Aerospace & Defense

  • April 04, 2025

    FCC To Look At Updating 'Workhorse' Satellite Bands

    The Federal Communications Commission will look late this month at updating technical rules for two critical satellite bands, opening up more spectrum in the 37 gigahertz band and clarifying some foreign ownership rules.

  • April 04, 2025

    Ex-Prosecutor Opens Defense Shop From Former Firm Office

    Paul Murphy, a former federal prosecutor with more than three decades of experience, launched his own litigation shop out of his old law firm's New York office in an arrangement he said will afford him greater freedom over cases and clients.

  • April 04, 2025

    Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline Another 75 Days

    President Donald Trump announced an executive order Friday extending TikTok's sale-or-ban deadline for an additional 75 days, saying his administration needs more time to hash out a deal to keep the social media platform operating in the United States.

  • April 04, 2025

    Va. Contractor To Pay $2M To Settle False Claims Suit

    The U.S. Department of Justice said it reached a nearly $2 million settlement with a Virginia-based contractor, resolving claims it knowingly sold equipment to the Air Force that was not authorized under the contract and invoiced for undelivered products.

  • April 04, 2025

    Pension Annuity Rulings Leave Attorneys Looking For Clarity

    Benefits attorneys say they'll be watching the circuits, and perhaps the nation's highest court, for clarity after recent divergent decisions in cases accusing defense and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin and aluminum giant Alcoa of violating federal benefits law by converting pension benefits into annuity insurance contracts.

  • April 03, 2025

    Helicopter Manufacturer Can't Nab Win In Mont. Crash Suit

    A Montana federal judge on Thursday said that there's a genuine factual dispute about whether aircraft maker Kaman acted with malice or disregard of injury in a suit accusing it of defectively designing a helicopter that crashed and killed a pilot fighting a wildfire.

  • April 03, 2025

    Relator Can't Cut Gov't From DOD Price Gouging FCA Case

    A Virginia federal judge has tossed a whistleblower False Claims Act case accusing several contractors of overcharging the military for replacement parts with the aid of the Defense Logistics Agency, after rejecting the relator's bid to cut the federal government as a plaintiff.

  • April 03, 2025

    Former Admiral Loses Bid To Escape Bribery Case

    A D.C. federal judge refused to dismiss charges the U.S. government brought against former Navy Admiral Robert P. Burke for allegedly steering a contract to a company in exchange for a lucrative post-retirement position, calling his attempt to escape the charges "meritless."

  • April 03, 2025

    ATM Company Sanctioned For 'Objectively Frivolous' Claim

    A Georgia federal judge on Wednesday tossed an attempt to relitigate a patent infringement suit brought by an ATM technology company against a competitor, and sanctioned its attorneys for bringing the "objectively frivolous" claim that the competitor defrauded the court in a previous suit.

  • April 03, 2025

    'No Serious Question' Federal Firings Broke Law, Justices Told

    Federal employee unions and advocacy groups urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to reject the Trump administration's bid to pause a California court order reinstating tens of thousands of probationary workers fired from six agencies, arguing the government can't escape self-inflicted harms brought on by its allegedly unlawful actions.

  • April 03, 2025

    Nadine Menendez Trial Paused Due To Health Concerns

    Nadine Menendez's trial on charges that she facilitated bribe payments for her husband, former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was paused for the week Thursday morning after the defendant appeared to be in discomfort and expressed unspecified health concerns.

  • April 02, 2025

    5 Fed. Circ. Clashes To Watch This Month

    The Federal Circuit will hear arguments this month in patent cases involving Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and a blockbuster Johnson & Johnson schizophrenia drug, and the court will itself be the subject of a case at another appeals court as Judge Pauline Newman seeks to end her suspension.

  • April 02, 2025

    Transfer Of SpaceX NLRB Challenge To Calif. Paused For Now

    A Texas federal judge has paused an order transferring SpaceX's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board's structure to California, saying he had mistakenly thought a Fifth Circuit mandate connected to the case had already been issued.

  • April 02, 2025

    Northrop Retirees Can Pursue Some Claims Against Committee

    A California federal judge trimmed, but refused to throw out, proposed class action claims two Northrop Grumman Corp. retirees lodged against their former employer's pension plan administrator, saying the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is unclear if their claims fall outside its statute of limitations.

  • April 02, 2025

    Congress Demands VA Update Health Record System Costs

    A bipartisan group of congressional leaders has sent a letter demanding that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs update its schedule and cost estimate for its problem-ridden, multibillion-dollar electronic health record modernization program, just as the VA announced it would roll out the system to nine additional sites in 2026.

