Whistleblower Asks High Court To Revive NASA Fraud Case

By Madeline Lyskawa

A whistleblower is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a False Claims Act suit accusing a NASA contractor of overbilling, arguing that the Sixth Circuit wrongly let the government dismiss the case without considering the whistleblower's time and money commitment.

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Biotronik Wants Full 9th Circ. Review Of Whistleblower Ruling

By Tom Lotshaw

Biotronik Inc. urged the full Ninth Circuit to review a panel ruling that revived a whistleblower suit alleging the company used unlawful compensation tactics to boost heart-device sales, saying it should have been tossed based on prior disclosures in news articles.

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Musk's X Posts Trigger Disclosure In NYT Suit, Judge Rules

By Lauren Berg

The government must produce a list of any security clearances granted to Elon Musk in response to The New York Times' Freedom of Information Act request, a Manhattan federal judge ruled, saying the billionaire waived his privacy interest by posting about his top secret clearance, drug use and foreign contacts.

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Brief

Feds' E-Verify System Resumes Operation During Shutdown

By Tom Lotshaw

The federal E-Verify system for employers to check people's eligibility to work in the U.S. has resumed operation, a little over a week after it went offline with the start of the ongoing government shutdown.

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Paxton Can Move To Close Houston Nonprofit, Panel Says

By Gina Kim

Texas appellate court justices on Thursday said Attorney General Ken Paxton can initiate legal proceedings to take away an immigrant-led nonprofit's corporate charter and tax-exempt status, noting his allegations claiming it failed to comply with its purpose by engaging in political activities show there's probable ground to proceed. 

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Fed. Circ. Gets Shutdown Extension For Newman Response

By Ryan Davis

The D.C. Circuit on Thursday gave the judges on the Federal Circuit an extension until after the government shutdown ends to respond to Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request for the rehearing of a decision upholding the dismissal of her suit against the colleagues who suspended her.

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Air Force Accused Of Mishandling Drone Deal

By Tom Lotshaw

A Virginia company asked the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Wednesday to block an Air Force deal to boost drone-fighting capability, saying that the military branch claimed to have never received its timely and lower-cost proposal despite email records to the contrary.

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Brief

Fed. Circ. Affirms Contractor Is Due Money For COVID Delays

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Federal Circuit on Thursday backed an Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals decision finding the government must compensate a contractor for fees incurred during the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, just days after hearing oral argument. 

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Preparing For What DOD Cybersecurity Audits May Uncover

Defense contractors seeking certification under the U.S. Department of Defense's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program that begins implementation on Nov. 10 may discover previously unknown violations, but there are steps they can take to address any issues before they come to the attention of enforcement authorities, say attorneys at Troutman.

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Series

Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

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Sullivan & Cromwell Impersonators Hit With NY Fraud Claims

By Emily Sawicki

New York Attorney General Letitia James is attempting to take down a slew of businesses whose names are variants of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, accusing them of attempting a scheme to fraudulently redirect checks meant for the global corporate law firm.

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Analysis

False-Statement Case Puts Comey In Rare Company

By Phillip Bantz

Former FBI director James Comey is the latest addition to the relatively short list of government officials who have been criminally charged over the past several decades with making false statements to Congress.

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NY Atty General Indicted Following Pressure From Trump

By Lauren Berg

New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted in Virginia federal court Thursday on charges related to mortgage fraud, three weeks after President Donald Trump wrote a social media post encouraging U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action because James and two other political opponents were "guilty as hell."

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Tort Report: Nuked 'Nuclear Verdict' Stays, Texas Justices Say

By Y. Peter Kang

The fate of a "nuclear verdict" that was used to jump-start tort reform campaigns across the country and a settlement of a suit over a Kiss guitar technician's death lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

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Jenn Mascott Of WH Counsel's Office Confirmed To 3rd Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-47 on Thursday to confirm Jenn Mascott, currently serving in the White House Counsel's Office, to the Delaware seat on the Third Circuit.

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7th Circ. Nominee Taibleson Advances To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced on party lines the nomination of Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin, to serve on the Seventh Circuit, as well as four district judicial nominees and five U.S. attorney nominees.

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Baldoni Atty Faces LA Malpractice Suit Over Client 'Betrayal'

By Emily Sawicki

Entertainment attorney Bryan Freedman has been accused in Los Angeles County Superior Court of turning his back on a former client, allegedly convincing him to sign an unfavorable settlement on trademark claims against "It Ends With Us" star Justin Baldoni, only to later begin representing the actor and director.

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Calif. Supreme Court Justice Martin Jenkins To Retire

By James Mills

California Supreme Court Justice Martin J. Jenkins, the first openly gay man and the third African American man to sit on the bench, will retire at the end of October, the court announced Thursday.

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Weinstein Says Jurors Traded Threats, Tainting Verdict

By Cara Salvatore

Harvey Weinstein's legal team said his June sexual assault convictions were tainted by juror misconduct, including physical threats and an unfounded bribery claim, arguing in a motion for a new trial that a judge refused to properly investigate.

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