Aerospace & Defense

  • June 16, 2025

    Ex-Deputy AG Joins Baker McKenzie As Nat'l Security Chair

    Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein has joined Baker McKenzie as chair of the national security practice in Washington, D.C., the firm said Monday.

  • June 13, 2025

    Trump Clears US Steel Merger With Japan's Nippon

    President Donald Trump has approved the long-delayed deal between U.S. Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel, the companies said Friday, following a protracted, 18-month saga that included a block of the transaction by President Joe Biden.

  • June 13, 2025

    State Dept. Layoffs Still Violate Injunction, Judge Says

    A California federal judge said Friday that planned staff reductions at the State Department would violate her injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order directing layoffs at federal agencies, saying she's not persuaded by the government's assertion that the department's reorganization was underway before the order.

  • June 13, 2025

    Stewart Releases Flood Of Discretionary Denial Decisions

    The acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director issued more than a dozen discretionary denial decisions on Thursday and Friday, where she ruled largely in favor of the challenger, made clear that challenges to young patents have a huge advantage and brought in a denial based on assignor estoppel.

  • June 13, 2025

    10th Circ. Affirms Expert DQ In Sig Sauer Gun Discharge Suit

    Gunmaker Sig Sauer Inc. scored a win at the Tenth Circuit on Friday with the panel disqualifying two experts who were ready to testify that its P320 pistol was defectively designed, giving the company an appeals court ruling to lean on as it continues to fend off a rash of suits claiming the gun fires unintentionally.

  • June 13, 2025

    GAO Denies Ohio Co.'s Protest Of Space Force Task Order

    The Government Accountability Office rejected an Ohio company's argument that the General Services Administration failed to evaluate cost proposals evenhandedly when it awarded a task order proposal that fell more than 10% below the agency's estimated total evaluated price range.

  • June 13, 2025

    PetroSaudi Unit Liquidators Seek Pause In $380M Award Suit

    Liquidators seeking to establish control over a PetroSaudi unit that won a $380 million arbitral award asked a California federal judge to let them join U.S. Justice Department litigation targeting the award over ties to funds embezzled from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

  • June 13, 2025

    Cooley, Latham Lead Drone Operator Airo's $60M IPO

    Drone systems developer Airo Group Holdings Inc. began trading Friday after a $60 million initial public offering priced below its targeted range and guided by Cooley LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • June 12, 2025

    Ex-Russian Diplomat Pleads Out In Narrowed Sanctions Case

    A former Russian diplomat and longtime U.S. resident on Thursday admitted to deceiving FBI agents about his knowledge of dealings between an ex-FBI agent and a purported associate of a Russian oligarch, after prosecutors dropped plans to go ahead with sanctions and money laundering charges at a trial slated to begin next week.

  • June 12, 2025

    Air India Crash — Boeing 787 Dreamliner: What Do We Know?

    The Boeing Co. is bracing for renewed scrutiny after Thursday's deadly crash of an Air India flight with 242 people onboard as another line of its jets — this time, its 787-8 Dreamliner — is involved in an overseas aviation disaster just as the company was eyeing a fresh chapter following its 737 Max crisis.

  • June 12, 2025

    Holmes Seeks 2 Year Cut, Commits To Criminal Justice Work

    Elizabeth Holmes has asked a California federal judge to knock two years off her 11-year prison sentence, arguing she's eligible for the adjustment under sentencing guidelines and has spent her time behind bars tutoring and advocating for her fellow prisoners.

  • June 12, 2025

    Senate Dem Worries 'Salt Typhoon' Still Wreaks Havoc

    The Senate's lead Democrat on spectrum issues said Thursday that last year's massive "Salt Typhoon" cyberattack linked to China may not be over and that giving wireless carriers vast amounts of new spectrum could only make U.S. networks more vulnerable.

  • June 12, 2025

    Trump's Deployment Of National Guard Illegal, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Thursday granted California's request for a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump's order sending the National Guard into Los Angeles, calling the president's actions "illegal" and unconstitutional, but the decision was quickly paused by the Ninth Circuit.

  • June 12, 2025

    Judge Won't Ax DC Water Fee Suit Against Feds

    A Court of Federal Claims judge on Thursday refused to dismiss the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority's claims that it is owed various fees from the Armed Forces Retirement Home, finding the Clean Water Act includes a waiver of sovereign immunity.

