Analysis

DOD Urged To Clarify Foreign Owner Rule For Contract Bidders

By Madeline Lyskawa

Government contract attorneys and procurement advocacy groups have expressed concern over the Pentagon's move to expand foreign ownership disclosure requirements to 38,000 contractors, saying that the proposal could delay acquisitions and that its carveout for commercial contractors lacks clarity.

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US To Pay Anchorage $180M To End 12-Year Port Upgrade Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

The federal government will pay $180 million to the city of Anchorage, Alaska, to settle the municipality's more than decade-old lawsuit accusing the U.S. Maritime Administration of breaching contractual agreements related to a failed Port of Alaska expansion and upgrade project, the parties have announced.

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FCC Cuts Space License Backlog In Half, Bureau Chief Says

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has cut a backlog of applications for space-based industry licenses by more than half since adopting an "assembly line" approach to clearing paperwork, the agency's top official on space policy said Wednesday.

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Trump Threatens To Cut Spanish Relations Over Defense Rift

By Dylan Moroses

President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to cut off relations entirely with Spain, calling the country an unreliable partner during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

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Trump's SDNY Pick Steps In As Clayton Focuses On DC

By Pete Brush

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's pick to succeed him, James McDonald, will assume a leadership role as Clayton works on his own nomination for director of national intelligence in Washington.

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FCC Using AI To Modernize Operations, Says Top Legal Aide

By Christopher Cole

While the Federal Communications Commission is emerging as a key federal agency tackling artificial intelligence policy, the FCC itself is taking advantage of the technology to make its operations run more smoothly, a top official says.

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FCC Says OK To New Foreign Investors In IHeart Radio

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission has already given auto industry bigwig iHeartMedia Inc. permission to be partially owned by some foreign investors, but the company is looking to increase that number, and the agency has just given it the green light.

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EU Parliament Approves Mexico Trade Agreement

By Dylan Moroses

The European Parliament approved two pieces of legislation to implement the modernized trade agreement between the bloc and Mexico on Wednesday.

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Nadine Menendez Loses Bid To Delay Prison For Surgery

By Carla Baranauckas

A New York federal judge on Wednesday denied Nadine Menendez's request to postpone her prison surrender by more than three months so she could complete breast cancer-related reconstructive surgeries, rejecting the request after a telephone conference with the parties.

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Red Cat Says Investor Suit Confuses Predictions With Fraud

By Tom Lotshaw

Drone-maker Red Cat Holdings Inc. asked a New Jersey federal judge to toss a proposed class action accusing it of misleading investors, asserting that it is "doing very well" and that the suit's "fraud-by-hindsight" allegations cannot get off the ground.

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Archer Looks To Toss Remainder Of Joby's Trade Secret Suit

By Elliot Weld

Archer Aviation has asked a California federal judge to throw out what's left of rival electric air taxi-maker Joby Aviation's trade secret suit, saying Joby had ignored the court's instructions to proceed with narrowed claims and instead tried to expand its allegations without adding more substance.

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Guantánamo Detentions Within Removal Authority, Gov't Says

By Ganesh Setty

The Trump administration told a D.C. federal court that it acted within its statutory authority to detain noncitizens at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba who've been ordered to be deported, arguing their presence outside U.S. borders doesn't mean removal has already been completed.

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Immigration Board Rejects Asylum Tied To Conscription

By Elaine Briseño

The Board of Immigration Appeals said a fear of conscription alone was not enough to establish that a Russian man was a refugee facing persecution in his home country, overturning an immigration judge's decision that granted him asylum.

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DHS Says Tribe Has No Veto Over Arizona Border Wall

By Crystal Owens

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with the backing of Arizona's top legislative leaders, is seeking to dismiss the Tohono O'odham Nation's bid to block construction of 62 miles of border wall, arguing it's well within its authority to build the structure to address national and public safety threats.

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Structuring Space Nuclear Deals For Regulatory Risk

With the White House's recent focus on space nuclear power, a highly important question for companies that want to build orbital reactors, lunar surface systems or critical components is whether the transaction documents can handle foreign investment constraints, export controls and treaty-linked liability, says Kristie Blase at Frazer + Blase.

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Ohio Fuels Litigation Funding Debate As Foreign Ban Is Enacted

By Ryan Boysen

Ohio has enacted a sweeping law that bans all foreign litigation funders from doing business in the Buckeye State, drawing praise from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and outrage from the litigation finance industry.

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ABA Seeks Trump Docs In Suit Alleging Law Firm Intimidation

By Emily Sawicki

The Trump administration cannot rely on the presidential communications privilege to block disclosure of communications related to allegations that the president sought to intimidate BigLaw firms into conforming with his policy initiatives, the American Bar Association told a D.C. federal judge.

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Judge Says Warning 'Sufficient Deterrent,' Nixing AI Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Kentucky federal judge has declined to sanction two attorneys who filed a brief that included errors generated by artificial intelligence amid a fraud case against a notary public, finding the lawyers had no history of misconduct and had shown sufficient remorse.

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Wis. Judge Avoids Prison Time In ICE Obstruction Sentence

By Nate Beck

A former Wisconsin state judge on Wednesday was fined $5,000 but will not serve prison time for obstructing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of a defendant in her courtroom by directing him down a private hallway away from agents before he was later captured.

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Del. Judge Recuses Herself From Apollo $570M Payout Suit

By Katryna Perera

The Delaware vice chancellor presiding over litigation regarding a $570 million payout to Apollo Global Management Inc. insiders has disqualified herself from the case after a possible conflict of interest arose due to her former role as an attorney with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, which was involved in a merger with ties to the payout.

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Ga. Judge Rejects UPS Plaintiff's Bid To Force Recusal

By Madison Arnold

A Georgia federal judge reportedly disciplined for having sexual intercourse in her chambers and attending a political event has opted not to recuse herself in the case of a former UPS employee in his dismissed racial discrimination lawsuit.

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McCarter Trial Judge Has 'Serious Doubts' About NY Expert

By Brian Steele

The Hartford judge presiding over a $22.5 million lawsuit against McCarter & English LLP and a former partner said Wednesday he had "serious doubts" about allowing testimony from a defense expert, but let him proceed as long as he did not claim to interpret New York law.

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Morgan & Morgan Malpractice Fight Won't Get Another Review

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals has rejected Morgan & Morgan PA's bid to challenge a trial court ruling denying the firm's summary judgment motion in a legal malpractice case brought against it by clients seeking representation in a personal injury action.

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Day Pitney Can't Be Cut Off From New Counsel, Client Says

By Aaron Keller

A former Connecticut chief justice's ethics gaffe cannot preclude fellow lawyers at Day Pitney LLP from communicating with new counsel for John B. Clinton, a private equity management firm owner locked in a 13-year-old, $1.3 million corporate windup lawsuit, Clinton has urged a Connecticut state court judge to conclude.

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