Analysis

New Chinese Lobbying Law Raises Q's For DOD Contractors

By Madeline Lyskawa

Defense contractors are struggling to navigate a new law that bars the Pentagon from contracting with companies that hire lobbyists for Chinese military companies, given the statute's broad definition of lobbying activities and lack of clarity surrounding its implementation.

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Analysis

Trump's AI Cyber Directive Leaves Cos. Guessing At Upside

By Allison Grande

A recent executive order intended to boost the security of advanced artificial intelligence systems hinges on developers voluntarily making their models available to the government for prerelease testing, but lingering questions about the potential trade-offs of this exchange raise doubts about the ultimate effectiveness of this model.

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Feds Spell Out State, Local Roles In Mitigating Drone Threats

By Christopher Cole

Federal agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, have spelled out the roles of states, city police forces and other nonfederal authorities in reducing the safety risks of drones.

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DoD Memo Illegally Axed Union Rights, Union Affiliates Say

By Katherine Smith

More than 20 union affiliates have filed a lawsuit in Maryland federal court challenging a memorandum directing agencies in the U.S. Department of Defense to cancel hundreds of union contracts throughout the country, claiming that the memo and the following contract terminations were unlawful, arbitrary and capricious.

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House Bill Aims To Block Fiber From 'Countries of Concern'

By Christopher Cole

A recently introduced bipartisan House bill would block the use of federal funds to purchase fiber-optic network gear from "countries of concern," as the bill's sponsors described foreign adversaries.

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Stakeholders Push For Expanded Brazil Tariff Exemptions

By Dylan Moroses

Industry associations urged the U.S. Trade Representative's Office to expand tariff exemptions for the 25% duty anticipated on Brazilian goods as a result of its alleged unfair trading practices, according to recently published comment letters.

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India, China Call Broad US Forced Labor Tariffs Not Justified

By Jack McLoone

Several U.S. trading partners facing new tariffs over claims of failing to adequately protect against forced labor pushed back on the plan ahead of a public hearing Tuesday, raising concerns that ranged from too-generalized determinations to the U.S. improperly disregarding related measures.

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Nadine Menendez's Attys Rebuked For Medical Disclosures

By Carla Baranauckas

A New York federal judge rebuked Nadine Menendez's attorneys on Monday for publicly filing a request to delay her surrender date that included "extensive intimate details" of her medical condition, calling the disclosure "astonishing" and ordering the parties to refile a redacted version by Wednesday.

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Pentagon Appeals Media Escort Ruling

By Jared Foretek

The federal government on Monday notified the D.C. Circuit that it is appealing a district judge's preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Defense's policy that reporters be escorted whenever they're in the Pentagon.

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DOD, Humana Seek Toss Of $270K Tricare Coverage Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Department of Defense and a Humana unit urged a D.C. federal court to toss allegations that they wrongfully denied Tricare coverage for a minor's inpatient mental health treatment, arguing the minor's parents lack standing because they weren't billed for the treatment at issue.

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Contractor Says Former Exec's Gender Bias Claim Belongs In Va.

By Patrick Hoff

A defense contractor urged a Colorado federal court to toss a female former executive's gender bias claim alleging she was fired for reporting a male manager's $1.9 million fraud scheme, arguing the claim belongs in Virginia because her employment stemmed from that state and the company is based there.

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GAO OKs NASA's Ax Of Bid For $20B Deals Over Missing Info

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Government Accountability Office said NASA was justified in eliminating an aerospace company from a competition for up to $20 billion in IT contracts, saying the company's proposal failed to verify compliance with industry standards for combating cybersecurity threats.

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5 Firms Steer Solstice's $14.5B Element Solutions Buy

By Nate Beck

Solstice Advanced Materials, a company spun off from Honeywell, will acquire fellow chemical company Element Solutions for $14.5 billion, creating a larger supplier of components serving the data center and semiconductor manufacturing industries.

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Lockheed Martin Strikes $3.5B Deal For Ultra Maritime

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Global defense company Lockheed Martin, advised by Hogan Lovells Cadwalader and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, on Monday unveiled plans to acquire private equity-backed undersea warfare solutions company Ultra Maritime in a $3.45 billion deal.

