Analysis

Boeing's 737 Max Plea Deal: Monitorship, Gov't Contracts

By Linda Chiem

Boeing will be branded with a felony criminal conviction after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud U.S. regulators over the 737 Max 8's development, an ignominious distinction with fresh complications for the embattled American aerospace titan as it overhauls its corporate culture under a compliance monitorship.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Won't Ax Afghan Pair's Kidnapping Suit Against Marine

By Alyssa Aquino

A Virginia federal court has refused to toss an Afghan couple's claims that a U.S. Marine schemed to abduct an orphaned cousin, saying the federal courts' rule against hearing domestic disputes doesn't bar the couple's $15 million fraud case.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

11th Circ. Sets Briefing Schedule In Mar-A-Lago Docs Appeal

By Carolina Bolado

Briefing in special counsel Jack Smith's appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents criminal case against former President Donald Trump will run through mid-October, according to a scheduling notice from the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY Jury Convicts Int'l Bank Safe Deposit Box Scammer

By Sydney Price

Following a seven-day trial, a New York federal jury in Brooklyn found a member of an alleged organized crime group guilty of stealing millions in cash and goods from European banks.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Unseal Indictment Against Fla. IT Worker in Spying Case

By Joyce Hanson

The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging a Chinese-born American citizen with conspiring to act as an agent of the People's Republic of China, saying the PRC used the Florida information technology worker as a "cooperative contact" to support its intelligence goals.

Indictment attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Judge Again Orders Transfer Of SpaceX NLRB Suit

By Tim Ryan

A Texas federal judge again denied SpaceX's request that he reconsider an earlier decision transferring to California the company's challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board, reaffirming a May decision holding the company did not provide good reason to rethink the transfer.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Watchdog Backs $77.8M DOD Deal Over Ethics Concern

By Alyssa Aquino

The U.S. Government Accountability Office tossed claims that the U.S. Department of Defense's $77.8 million audit services order was tainted by an official's prior work for the awardee, Deloitte & Touche LLP, saying the DOD correctly dismissed the conflict claims after a thorough investigation.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Watchdog Says $30.2M IT Contract Holder Didn't Overedit Bid

By Alyssa Aquino

The U.S. Government Accountability Office upheld the U.S. Space Force's $30.2 million IT deal, rejecting claims that the eventual award-holder had revised too much of its bid after being allowed to alter parts of its proposal.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing, Prejudice, Conflicts

In this month's bid protest roundup, Caitlin Crujido at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office concerning whether a would-be protestor was an interested party with standing, whether an agency adequately investigated potential procurement violations and whether a proposed firewall sufficiently addressed an impaired objectivity organizational conflict of interest.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

How Contractors Can Prep For DOD Cybersecurity Rule

The proverbial clock is ticking for defense contractors and subcontractors to strengthen their compliance posture in preparation for the rollout of the highly anticipated Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, so those affected should analyze their existing security standards and take proactive steps to fill in any significant gaps, say Beth Waller and Patrick Austin at Woods Rogers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

How Being A Female Litigator May Aid Harris' Presidential Bid

By Aebra Coe

Female litigators regularly confront implicit biases and double standards when it comes to "their appearance, voice, attire, demeanor and their advocacy," according to the author of an American Bar Foundation research report on first chair trial lawyers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Terrible Decisions': Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO Gets 5 Years

By Carla Baranauckas

McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP's former chief financial officer was sentenced Friday in a New Jersey state court to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm and failing to pay income tax.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

How Barrett Became The High Court's Justice To Watch

By Katie Buehler

Justice Amy Coney Barrett has revealed a unique trifecta of caution toward overly broad opinions, devotion to the factual record and concern for the practical effects of court rulings that separates her from the other right-leaning justices and contains the potential to broker more moderate rulings in future terms.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cadwalader Suing Lloyd's Over Cyberattack Coverage Denial

By Lynn LaRowe

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP has filed suit against insurer Lloyd's of London in North Carolina state court, alleging the company has failed to reimburse the law firm for expenses related to a November 2022 data breach.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attys Face Sanctions For Fake Citations In Whistleblower Suit

By Rachel Rippetoe

A Virginia federal judge has asked lawyers representing a plaintiff in a whistleblower case to defend why they should not be sanctioned for including seemingly fabricated case sources in a brief objecting to a protective order, questioning whether it was a case of "ChatGPT run amok."

