GAO Official Says US Military Faces Readiness Problem

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Government Accountability Office director told lawmakers Wednesday that U.S. military readiness has degraded over the past two years, amid the Trump administration's assurances that the military has sufficient munitions to carry on with its war against Iran.

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Veterans Fight BofA Interest Suit Dismissal Recommendation

By Sydney Price

Three veterans told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that a magistrate judge was wrong to recommend tossing their proposed class action accusing Bank of America of violating an interest cap law for military service members, arguing their claims under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act are unambiguous.

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GAO Denies Protest Of $39.5M Defense Logistics Contract

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Defense Logistics Agency reasonably concluded that a pharmaceutical company was at fault for any missubmitted bids, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said, denying the company's protest of a $39.5 million contract for potassium chloride tablets.

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Analysis

Trump's FCA Expansion Plan Heightens Compliance Risk

By Sarah Jarvis

In light of the Trump administration's record False Claims Act enforcement haul, companies should be especially mindful of a planned expansion in the scope of enforcement and the false compliance certification risks that may bring, attorneys say.

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Feds, Wash. State Pitch $668M Cleanup Deal For Duwamish

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington state asked a Washington federal court on Wednesday to approve an estimated $668 million proposed settlement involving more than 100 parties for cleanup work on Seattle's Duwamish River.

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Japanese Man Gets 20 Years For Trafficking Nuclear Materials

By Elaine Briseño

A New York federal judge has sentenced a Japanese national believed to be a leader in the notorious Yakuza crime syndicate to 20 years in prison for his role in conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar to other countries.

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3rd Circ. Nixes Stay Of Bankruptcy Court Order In Ligado Case

By Emlyn Cameron

The Third Circuit has allowed a Delaware bankruptcy judge to make Inmarsat Global Ltd. support a spectrum-rights application filed by telecommunications group Ligado Networks LLC and AST SpaceMobile Inc.

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Split 4th Circ. Shields Musk From USAID Deposition, For Now

By Rae Ann Varona

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that Elon Musk and two former U.S. Agency for International Development officials will not, for now, have to testify in litigation ex-employees filed accusing the billionaire of illegally dismantling the foreign aid agency, saying no "extraordinary circumstances" justified the depositions.

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4th Circ. Says Employers Can't Shorten Bias Suit Deadlines

By Anne Cullen

The Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday that the filing windows for workers to bring claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act can't be shortened through an employment agreement, aligning with the Sixth Circuit's views on the question.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: In Court, It's About Storytelling

Law school provides doctrine, cases and hypotheticals, but when lawyers step into the courtroom, they must learn the importance of clarity, credibility, memorability and preparation — in other words, how to tell simple, effective stories, say Nicholas Steverson and Danielle Trujillo at Wheeler Trigg, and Lisa DeCaro at Courtroom Performance.

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Congressional Staffer Joins Cozen O'Connor Lobbying Arm

By Jack Rodgers

A former staff member of several Republican members of Congress in both the House and Senate has left Capitol Hill to join Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies, the government relations and communications arm of Cozen O'Connor.

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Ex-Judge In Wis. Says ICE Prosecution Theory Has No Limits

By Britain Eakin

A former Wisconsin judge has said the government's case against her for obstructing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no limiting principle and wrongly turned her authority to manage her courtroom into a federal felony for impeding ICE.

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NJ Court Skeptical Firm's Blog Posts Defamed Holtec

By George Woolston

Holtec International urged a New Jersey state appeals court Thursday to revive its defamation suit against Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins PC over a blog post about the firm's representation of a former Holtec executive, but its argument that the post was subject to an anti-SLAPP exception was met with skepticism.

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Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana Judicial Noms Advance

By Courtney Bublé

Four judicial nominees advanced out of committee Thursday along party lines, which included two for Texas.

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UK Law Sector's Private Equity Boom Offers Lessons For US

By Ryan Boysen

Private equity money is pouring into the U.K. legal sector, fueling a wave of consolidation in consumer-facing practices and offering a glimpse of what it could look like if outside investment in the U.S. legal industry takes off.

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5th Circ. Upholds $919K Fee Award In Overtime Suit

By Benjamin Morse

The Fifth Circuit upheld an award of $919,000 in attorney fees to hospital employees who won an overtime pay dispute with Texas health providers, ruling Thursday that the lower court reasonably reduced a request for more than $3 million in fees.

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