Aerospace & Defense

  • 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.

  • February 23, 2024

    Judge Trims Bulk Of Investor Suit Against Oil, AI Companies

    A California federal judge retained only a small part of an investor suit against artificial intelligence company C3.ai and oil company Baker Hughes, cutting Baker Hughes entirely, and finding only some claims accusing C3.ai and its executives of misleading investors about its financial performance and partnership with the oil company could survive dismissal.

  • February 23, 2024

    DOD Watchdog Flags Increased Emphasis On Contract Fraud

    The U.S. Department of Defense's internal watchdog has been expending more effort to fight procurement fraud, in "a shift" from healthcare fraud being the primary focus for federal investigators, according to Inspector General Robert Storch.

  • February 23, 2024

    VA Nixes Trans Vets' Request For Gender-Affirming Surgery

    The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday that it had formally rejected an 8-year-old petition for rulemaking by the Transgender American Veterans Association that sought to add gender-affirming surgery as part of VA-covered medical services, urging the Federal Circuit to toss TAVA's mandamus petition as moot.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

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    When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth

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    Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.

  • RICO Trade Secret Standard Prevails Within 9th Circ. Courts

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    Federal courts in the Ninth Circuit seem to be requiring a relatively high degree of factual detail — arguably more than is expressly mandated by statute — to plead and maintain Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations Act claims in trade secret disputes, says Cary Sullivan at Jones Day.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Australia

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    Clive Cachia and Cathy Ma at K&L Gates detail ESG-reporting policies in Australia and explain how the country is starting to introduce mandatory requirements as ESG performance is increasingly seen as a key investment and corporate differentiator in the fight for global capital.

  • Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

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    X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

  • Self-Disclosure Lessons From Exemplary Corp. Resolutions

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    With scant examples of corporate resolutions in the wake of U.S. Department of Justice self-disclosure policy changes last fall, companies may glean helpful insights from three recent declination letters, as well as other governmental self-reporting regimes, say Lindsey Collins and Kate Rumsey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Unfair Advantage, Buy American Waiver

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, James Tucker at MoFo offers takeaways on one decision that considers unfair proposal development advantages in the context of an employee's access to nonpublic information in a prior federal government position, and another decision that reconsiders a contract award based on an inadequately supported waiver of Buy American Act restrictions.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

  • Opinion

    Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy

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    The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.

  • Schumer Framework May Forge US Model On AI Governance

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    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's proposed SAFE Innovation Framework may have the potential to generate thoughtful understanding and governance of artificial intelligence within a meaningful time frame, say Alan Charles Raul and Rimsha Syeda at Sidley.

  • Covington Ruling Strengthens SEC's Enforcement Powers

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    A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent order that Covington & Burling provide the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with the identities of its clients in response to a subpoena reinforces the agency’s broad authority to investigate cybersecurity violations, and suggests law firms must take steps to strengthen data privacy, say Elisha Kobre and Ryan Dean at Bradley Arant.

  • The Self-Disclosure Calculus After Tri-Seal Compliance Note

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    With the recent note from three government agencies emphasizing the incentives for voluntarily self-disclosing potential violations of sanctions, export control and other national security laws, companies’ risk-based analyses of whether to disclose even minor, technical offenses may shift, say attorneys at Akin.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Senate's DOD Data Rights Plan

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    The Senate's latest defense spending bill stands to benefit big business by clarifying that the government should not automatically obtain unlimited rights in certain contractor data, but the reduction of other protections elsewhere may put small businesses at risk, say Tyler Evans and Anna Menzel at Steptoe & Johnson.

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