, 2026

    Ex-CIA Analyst Loses Bid To Bar FBI Interview In FARA Case

    A former CIA analyst accused of aiding the South Korean government without proper registration can't suppress statements she made to FBI agents in a series of interviews that lasted more than six hours, a New York federal judge has ruled.

  • August 21, 2026

    TikTok Inks $400M Deal With DOJ To End Kids' Privacy Suit

    TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice's claims that the short-form video platform illegally collected personal information from kids under 13, marking one of the largest recoveries ever obtained under the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the feds said Friday.

  • August 21, 2026

    NC Co. Pushes Pretrial Appeal In Veterans' Fee Fight

    A North Carolina business that helps veterans apply for federal disability benefits wants to appeal a finding that it flouted the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act by charging fees without accreditation, arguing there's room for differences of opinion on major aspects of the ruling.

  • August 21, 2026

    RTX Unit Beats Gender Hiring Bias Appeal In Connecticut

    RTX Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney aircraft unit prevailed a second time Friday against a female candidate's claim that she wasn't hired because of her gender, with a Connecticut appeals court affirming gender wasn't a motivating factor and that some of the woman's arguments rested on hearsay.

  • August 21, 2026

    Roberts Allows Trump To Construct Ballroom For Now

    Chief Justice John Roberts ruled Friday that President Donald Trump could temporarily continue construction of a new White House ballroom until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether lower courts had the authority to order that work stop on the project pending congressional approval.

  • August 21, 2026

    EU Closes Pratt & Whitney Probe After Contract Changes

    European enforcers said on Friday they closed an antitrust investigation into Pratt & Whitney Canada after the manufacturer changed its contracts to remove terms that allegedly prevented spare part suppliers from accessing used aircraft engines.

  • August 21, 2026

    Army Immunity Ends Defrauded Families' Malpractice Claims

    A New Jersey federal judge tossed legal malpractice claims against attorney Natalie Khawam Case and the law firm she founded, finding that a group of Gold Star families could not show that their underlying allegations against the U.S. Army would have survived the Federal Tort Claims Act's limits on suing the government.

  • August 21, 2026

    Ashurst Perkins Adds DOJ National Security Atty In Chicago

    A former trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division has joined Ashurst Perkins Coie LLP as a partner in its complex litigation practice in Chicago after more than 12 years in public service.

  • August 20, 2026

    HEICO Exec Arrested, Accused Of $1.8M Insider Trading Ploy

    A senior HEICO Corp. executive was arrested Thursday and charged with securities fraud for what Manhattan federal prosecutors say were multiple instances of insider trading in the stock of the publicly traded aerospace and technology company.

  • August 20, 2026

    SBA Proposes Broad Changes To Small-Biz Size Standards

    The U.S. Small Business Administration has moved to overhaul how the agency defines small businesses by proposing new standards that would simplify industry classifications and dramatically increase size thresholds, which would lead to about 114,000 more businesses being classified as small.

  • August 20, 2026

    GAO Says Army Lacks Information To Plan Network Overhaul

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a Thursday report that the U.S. Army has earmarked $3.3 billion this fiscal year for modernizing battlefield communication networks, but lacks enough information to determine if the program is sustainable.

Expert Analysis

  • Big Issues Linger After Senate Prediction Market Trading Ban

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    Whether the Senate can — or should — extend prediction market trading restrictions beyond itself will test not only the boundaries of insider trading law, but also the structural limits of legislative power in an era where information itself has become a tradable asset, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Discriminators, Fairness, Experience

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Victoria Angle at MoFo surveys three recent decisions from the Government Accountability Office that show performance benchmarks may serve as qualitative discriminators, solicitation amendments and timelines must allow for fair competition, and past performance submissions must strictly comply with proposal requests.

  • AI Regulatory Gaps May Fuel FCA Enforcement Action

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    The intersection of artificial intelligence and False Claims Act enforcement presents legal risk for government contractors across several industries, particularly in the absence of a federal regulatory framework explicitly governing its development and use, say attorneys at O’Melveny.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • New Cuba Sanctions Raise Risks For Foreign Banks, Cos.

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    President Donald Trump's bold move leveling secondary sanctions against Cuba expands enforcement risk for foreign banks and companies with no U.S. nexus, signaling that non-U.S. businesses should reassess related transactions, counterparties and exposure as regulators test this broader authority, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • How Cos. Can Navigate Iran Sanctions Risks In China

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    For multinational financial institutions and other companies caught between the U.S. and China’s competing compliance regimes as they relate to Iranian oil, finding a path forward will require careful, jurisdiction-specific analysis, say attorneys at Perkins Coie and Ashurst.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • DOJ's FCA Data-Miner Focus Raises Compliance Stakes

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    A new U.S. Department of Justice initiative aims to help its Civil Division better vet False Claims Act suits brought by data-mining whistleblowers, signaling that data-driven qui tam enforcement is a priority and making it increasingly important for attorneys and companies to bolster compliance, documentation and internal data monitoring, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Legal Risks Rise As Construction-Site Drone Use Soars

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    Construction companies using drones face mounting legal risks as Federal Aviation Administration compliance requirements tighten, remote identification capabilities expand and proposed rules move toward organizational accountability, making it crucial to update contracts, schedules, safety protocols and data-governance practices now to avoid future liability, say attorneys at Cozen.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Notice, Timeliness, Jurisdiction

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    Three recent cases from the Armed Service Board of Contract Appeals provide insights about the impact of defects in a government notice of appeal rights, timeliness exceptions and limits on the board's jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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