A Fourth Circuit judge appeared unconvinced Wednesday by an attorney's claim that the U.S. Department of Justice should have been disqualified from representing the federal government in a whistleblower suit brought by a man incarcerated for defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

4th Circ. Judge Doubts DOJ Can Be Kicked From FCA Suit

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Fourth Circuit judge appeared unconvinced Wednesday by an attorney's claim that the U.S. Department of Justice should have been disqualified from representing the federal government in a whistleblower suit brought by a man incarcerated for defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense.

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Firehawk Defense Hits $1.4B Valuation After Latest Funding

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Defense technology company Firehawk Defense on Wednesday revealed that it reached a $1.4 billion valuation after closing its latest funding round with more than $150 million in tow.

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Judge Hellerstein, Gruff Moderator Of Major Cases, Dies At 92

By Pete Brush

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, a former litigator and sometimes impatient Manhattan federal jurist who presided over decades of high-profile cases that often came under close appellate scrutiny, died Wednesday at the age of 92.

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ANALYSIS

Analysis

DOJ's New Comey Case May Get Stuck In Procedural Weeds

By Phillip Bantz

The Justice Department's last-minute attempt to stop the statute of limitations from expiring in the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey over a decade-old allegation has raised an "open legal question" that could clarify procedural law and determine whether the prosecution moves forward, experts say.

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ENFORCEMENT

Brief

DOD Contractor Owes $1.2M In Whistleblower Suit, Jury Says

By Zach Dupont

An ex-employee of a U.S. Department of Defense contractor won a $1.2 million award after a Colorado federal jury found the contractor liable for wrongful discharge and violations of the Defense Contractor Whistleblower Protection Act, according to the final judgment, entered Wednesday. 

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LITIGATION

Satellite Co. Asks Fla. Court To End $15M Finder's Fee Suit

By David Minsky

A satellite technology company asked a Florida state court on Wednesday to once and for all end a lawsuit alleging it owes $15 million in finder's fees for help with sourcing funders, arguing the complaint was already considered and rejected by federal courts. 

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DEALS & CONTRACTS

Q&A

U. Of Buffalo Prof Skeptical Of SpaceX-Tesla Merger Benefits

By Al Barbarino

Elon Musk made headlines when he said on Oct. 20 that a merger between SpaceX and Tesla, the two multitrillion-dollar companies he leads, would be a "good idea." But not everyone sees it that way. 

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

GAO Marketplace Ruling Untangles FAR Overhaul Conflicts

The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently ruled that the U.S. Army’s solicitation for a professional services acquisition marketplace was sufficiently clear, guiding agencies on integrating Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul deviations with existing rules, and underscoring why contractors must challenge material ambiguities before proposals are due, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

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Midterm Elections Outlook For Financial Services

A change in congressional control after the upcoming midterm elections could bring about slower regulatory approvals, intensified oversight and shifting enforcement priorities for the financial services industry, say attorneys at Covington.

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3 Strategies To Reduce AI Sycophancy In Legal Work

The tendency of generative artificial intelligence models to tell users what they want to hear can reinforce attorneys’ confirmation bias when testing the strength of arguments, and it can’t simply be prompted away — but a few practices can help mitigate it, says Michael Ott at Ice Miller.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Weil To Wind Down As Top Attorneys Abandon Firm

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson, Alex Wittenberg and Aebra Coe

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, the restructuring powerhouse that led Lehman Brothers, Enron and General Motors through bankruptcy, told Law360 Pulse Wednesday that the firm is preparing to wind down operations.

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BigLaw Tip Middleman To Admit Role In $3.5M Trading Scheme

By Chris Villani

An alleged middleman in a sweeping scheme to trade off of deal information stolen from major law firms has agreed to plead guilty and potentially faces a prison term of nearly a decade, according to a plea agreement filed Wednesday in Massachusetts federal court.

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LA's Top Federal Prosecutor 'Unlawfully Serving,' Judge Finds

By Christine DeRosa

A federal judge has ruled that Los Angeles' top federal prosecutor isn't legally serving in the role and that he is disqualified from participating in or supervising two criminal prosecutions.

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Proskauer, Reddit Attys Called To Testify In Data-Scraping Suit

By Bryan Koenig

A New York federal judge on Wednesday called for live testimony from two Proskauer Rose LLP attorneys and Reddit's deputy general counsel as he weighs the law firm's bid to represent Perplexity AI in a lawsuit from Reddit, the firm's former client, over alleged data scraping.

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BakerHostetler Malpractice Case To Expand With RICO Claim

By Emily Johnson

A Georgia federal judge has allowed a trustee who has accused BakerHostetler and an Atlanta-based attorney of legal malpractice to file an amended complaint after the trustee asked to add claims of Georgia RICO Act violations.

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Mich. Judge Weighs Toshiba Legal Bills Discovery Fight

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday questioned whether she needs to review specific objections to DTE Electric Co. and Consumers Energy Co.'s multimillion-dollar attorney fee request before deciding whether Toshiba Corp. must disclose its own legal bills and litigation expenses following a nearly $394.4 million jury verdict over a botched power plant overhaul.

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SC Gov.'s Counsel Still In The Running For Federal Judgeship

By Courtney Bublé

The chief legal counsel for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is "being actively considered" for a federal judgeship, according to the White House, but it's not a done deal yet.

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Analysis

Albright Left Key Issue In Billion-Dollar IP Fight Unanswered

By Dani Kass

In May 2025, then-U.S. District Judge Alan Albright watched a jury hold that VLSI Technology is controlled by Fortress Investment Group, but by the time he left the bench in August 2026, the judge had yet to decide whether that ownership would let Intel avoid billions of dollars in patent infringement verdicts.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AST & Science LLC

Advent International Corp.

Aetna Inc.

Anthropic PBC

BNP Paribas SA

CVS Health Corp.

Citrix Systems Inc.

Enstar Group Ltd.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.

Finjan Holdings Inc.

First Brands Group

Fortress Investment Group LLC

General Dynamics Corp.

Google LLC

Instagram Inc.

Intel Corp.

Johnson & Johnson

Kearney & Co.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

LionTree LLC

Lockheed Martin Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Northrop Grumman Corp.

Platinum Partners LP

Poshmark Inc.

RTX Corp.

Reddit Inc.

Serco Group PLC

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Steward Health Care System LLC

Tesla Inc.

Textron Inc.

The Boeing Co.

The New York Times Co.

Thoma Bravo LLC

Toshiba Corp.

Twitter Inc.

Verizon Communications Inc.

iRobot Corporation

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Advisors LLC

Alston & Bird

Baker & Hostetler

Bartlit Beck

Burr & Forman

Bush Seyferth

Carmichael Ellis

Case Law Group

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Cozen O'Connor

Cravath Swaine

Foley & Lardner

Goodwin Procter

Greenberg Traurig

Handley Farah

Harding Counsel

Ice Miller

Jenner & Block

Keker Van Nest & Peters

Latham & Watkins

Lawson Huck

Linley Jones Firm

McCarter & English

McGuireWoods

McNair Law Firm

Ogborn Mihm

Paul Weiss

Proskauer Rose

Sidley Austin

Sirianni Youtz

Stroock & Stroock

Sullivan & Cromwell

Weil Gotshal

White & Case

Willkie Farr

Wollmuth Maher

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Industry and Security

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Defense Logistics Agency

Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Reserve System

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Florida Supreme Court

Michigan Supreme Court

Missile Defense Agency

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

U.S. Army

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. Government Accountability Office

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado