Aerospace & Defense

  • March 14, 2024

    Lockheed Offloaded Pensions In Risky Deal, Retirees Say

    A group of retirees claim aerospace defense company Lockheed Martin committed an "egregious act of disloyalty" when it passed off $9 billion in pension responsibilities for 31,000 beneficiaries to a risky annuity provider, according to a suit filed in Maryland federal court.

  • March 14, 2024

    DOD's Weapons Monitoring In Iraq Fell Short, Watchdog Says

    The U.S. Department of Defense failed to properly inspect and account for military equipment sent to Iraq to fight ISIS, raising the possibility of weapons going missing and falling into adversaries' hands, the department's internal watchdog said.

  • March 14, 2024

    Biden Comes Out Against $14.9B US Steel-Nippon Merger

    President Joe Biden came out in opposition of U.S. Steel's planned $14.9 billion merger with Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. on Thursday, echoing lawmakers who have expressed concerns about the sale of an American institution to a foreign power. 

  • March 13, 2024

    Jewish Group Sues UN Relief Agency Over Hamas Massacre

    An advocacy group that defends Jewish rights has sued in Delaware federal court an American charity that aids a United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees, saying it purportedly bears accountability for the Hamas attack in Israel in October.

  • March 13, 2024

    Judge Says 'Exotic' Camp Lejeune Files Must Stay Intact

    A North Carolina federal judge ruled that the federal government must produce water modeling project files in litigation over alleged injuries caused by decades-long water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, ordering the government to avoid changing the format of some "exotic" files that could make them harder to parse.

  • March 13, 2024

    BP, ADNOC Shelve $2B NewMed Deal Amid Gaza War

    BP and the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. are suspending talks surrounding a $2 billion offer to acquire a controlling interest in Israel-based NewMed Energy, with the two oil giants citing "uncertainty created by the external environment" as the war in Gaza continues with no end in sight.

  • March 13, 2024

    GAO Backs $12.3M DISA Support Deal Despite Lower Quote

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has denied a business consultant company's protest of a $12.3 million Defense Information Systems Agency task order, backing the agency's decision not to choose the company despite its lower price quotation and same ratings as the awardee.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ex-Boeing IP Manager's Counsel Secures $224K In Fees

    A Washington federal judge has awarded more than $224,000 in attorney fees to a former Boeing intellectual property manager after finding that the company retaliated against him for speaking up against the poor treatment of other workers.

  • March 13, 2024

    Autism Claims Tossed In Lockheed Martin Toxic Land Suit

    A Florida federal judge has thrown out autism-related claims in a suit alleging Lockheed Martin Corp.'s weapons factory in Orlando leaked toxic chemicals, saying the science underlying the plaintiffs' expert's opinion "is just not there."

  • March 13, 2024

    House OKs TikTok Divestment Bill Despite Free Speech Worry

    The House voted 352-65 on Wednesday to pass legislation that would require ByteDance Ltd. to divest TikTok or face a ban in the United States, in a vote that transcended party lines.

  • March 12, 2024

    1st Amendment Only The Start Of Woes Facing TikTok Ban

    Federal lawmakers are making an aggressive push to exclude TikTok from the U.S. market unless it severs ties with its Chinese parent company, but First Amendment concerns and questions over the proposal's breadth and its interplay with a recent executive order restricting certain foreign data sales threaten to hinder these efforts. 

  • March 12, 2024

    Treasury Sanctions More Iran-Backed Terrorist Operatives

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Tuesday unveiled new sanctions against a handful of individuals with ties to the designated terrorist group Al-Ashtar Brigades, singling out "key Iran-based operatives" as well as a financier for the group.

  • March 12, 2024

    Contractor Seeks Arbitration In $3M Guam Military Base Fight

    An electrical contractor has petitioned a Guam federal court to order a California-Japanese joint venture that had hired it for a project to improve U.S. military facilities to arbitrate their dispute related to nearly $3 million in allegedly unpaid costs.

  • March 12, 2024

    Camp Lejeune Water Plaintiffs Push For Jury Denial Appeal

    The plaintiffs suing the U.S. government over contamination of water at Camp Lejeune are urging a North Carolina federal court to allow them to appeal an order striking their bid for a jury trial, arguing there is substantial room for disagreement over whether the Camp Lejeune Justice Act allows for jury trials.

  • March 12, 2024

    5th Circ. Backs Insurer's Win In Widow's Benefits Suit

    The Fifth Circuit declined to reinstate a widow's lawsuit seeking nearly $1 million from an insurer after she said her husband died during a business trip, saying the carrier showed it provided a full review before denying her request because she didn't qualify for the payment.

  • March 12, 2024

    Contractor Says Claims Over Nixed $18M Army Corps Deal Valid

    An Army Corps of Engineers construction contractor told a Court of Federal Claims judge it had properly supported its arguments that the Corps waived a contract deadline before terminating an $18.1 million contract for default, and that the company had been entitled to a time extension.

  • March 12, 2024

    Unions Say China's Shipbuilding Boom Is Based On Unfair Trade

    The United Steelworkers and other labor unions called on the Biden administration to investigate unfair trade practices in China's shipbuilding sector in a 4,000-page petition Tuesday, calling empty U.S. shipyards a threat to national security and critical supply chains.

  • March 12, 2024

    Court Bars Ex-Exec From Sharing Info On Co.'s Body Armor

    A North Carolina federal court granted a defense contractor's request to stop a former sales executive from sharing confidential information and export-controlled data with a foreign rival, while the court reviews the contractor's allegations.