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Thompson Hine Atty Says Firm Can't Oppose NY Jurisdiction

By Xiumei Dong

Former Thompson Hine LLP income partner Rebecca Brazzano fired back at efforts by two firm partners to dismiss her lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, contending among other arguments that they waived their right to contest personal jurisdiction by filing another motion that attempts to force arbitration that didn't raise the jurisdiction issue.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cuomo Harassment Document Fight Heads To NY Appeals Court

By Rachel Scharf

A Manhattan judge on Friday allowed both the New York attorney general and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to appeal parts of a decision requiring the state to produce unredacted transcripts of some witness interviews in the sexual harassment investigation that led to Cuomo's resignation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Rutgers Fights Contempt Bid By Student Who Filed Bias Suit

By Rose Krebs

Rutgers University wants a New Jersey state court to reject a bid by a law school student who filed a discrimination suit against it to hold the school in contempt for moving ahead with disciplinary measures against him, arguing there is "no basis" to grant the request.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Boyden Gray PLLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the full Fifth Circuit struck down as unconstitutional the Federal Communications Commission's system for subsidizing telecommunications service for rural and low-income users.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

What a news week! President Joe Biden started it off by announcing he would not seek re-election, but then said he would push for reform of the U.S. Supreme Court in his remaining time. And the Boeing Co. confirmed it has finalized its agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy to defraud, related to safety issues and two fatal plane crashes.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen U.K. band The 1975 face action by Future Sound Asia after its performance in Malaysia resulted in a festival's cancelation, Spectrum Insurance hit by The Motoring Organization following their dispute over information misuse, and a former police constable pursue defamation against a colleague for allegedly instigating a campaign of harassment against her. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Assa Abloy Resolves DOJ Merger Monitor Dispute

By Bryan Koenig

Assa Abloy told a D.C. federal judge that it's agreed "in principle" on how a monitoring trustee will review its compliance with a U.S. Department of Justice merger lawsuit settlement, resolving a simmering dispute over its complaints of an open-ended multimillion-dollar investigation.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Georgia Judge Won't Block Prosecutor Oversight Commission

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia judge has rejected an attempt to temporarily block a new state commission created to investigate and discipline state prosecutors, finding it doesn't violate Georgia's constitution.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SEC Sues Banker And Ex-Prosecutor Alleging $1.6M Fraud

By Rae Ann Varona

A Georgia banker fraudulently bilked approximately $1.6 million from unsuspecting investors for "furs and furniture" and other expenses while a former Florida prosecutor ignored several red flags when holding on to the investments, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Georgia federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Colorado's New Chief Justice Sworn In

By Daniel Ducassi

Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez started her three-year term leading the Colorado Supreme Court on Friday after being sworn in during a closed-door ceremony.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Girardi Can't Show Ex-CFO's Spending Habits In Fraud Trial

By Gina Kim

Jurors in Tom Girardi's upcoming fraud trial won't hear details about the spending habits of Girardi Keese's former CFO, who's accused of a "side fraud" that bilked millions without Girardi's knowledge, after a California federal judge agreed with prosecutors Friday that the evidence appears more prejudicial than probative.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hunter Biden's Attys Made 'False Statements,' Judge Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

The California federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden's criminal tax trial threatened to sanction the presidential son's lawyers Wednesday, saying they made "false statements" in a motion to dismiss that cited a Florida federal judge's order disqualifying the special prosecutor in Donald Trump's classified documents case.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »