4th Circ. Backs $42M Abu Ghraib Verdict, Likens CACI To Pirates

By Jared Foretek

A $42 million judgment against defense contractor CACI Premier Technology Inc. for conspiring with the U.S. military to torture Abu Ghraib prison detainees was upheld by a split Fourth Circuit panel Thursday, with the majority holding that the military prison was effectively within U.S. territorial jurisdiction during the war in Iraq.

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Jury Reaches $15M Verdict In Fluor Fraud Case

By Madeline Lyskawa

A South Carolina federal jury rejected claims from former Fluor Corp. employees that the company submitted false claims to secure bonus payments under a U.S. military contract in Afghanistan, but found that Fluor knowingly avoided its property management obligations by $15 million.

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Lawmakers Seek Clarity On Trump's Stock Buyback Order

By Madeline Lyskawa

Four Democratic lawmakers have called on President Donald Trump and U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide clarity on how they plan to enforce a recent executive order barring defense contractors from buying back their stock or paying shareholder dividends if they are underperforming on their contracts. 

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Aerotech Workers Get Class Nod In Suit Over ESOP Strategy

By Grace Elletson

A Pennsylvania federal judge handed class certification to a group of 500 workers in their suit claiming Aerotech Inc. failed to more aggressively invest cash held in its employee stock ownership plan, ruling the case clears the requirements needed to secure class status.

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GAO Says DOD Should Better Assess Contractors' Cyber Risk

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Government Accountability Office said on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Defense has not done enough to examine whether its hundreds of thousands of private contractors are properly following cybersecurity requirements.

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Ariz. Docs Ink $4.75M FCA Deal Over Unnecessary Treatment

By Gina Kim

An Arizona-based physician group that offers cardiology and vascular services has inked a $4.75 million settlement to resolve False Claims Act allegations they performed unnecessary vein ablations and submitted claims for payment to government healthcare programs for reimbursement, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

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Brief

Democrats Vow To Oversee DOJ's Reported Binance Inquiry

By Sarah Jarvis

Three Democratic U.S. senators said Thursday that they will oversee a reported investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into potential Iran sanctions violations carried out on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

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Trump Admin Won't Weigh In On Venezuela Representation

By Caroline Simson

The Trump administration on Wednesday declined to clear up confusion over the representation of Venezuelan entities in several pending New York cases brought by terrorism victims, telling a federal judge only that it has now normalized relations with the country under interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

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Ill. Says Trump's 'Forced Retreat' Can't End Nat'l Guard Suit

By Celeste Bott

The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are pushing back on the Trump administration's bid to dismiss their lawsuit challenging National Guard deployment to the state because all the troops have since been demobilized or withdrawn, with no plans to return, telling an Illinois federal judge that the president's social media posts and public statements tell a different story.

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Judge Newman Takes Suspension Battle To Supreme Court

By Ryan Davis

Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman brought her fight against a suspension imposed on her by her colleagues to the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, arguing that a lower court wrongly held that her challenges to the order are not subject to judicial review.

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4 Firms Guide Canadian Satellite Provider's $300M US IPO

By Isaac Monterose

MDA Space Ltd., a Canadian manufacturer of communications satellites, debuted Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange after it priced a $300 million initial public offering, guided by Skadden, Goodmans, Simpson Thacher and Osler Hoskin.

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Brief

Space Force Axes $1.4B AeroVironment Satellite Contract

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Space Force has terminated its $1.4 billion contract with AeroVironment to deliver new antenna systems to support the agency's satellite communications augmentation resource program, after the contract was put on hold earlier this year.

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Series

Podcasting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Podcasting has changed how I ask questions and connect with people, sharpening my ability to listen without interrupting or prejudging, and bringing me closer to what law is meant to be: a human profession grounded in understanding, judgment and trust, says Donna DiMaggio Berger at Becker.

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4th Circ. Scolds Atty Suspected Of Using AI In Race Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The Fourth Circuit has reprimanded an attorney suspected of using generative artificial intelligence to draft briefs in a race discrimination lawsuit against Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., warning that courts need to grapple with the technology as it "may soon become the norm."

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Democrats Seek Review Of Bondi's Role In Brother's Cases

By Alison Knezevich

Two Democratic lawmakers have asked the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general to review whether Attorney General Pam Bondi "adequately recused herself" from cases involving clients represented by her brother Brad Bondi, who is a partner at Paul Hastings LLP.

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Sinema Says Tryst With Ex-Guard Not In NC Court's Reach

By Abigail Harrison

Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, now a Hogan Lovells attorney, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that a lawsuit alleging her cross-country affair with a former member of her security detail ended a 14-year marriage must be dismissed because the trysts occurred outside state borders.

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Ex-Judge Testifies About Alleged Forgeries In Amazon Case

By Kelcey Caulder

The former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia testified Thursday about the alleged forging of court documents, signatures and court stamps in a criminal case against a woman accused of defrauding Amazon out of $9.4 million through fraudulent invoices. 

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Calif. Bar Says Internal Docs Bolster Claims Against Exam Co.

By Emily Sawicki

The State Bar of California has bulked up its breach of contract and fraud suit against the administrator of its "disastrous" February 2025 bar exam, filing an amended complaint in light of information it says it learned from internal communications unearthed amid discovery.

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Holyoak's US Attorney Nomination Advances

By Courtney Bublé

The nomination of Melissa Holyoak, former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, to be U.S. attorney for the District of Utah was sent to the full Senate on Thursday.

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CFTC Takes 1st Steps Toward Prediction Market Regulations

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened the door Thursday to promised prediction market regulation, calling for public feedback on what such rules might look like while laying out the staff's view on the current rules that the platforms should follow in order to offer betting on sports and other events.

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