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Analysis

After Tense Terms, Hints Of High Court Harmony With Circuits

By Jeff Overley

Following several U.S. Supreme Court terms teeming with reversals and rebukes of lower appeals courts, the justices this term found fault less often with rulings by circuit judges, who are likely becoming better attuned to the conservative supermajority, attorneys say.

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Analysis

The Moments That Shaped The Monsanto Decision

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

U.S. Supreme Court justices forged unusual alliances when they ruled a federal statute preempts claims Monsanto failed to warn consumers its Roundup weed killer may cause cancer. Oral arguments provided insights on the 7-2 outcome, highlighting issues the jurists were grappling with and showcasing rationales that found their way into the opinion.

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Feature

The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term

By Jeff Overley

When one of the U.S. Supreme Court's most talkative members suddenly struggled to speak, the atmosphere at oral arguments grew increasingly anxious — until the justice deadpanned that it was an advocate's golden opportunity to avoid a grilling.

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Blank Rome Sued Over Breach Allegedly Affecting 57K People

By Steven Lerner

An attorney with Blank Rome LLP was tricked into uploading sensitive files to an external Google Drive account, allegedly exposing private information belonging to more than 57,000 individuals, according to a proposed class action accusing the law firm of inadequate cybersecurity safeguards and delayed breach notification.

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Richards Layton Faces Possible Sanctions Over AI Errors

By Rose Krebs

Richards Layton & Finger PA and one of its attorneys have been directed by the Delaware Court of Chancery to show why they should not be sanctioned for a brief submitted with "hallucinated legal propositions" generated by artificial intelligence and for not taking steps to remediate those errors.

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Partnership Docs Sealed In Clifford Chance Clawback Spat

By Ryan Boysen

A federal judge has sealed the partnership agreements that two ex-Clifford Chance LLP practice group heads who jumped to Sidley Austin LLP included in their lawsuit challenging a nearly $6 million clawback demand, after Clifford Chance claimed the tactics put it at a competitive disadvantage. 

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Murdaugh Fights Clerk's Bid To Ax Jury-Tampering Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former court clerk found to have interfered in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial cannot escape civil claims over the tampering, the disgraced attorney told a South Carolina federal court, stating in an opposition that the clerk cannot argue her way out of the state Supreme Court's finding that she tampered with the jury.

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DOJ Looks To Block ABA's Trump Adviser Subpoenas

By Jack Karp

The American Bar Association cannot demand documents and deposition testimony from a Trump adviser in its lawsuit over the Trump administration's executive orders targeting law firms, since any communication between a presidential adviser and the chief executive is privileged, the government has told a New York federal court.

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Roc Nation Calls Out Alleged AI Citations In Fat Joe Case Brief

By Andrea Keckley

Roc Nation LLC has told a New York federal judge that plaintiff Terrance Dixon's opposition brief filed in a pending Rule 11 sanctions fight should be struck down in part because it includes what the company alleges are fabricated quotations attributed to real judicial decisions.

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Kasowitz Sued Over College Antisemitism Settlement Fees

By Adrian Cruz

A group of Columbia University students who reached a settlement with the school over alleged antisemitism on campus accused Kasowitz LLP of wrongfully taking over $6 million from the deal and engaging in "self-dealing and misappropriation."

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Split 5th Circ. Backs Bond Hearings For Immigrant Detainees

By Ganesh Setty

The Fifth Circuit has limited its recent decision permitting the federal government to subject unauthorized immigrants to mandatory detention without bond, finding such individuals are still entitled to an eventual bond hearing under their Fifth Amendment due process rights.

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GOP Bill Would Cement DOJ Fraud Division In Federal Law

By Courtney Bublé

A pair of House Republicans are looking to put a congressional stamp of approval on the new fraud division in the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Judge Says No To Amicus On Attorney Privilege In FTC Case

By Nadia Dreid

A defense bar advocacy group will not get a chance to weigh in on the FTC's antitrust case against Amazon over allegations the e-commerce behemoth used attorney-client privilege to hide evidence from discovery after a Washington federal judge declined to hear from the group.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week handled disputes involving arbitration, corporate control, advancement rights, freeze-out mergers and insolvent company wind-downs.

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