  • March 12, 2024

    House Dems Seek Probe Of Claims X Verified Sanctioned Entities

    Democrats on the House of Representatives' oversight committee say social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, must be investigated over recent allegations that it allowed terrorist groups and other U.S.-sanctioned entities to buy premium subscriptions and make money off advertising revenue.

  • March 12, 2024

    4th Circ. Revives Navy Surgery Wrongful Death Claims

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday reversed an order dismissing claims from the estate of a woman who died after an allegedly botched surgery at a Navy hospital, saying the trial court was wrong to conclude that Navy regulations for implementing Federal Tort Claims Act procedures created jurisdictional requirements beyond what the FTCA's text includes.

  • March 12, 2024

    GE Aerospace Plans $650M Manufacturing Investment

    GE Aerospace said Tuesday it plans to invest $650 million into its manufacturing facilities and supply chain this year to bolster support for its commercial and defense customers.

  • March 11, 2024

    Biden Calls For More Cybersecurity Funding Across Agencies

    The Biden administration on Monday pushed Congress to make significant monetary investments in efforts to bolster the federal government's cybersecurity posture, including by earmarking $13 billion to support initiatives across civilian agencies and devoting additional funding to help the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services combat a growing scourge of cyberattacks on healthcare providers. 

  • March 11, 2024

    DOD's $850B Budget Request For 2025 Prioritizes Readiness

    The White House on Monday proposed an $849.8 billion discretionary budget for the U.S. Department of Defense for fiscal year 2025, focusing heavily on supporting readiness programs over other priorities.

  • March 11, 2024

    Senate Could Be Hurdle To House Plan For TikTok Limits

    A bill to clamp down on TikTok that was unanimously approved by a House committee is expected to come to the House floor this week, but its fate in the U.S. Senate looks dicier.

  • March 11, 2024

    DOD Expands Contractor Cybersecurity Info Sharing Program

    The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday finalized a rule revising the criteria for defense contractors to participate in a voluntary program for sharing information on cybersecurity threats among themselves, saying it expects to attract thousands of new participants.

Expert Analysis

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Personnel Loss, Conflicts, Timeliness

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Locke Bell at MoFo highlights recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office, addressing an offeror's loss of key personnel, organizational conflicts of interest arising out of reliance on former government employees in preparing a bid, and protest timeliness when no debriefing is required.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Designation Prosecutions Are Constitutionally Suspect

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    Criminal prosecutions based on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s sanctions-related listing decisions — made with nearly unfettered discretion through an opaque process — present several constitutional issues, so it is imperative that courts recognize additional rights of review, say Solomon Shinerock and Annika Conrad at Lewis Baach.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Shows Int'l Arbitration Jurisdictional Snags

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    While the Ninth Circuit sidestepped the thorny and undecided constitutional question of whether a foreign state is a person for the purposes of a due process analysis, its Devas v. Antrix opinion provides important guidance to parties seeking to enforce an arbitration award against a foreign sovereign in the U.S., say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Opinion

    Congress Needs Better Health Care Fraud Data From DOD

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    The U.S. Department of Defense does not collect enough data to prevent health care and service contractor fraud and waste, so Congress should enact benchmarks that the DOD must meet when gathering and reporting data, enabling lawmakers to make better-informed decisions about defense appropriations, says Jessica Lehman at Verizon.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Nonmonetary Claims, Timeliness

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    Bret Marfut and Stephanie Magnell at Seyfarth look at recent decisions from the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that shed light on the jurisdictional contours of the Contract Disputes Act and provide useful guidance on timely filings and jurisdiction over nonmonetary claims.

  • Aviation Watch: Osprey Aircraft May Face Tort Claims

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    A recent U.S. Marine Corps Command report found that the cause of a 2022 Osprey crash was a problem known to the manufacturer and the military for over 10 years — and the aircraft may now be on its way to a day of reckoning in the tort liability arena, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Opinion

    FinCEN Regs Must Recognize Int'l Whistleblower Realities

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    In drafting regulations to implement an anti-money laundering whistleblower program, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network must follow the mandates laid out in the White House’s global anti-corruption strategy to protect and compensate whistleblowers in extreme danger worldwide, says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

  • Opinion

    3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

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    The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

  • FAA Drone Guidance Clears Air On Scope Of Authority

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    The Federal Aviation Administration's new guidance outlines robust federal preemption in aviation safety and airspace efficiency, including drones, while delineating roles for state and local governments, and this fact sheet will likely be a helpful resource for state and local lawmakers, industry, courts and others, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • How US Investment Regulation May Shift Under Biden Order

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    Attorneys at Ropes & Gray explore potential prohibitions, notification requirements and covered transactions under President Joe Biden's recent executive order, which marks an unprecedented expansion of U.S. regulation of investment activity.

  • 5 Compliance Mistakes To Avoid When Entering A New Market

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    As many companies move their value chains out of China or expand to new markets for other reasons, they should beware several common compliance pitfalls — such as insufficient due diligence and one-size-fits-all training — to avoid reputational, financial and legal damage, says Alexandra Wrage at TRACE International.

  • Where Biden's Outbound Investment Effort May Be Headed

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    The president’s recent executive order on outbound investment describes prohibited transactions and a notification process, but the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s actions suggest upcoming regulations will leave investors with the risky determination of whether investments are prohibited or require notification, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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