  • April 02, 2025

    Boeing CEO Tells Senate Panel Safety Overhaul Progressing

    Boeing's CEO told a Senate panel Wednesday that the company remains focused on overhauling its corporate culture and plugging safety gaps on production lines, as the plane-maker continues to stabilize its business after being rocked by two 737 Max 8 crashes and a door-plug blowout.

  • April 02, 2025

    CFPB's FirstCash Lending Suit Paused For Settlement Talks

    A Texas federal judge has agreed to pause the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Biden-era lawsuit accusing a leading U.S. pawn store operator of military lending violations, a case the agency is now discussing settling after deciding last month to move forward with it.

  • April 02, 2025

    Signal Steals The Show At Cybersecurity Oversight Hearing

    Democrats and Republicans faced off Wednesday morning at a House Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs hearing over how to prevent state-sponsored cyberattacks, crossing swords over whether Democrats were "politicizing" the hearing by bringing up the recent Signal app leak of plans to attack targets in Yemen.

  • April 02, 2025

    Fla. Man Gets 70 Months For Sending Aircraft Parts To Russia

    An Arizona federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Florida resident to nearly six years in prison for illegally exporting controlled aviation technology to Russia, and ordered the forfeiture of the $4.6 million in proceeds he earned through the scheme.

  • April 02, 2025

    DOD Must Justify Noncompetitive Commissary Food Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has backed a food distributor's protest over a Defense Commissary Agency fresh food supply deal, finding the agency wrongly failed to justify its use of a noncompetitive award.

  • April 02, 2025

    Freshfields Guides Leggett & Platt On $285M Aerospace Sale

    Freshfields US LLP is guiding Leggett & Platt on the sale of its Aerospace Products Group to Tinicum Inc. for $285 million, as the company seeks to better align its portfolio with its long-term vision, according to a Wednesday announcement from Leggett & Platt. 

  • April 02, 2025

    Law Profs Back Cert. Reversal In Boeing Stock-Drop Fight

    Law professors and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials urged the Fourth Circuit to undo class certification for Boeing investors who accused the company of overstating the safety of its 737 Max fleet, calling the certification order a "master class" in misinterpreting precedent.

  • April 01, 2025

    Trump Admin Layoffs 'Probably Broke Laws,' Judge Says

    A Maryland federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration "probably broke the laws that regulate en masse terminations of government employees," ordering the federal government to reinstate thousands of probationary employees who were abruptly fired from their jobs in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

  • April 01, 2025

    High Court Probes Jurisdiction In Terrorism Victims' Lawsuit

    The U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments Tuesday gave little indication of how it will rule in a case questioning the constitutionality of a 2019 law ending a jurisdictional hurdle for lawsuits stemming from terrorist attacks in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

  • April 01, 2025

    GAO Supports VA's Rejection Of Wheelchair Services Bid

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reasonably rejected a business's proposal to provide wheelchair transportation services at an Atlanta medical center for failing to include details about how much it would charge for wait times, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said.

Expert Analysis

  • Inside New Commerce Tech Restrictions: Mitigation Strategies

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    Given the breadth of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s authority under new restrictions on foreign adversary products and technologies, companies should assess their risk of falling in the agency's crosshairs and, if so, engage with BIS ahead of any enforcement action, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman Pepper Locke.

  • What's Next For Accounting Enforcement After SEC's Big 2024

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Trump administration will likely continue to focus enforcement efforts on many of the same accounting and auditing issues that it pursued over the past year — but other areas, such as ESG, internal controls and cryptocurrency cases, may fall out of focus, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • Key Trends In PFAS Regulation And Litigation For 2025

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    The critical policy milestones for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances expected in 2025 will not only shape the trajectory of PFAS regulation, but also set key precedents for environmental accountability, potentially reshaping the corporate approach to these "forever chemicals" for decades to come, say attorneys at MG+M.

  • Inside New Commerce Tech Restrictions: Key Risk Takeaways

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    While there are a few limitations on the scope of a new final rule restricting certain foreign adversary products and technologies, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security retains sweeping authority to regulate an array of risk areas, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Managing Litigation Side-Switching During 2nd Trump Admin

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    Now that the new presidential administration is in place, the government will likely switch positions in a number of pending cases, and stakeholders should employ strategies to protect their interests, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 3 Noteworthy Effects Of The 2025 NDAA

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    The 2025 defense budget includes further restrictions on semiconductor sales to Huawei, requiring companies to rethink customer-base oversight, but other provisions are likely to broaden procurement contract opportunities, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

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    In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025

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    If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.

  • Anticipating How GAO Pleading Standards May Shift

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    The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act's mandate to create an enhanced pleading standard at the U.S. Government Accountability Office may change the calculus for where to file when challenging a U.S. Department of Defense procurement, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

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    All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • 5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

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    B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.

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