  • June 12, 2025

    GAO Denies Challenge To $12.8M Army Comms Support Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said the U.S. Army acted reasonably when it rejected a Virginia company's proposal to provide communications support services, agreeing the proposal was light on details needed to explain how the company would perform required work.

  • June 12, 2025

    China Agrees To Loosen Rare Earth Restrictions, US Says

    Chinese trade negotiators have agreed to lift export controls on rare-earth elements in exchange for the U.S. walking back a campaign to revoke visas for Chinese students, according to statements by U.S. officials, which experts said leave key issues unresolved.

  • June 12, 2025

    Clark Hill Grows Gov't Contracts Team With Army Atty In Texas

    Clark Hill PLC has added a former legal leader in the U.S. Army Futures Command to the firm's Austin office, strengthening its government contracts and regulation team with an attorney who has handled federal government contract law matters for 20 years.

  • June 12, 2025

    Grand Jury Indicts Florida Man For Fuel Purchase Scheme

    A Miami grand jury indicted a South Florida man on wire fraud, forgery and money laundering charges for allegedly defrauding the U.S. government out of millions of dollars for phony fees and expenses associated with fuel orders, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

  • June 12, 2025

    Justices Grant Compensation Leeway To Late-Filing Vets

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Barring Act's six-year statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation, a win for a proposed class of roughly 9,000 veterans who say they deserve additional pay despite filing late.

  • June 11, 2025

    Ex-CIA Official Gets 3 Years Behind Bars For Israel Doc Leak

    A Virginia federal judge Wednesday sentenced a former CIA analyst to 37 months in prison for leaking top secret government documents related to Israel's military attack plans against Iran, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • June 11, 2025

    Ex-Google Engineer Loses Bid To Toss AI Espionage Counts

    A California federal judge has refused to toss economic espionage charges against an ex-Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to help startups in China, adding that prosecutors' assertion that the man was trying to benefit the People's Republic of China "as opposed to benefiting himself ... seems dubious."

  • June 11, 2025

    No Bail For Menendez During Bribery Appeal, 2nd Circ. Says

    A split Second Circuit on Wednesday rejected former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's request for bail while he appeals his conviction of engaging in a lengthy, million-dollar course of bribery and corruption.

  • June 11, 2025

    Micron's National Security Arguments Fall Flat At PTAB

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has said it will consider patent validity challenges that Micron Technology Inc. and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. brought against each other, overriding the competing semiconductor companies' efforts to escape scrutiny, including Micron's national security arguments.

  • June 11, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Says VA Worker Must Submit To Random Drug Tests

    The Federal Circuit has upheld an arbitration decision requiring a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee, allegedly caught using marijuana on the job, to release her medical records and submit to random drug testing as part of a slate of conditions for her to return to work, finding the arbitrator's award acceptable.

  • June 11, 2025

    DOJ's Focus On Cartels Raises Compliance Risks For US Cos.

    U.S. corporations with business interests south of the border are increasingly worried about exposure to terrorism-related criminal charges under the Trump administration for inadvertently working with cartels linked to major business sectors throughout Mexico, from energy and manufacturing to financial services, compliance experts tell Law360.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • How 2025 NDAA May Affect DOD Procurement Protests

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    A bid protest pilot program included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act shifts litigation costs onto unsuccessful bid protesters and raises claim-filing thresholds, which could increase risks to U.S. Department of Defense contractors who file protests, and reduce oversight of DOD procurement awards, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Nippon, US Steel Face Long Odds On Merger Challenge

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    Following the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' review of Japan's Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, the companies face a formidable uphill battle in challenging the president's exercise of authority to block the deal on national security grounds, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Preparing For Mexican Drug Cartels' Terrorist Designation

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    In the event President-elect Donald Trump designates Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, businesses will need to consider how their particular industry is affected and evaluate previously legitimate practices given the cartels' involvement so many sectors of the economy, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • What To Expect From Federal Cybersecurity Policy In 2025

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    There are 12 cyber policy questions to keep an eye on as the new administration and Republican control of Congress present an opportunity to advance less regulatory approaches and revisit some choices from the prior administration, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Republican Trifecta Amplifies Risks For Cos. In 3 Key Areas

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    Expected coordination between a Republican Congress and presidential administration may expose companies to simultaneous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, particularly with regard to supply chain risks in certain industries, government contracting and cross-border investment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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