DOD Official Says 30,000 Small Drone Order Coming Soon

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Department of Defense official told lawmakers Thursday that the Pentagon plans to order 30,000 small one-way attack drones for $150 million over the next few days, amid concerns that the U.S. is lagging behind with regard to its drone capabilities. 

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Anthropic Deemed Supply Chain Risk By Pentagon, Vows Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

The Pentagon has officially informed Anthropic that it is a supply chain risk to the United States' national security, a designation that the artificial intelligence company plans to challenge in court as not "legally sound," according to a statement by Anthropic's CEO on Thursday.

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2 Defense Space Tech Companies Raise Combined $1.05B

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Two aerospace and defense tech companies announced Thursday that they have raised a combined $1.05 billion in recent funding rounds, which will go toward initiatives such as national security space efforts and creating low-Earth-orbit space stations.

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Boeing Doesn't Owe Fees For Hauling Bias Suit To Fed. Court

By Grace Elletson

Boeing won't have to pay attorney fees for a worker who got a discrimination case over bonuses sent back to Washington state court after the company yanked it into a federal venue, as a judge ruled Thursday that the aerospace giant's removal of the case wasn't egregious.

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Fla. Judge Blocks Terrorist Label For Muslim Rights Nonprofit

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge has blocked the state's governor from designating a national Muslim civil rights nonprofit as a "terrorist organization," ruling that doing so to make a political statement violates the First Amendment. 

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Fla. Court Allows Chubb's Salvage Claim On Stolen Planes

By Mark Payne

Chubb European Group SE can move forward with a counterclaim against an aircraft leasing company that alleges the insurer can claim 23 Boeing and Airbus aircraft stolen by Russia at the start of the Ukraine war as salvaged, a Florida state court ruled.

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SpaceX Taps Citigroup For Planned IPO, Plus More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

SpaceX has added Citigroup to its lineup of banks leading its planned blockbuster initial public offering, Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are co-leading an investment in defense company Andural Industries that could value it at $60 billion, and Indian payments platform PhonePe is preparing plans for an initial public offering that would value it at $10.5 billion.

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Series

Volunteering With Scouts Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Serving as an assistant scoutmaster for my son’s troop reaffirmed several skills and principles crucial to lawyering — from the importance of disconnecting to the value of morality, says Michael Warren at McManis Faulkner.

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OpenAI Practices Law Without A License, Insurer Alleges

By Lauren Berg

OpenAI is practicing law without a license, according to an insurer's lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court that alleges artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT provided faulty legal advice to a woman seeking disability benefits that led to a breached settlement and a flurry of frivolous court filings.

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Analysis

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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Criminal Contempt Of DOJ Attys Unlikely For Violating Orders

By Jack Karp

Federal judges have been floating the possibility of holding government attorneys in criminal contempt of court for violating immigration-related court orders, a potentially shocking move that scholars say is unlikely and probably less effective than civil contempt orders.

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Lindsey Halligan Faces Fla. Bar Investigation, Watchdog Says

By Lauren Berg

The Florida Bar is investigating Lindsey Halligan, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who pursued controversial indictments against President Donald Trump's political opponents, according to a letter the Campaign for Accountability made public Thursday.

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Troutman And Former Atty Push To Limit Scope Of Bias Trial

By Jake Maher

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and a former associate suing the firm for racial discrimination and retaliation this week fought over the role that charged language and calculations of financial damages should play in an upcoming trial.

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Atty's Scheduling Error Dooms Appeal In AT&T Forfeiture Suit

By Patrick Hoff

An AT&T worker can't ask the Ninth Circuit to review the dismissal of his proposed class action claiming the telecommunications company misused forfeited 401(k) funds, with a California federal judge saying his attorney's busy schedule was "one of the least compelling excuses" for filing a late appeal.

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Analysis

A Look At Four States' Tort Reform Legislation Fights

By Y. Peter Kang

There are currently four states debating whether to install business-friendly tort reform legislation or medical malpractice guardrails. The issues include a potentially brutal showdown in California over auto collision litigation and efforts in Florida to expand wrongful death liability for healthcare providers.

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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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Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana Judicial Nominees Advance

By Courtney Bublé

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

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