Aerospace & Defense

  • February 28, 2024

    Family's Suit Over Take-Home Asbestos Death Is Revived

    A Texas appeals court has reinstated a man's suit against Howmet Aerospace Inc. alleging his wife died of asbestosis as a result of cleaning his asbestos-covered clothing for 25 years, saying the trial court was wrong to find that the man hadn't presented any evidence linking that exposure to her death.

  • February 28, 2024

    Halkbank Immunity Gambit Doesn't Appear To Sway 2nd Circ.

    The Second Circuit did not appear keen Wednesday to dismiss criminal charges accusing Halkbank of laundering over $1 billion of Iran oil proceeds, after the U.S. Supreme Court directed arguments on the Turkish state-owned lender's assertion that common-law sovereign immunity protects it.

  • February 28, 2024

    Classified Docs Out Of Defense's Reach In Mar-A-Lago Case

    The Florida federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's criminal case over allegedly mishandling secret documents after leaving office ruled Wednesday that defense counsel can't see government motions asking to restrict classified information produced in discovery, a day after Trump's two co-defendants were prohibited from reviewing 5,100 pages of classified material.

  • February 28, 2024

    Gov't Contracts Of The Month: AI, $1.2B Submarine Upkeep

    In February, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced a deal to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities, the U.S. Navy gave a shipbuilder $1.2 billion to begin its overdue overhaul of the USS Boise, and the U.S. Defense Health Agency expanded its contractor pool for a $2.5 billion information technology deal, after being accused of unfairly evaluating bidders' proposals. These are Law360's top government contracts for February.

  • February 28, 2024

    US Army Escapes Male HR Worker's Gender Bias Suit

    A Kentucky federal judge threw out a civilian human resources employee's lawsuit against the U.S. Army accusing it of holding women to more lax standards than him, saying he failed to rebut his employer's argument that he made a lot of mistakes on the job.

  • February 28, 2024

    Air Force Contractor Strikes Deal In EEOC Disability Bias Suit

    A U.S. Air Force contractor reached a deal to stave off a trial and end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging the company illegally barred workers from taking certain prescriptions, according to an Alabama federal court filing.

  • February 28, 2024

    Biden Moves To Halt Flow Of American Data To China, Others

    The White House moved Wednesday to block data brokers and other companies from providing China, Russia and other foreign adversaries with troves of sensitive personal data about Americans that can be used to carry out nefarious activities such as surveillance and blackmail. 

  • February 27, 2024

    F-35 Parts Supplier Says New Lockheed Claim Is Too Late

    Titanium parts supplier Howmet Aerospace Inc. says Lockheed Martin Corp. waited too long to accuse it of anticipatory breach of a contract to provide F-35 parts, saying Lockheed had long known of Howmet's plan to leave the market in 2025.

  • February 27, 2024

    Defense Dept. Looks To Shake Firefighting Foam MDL Claims

    The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday asked a South Carolina federal judge to free it from claims in sprawling multidistrict litigation that its use of forever chemical-containing firefighting foam contaminated drinking water near its facilities.

  • February 27, 2024

    5th Circ. Sends SpaceX's NLRB Challenge Back To Texas

    A Fifth Circuit panel has ordered a Texas federal judge to pull back a suit from California filed by SpaceX that seeks to declare the National Labor Relations Board unconstitutional, saying it belongs in Texas while the panel mulls its proper venue.

  • February 27, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Disrupt Volvo's Veteran Bias Suit Win

    The Seventh Circuit refused Tuesday to reinstate a U.S. Army veteran's $7.8 million trial win in her long-running case accusing Volvo of firing her over military-related absences and post-traumatic stress disorder, ruling a lower court reasonably concluded that the verdict was tainted by passion and prejudice.

  • February 27, 2024

    GOP Seeks To Bar DHS From Sending Air Marshals To Border

    Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced legislation on Tuesday that would bar the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from deploying federal air marshals to U.S. borders for border control unless a national immigration crisis has been declared, amid claims that the deployments are stressing resources and making it riskier to fly.

  • February 27, 2024

    Insurer Misled Lockheed On Contamination Suit, Court Told

    Lockheed Martin has told a Maryland federal court that its insurer "lured" it into believing for months that it would defend the company against claims that Lockheed's release of various toxic substances contaminated property and injured individuals near its Orlando, Florida, weapons manufacturing facility.

  • February 27, 2024

    Feds Want Classified Info Shield In Menendez Bribery Case

    Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to shield classified information they plan to introduce in the bribery case against Sen. Robert Menendez.

  • February 27, 2024

    Miller & Chevalier Adds CIA Gov't Contracts Counsel

    Miller & Chevalier Chtd. has hired a government contracts attorney who most recently worked as a senior counsel in the contract law division of the CIA's Office of the General Counsel, the firm announced Monday.

  • February 26, 2024

    NIST Widens Cybersecurity Framework To Cover All Industries

    The U.S. Department of Commerce agency that developed a landmark cybersecurity framework for critical infrastructure operators announced Monday that it had finalized a long-anticipated update, aimed at helping all industry sectors and organizations, to a voluntary tool to better manage cyber risks.

  • February 26, 2024

    KBR Urges 4th Circ. To OK $8M Award Against Kuwaiti Co.

    A global engineering corporation has asked the Fourth Circuit not to overturn a lower court decision enforcing an approximately $8 million arbitral award against a Kuwaiti construction company after a dispute over Iraqi wartime contracts, saying nothing warrants upending the award.

  • February 26, 2024

    Ligado Claims Iridium Bias In $40B Spectrum Takings Case

    Ligado Networks has pushed back against Iridium Communications' bid to back the government in Ligado's $40 billion lawsuit accusing the government of unlawfully taking over a spectrum it secured exclusive licensing for, saying Iridium had ulterior motives for filing a friend-of-the-court brief.

  • February 26, 2024

    FAA Review Panel Flags 'Disconnect' In Boeing Safety Culture

    Boeing's overall safety culture is still "inadequate" and "disconnected" despite strengthening internal safety protocols in the five years since two fatal 737 Max 8 jet crashes, according to a new report from a Federal Aviation Administration review panel.

  • February 26, 2024

    Feds Blacklist Canadian Surveillance Co. Over Egypt Work

    The Bureau of Industry and Security added Canadian network surveillance provider Sandvine Inc. to its export blacklist on Monday over the surveillance provider's support to the Egyptian government's program of censorship and political repression.

  • February 26, 2024

    Honeywell Says Texas Analytics Co. Infringed 5 Patents

    Honeywell International Inc. has accused a Texas-based analytics company of infringing five of its software patents, telling a Texas federal court that the company's sale of its products was at least "objectively reckless" in regard to potential patent infringement.

  • February 26, 2024

    FCC Tells Reps. Starlink RDOF Application Was Insufficient

    The Federal Communications Commission recently told members of Congress that the agency rejected satellite company Starlink's long-form application for about $885 million in rural broadband development subsidies because the company's plan indicated it had trouble meeting speed standards, among other reasons.

  • February 26, 2024

    State Farm Seeks Exit From Aircraft Designer's Explosion Row

    An aircraft design company is not owed coverage for five underlying lawsuits surrounding an explosion at an aeronautical test site that killed one employee, State Farm has told a California federal court, arguing that the underlying actions triggered multiple policy exclusions.

  • February 26, 2024

    Justices Decline Standard Chartered Sanction Evasion Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider whether a whistleblower should've been granted a hearing in a lower court to support allegations that Standard Chartered Bank cleared roughly $56 billion in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

  • February 23, 2024

    Russia Assets Seen As Key To Tipping The Scales For Ukraine

    The 500-plus sanctions the U.S. added against Russia and its enablers Friday will continue to make the Kremlin's war more costly, but experts say the key to a real sea change in Ukraine is giving it Russia's seized assets abroad.

Expert Analysis

  • What DOD Commercial Product Rule Means For Contractors

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    A recent amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, along with forthcoming changes to the definition of what constitutes a subcontract, will offer some relief for commercial products and services contractors, but the U.S. Department of Defense should do more to reduce regulatory burdens, say Daniel Ramish and Jonathan Shaffer at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Inside New Classified Contract Guidance For Joint Ventures

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    A recent Information Security Oversight Office notice clarifies the interplay between small business joint-venture rules and eligibility determinations for U.S. Department of Defense classified contracts, but it's still unclear how this should be interpreted for non-DOD procurements, says Todd Overman at Bass Berry.

  • DOJ Officials' Remarks Signal New Trends In FARA Activity

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    Three U.S. Justice Department officials' remarks at a recent forum reinforce the department's renewed focus on aggressively enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which has been transformed into a significant national security and criminal enforcement tool, and its efforts to tightly regulate the activities of foreign agents in the U.S., say attorneys at Covington.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 7 Enforcement Predictions For US Export Controls, Sanctions

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    Federal agencies' assertions of coming increases in export-control and sanctions-violations enforcement are not new, but recent improvements in resources and inter-agency cooperation allow for certain predictions about how the administration’s latest approach to enforcement may be applied going forward, say attorneys at Akin.

  • Energy Sector Takeaways From Biden's AI Executive Order

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    While the U.S. Department of Energy begins to establish rules in accordance with President Joe Biden's recent executive order on artificial intelligence, in-house counsel can work with business lines and executive teams to consider implementing their own AI governance process, say Joel Meister and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • How AI Executive Order Aims To Compete For Foreign Talent

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    Immigration provisions within the Biden administration's executive order on artificial intelligence take a strategic approach to promoting the U.S. as a destination for AI and STEM talent by streamlining visa processing, enhancing educational and exchange programs, and improving current visa programs and pathways to permanent residency, says Eric Bord at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Singapore

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    Singapore is keen to establish itself as a leading international financial center and a key player in the sustainable finance ecosystem, and key initiatives led by its government and other regulatory bodies have helped the Asian nation progress from its initially guarded attitude toward ESG investment and reporting, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • Inside DOD's Final Commercial Products And Services Rule

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    The recently released final amendment of a Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement provision will help streamline negotiations over subcontracts that provide commercial products and services, but its failure to address certain key questions means government contractors must still await further guidance, say Alex Sarria and Connor Farrell at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Series

    Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

  • What US-Canada Critical Minerals Collab Means For Cos.

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    Recent announcements from U.S. and Canadian officials indicate closer collaboration between the two governments on procurement of critical minerals for electric vehicles and other advanced technology — and companies on both sides of the border may have access to new opportunities as a result, say John Lushetsky, Matthew Simpson and Paul Dickerson at Mintz Levin.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Bias, Unequal Discussions, Timeliness

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, James Tucker at MoFo offers takeaways from three bid protests in the U.S. Government Accountability Office relating to the high standard for protests that allege agency bias, seeking revised proposals from just one offeror, and untimely objections to solicitation terms.

  • Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

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