Aerospace & Defense

  • March 01, 2024

    Microsoft Escapes SAIC's Night-Vision Goggle Patent Suit

    A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has found that Microsoft Corp. didn't infringe a Science Applications International Corp. patent in a suit accusing the federal government of contracting with Microsoft and L3 Technologies Inc. for night-vision goggle weapon systems with infringing displays, but the judge also denied bids to find the patent invalid.

  • March 01, 2024

    Afghan Allies' Visa Processing On The Rise, Watchdog Says

    The U.S. Department of State was able to increase the number of special immigrant visas issued to Afghan allies during the last months of 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense watchdog recently reported.

  • March 01, 2024

    Trump Challenges Origins Of Prosecution In Fla. Docs Case

    The special counsel's office prosecuting Donald Trump's criminal case on mishandling classified documents told the Florida federal judge overseeing the case on Friday that his attorneys don't have a viable claim challenging the origins of the prosecution team, arguing that intelligence agencies had no role in determining the charges against the former president.

  • March 01, 2024

    MNC Capital Enters Vista Outdoor Takeover Fray With $2B Bid

    MNC Capital Partners LP has submitted a proposal to acquire Vista Outdoor Inc. for $2 billion, despite Vista entering a merger agreement last year to be acquired by a different company, according to Friday statements.

  • March 01, 2024

    Joint Venture Wins $45B DOE Nuclear Deal Again After Protest

    The U.S. Department of Energy has again awarded a $45 billion nuclear waste management contract to a BWXT, Fluor and Amentum joint venture, after a previous award to the company was vacated over its failure to follow a federal registration requirement.

  • March 01, 2024

    Construction Co. Loses $492M Corps Deal Protest

    The Court of Federal Claims has shot down a construction company's contention that the Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $492.3 million cutoff wall project deal despite the awardee having a deficient subcontractor commitment letter, saying the letter wasn't needed.

  • March 01, 2024

    Ex-Raytheon Worker Asks Full 5th Circ. To Revive Firing Suit

    An ex-Raytheon engineer pressed the full Fifth Circuit to reconsider a panel decision blocking claims that he was fired for reporting concerns with a naval system, saying the panel wrongly expanded a national security court review bar to government contractors.

  • March 01, 2024

    Iranian National Faces 20 Years For Defense Hack Scheme

    An Iranian national faces up to 20 years in prison for his alleged role in a yearslong hacking scheme that targeted U.S. companies, including defense contractors, often by using fake female personas on social media, according to a freshly unsealed indictment.

  • March 01, 2024

    Menendez Associate Pleads Guilty In Bribe Case

    A New Jersey insurance broker pled guilty Friday to bribing Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine, by buying her a Mercedes-Benz convertible, under an agreement to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

  • March 01, 2024

    Russian Admits To Smuggling US Tech With Military Uses

    A Russian national pled guilty in a New York federal court to money laundering and smuggling, after being accused by U.S. prosecutors of operating a network that brought sensitive U.S. microelectronics with military applications to Russia.

  • February 29, 2024

    Veteran Journalist Held In Contempt For Not Divulging Source

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday found veteran journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt of his order to reveal her sources for a series of stories she wrote while at Fox News about a Chinese American scientist who was the subject of a federal investigation.

  • February 29, 2024

    Pentagon Leak Suspect To Change Plea In Hearing Next Week

    Federal prosecutors indicated Thursday that a former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman will change his not guilty plea to charges he posted hundreds of top-secret military intelligence documents online, asking a Massachusetts federal judge to schedule a change of plea hearing for next week.

  • February 29, 2024

    GSA's Chinese Cameras Better Off In Russia, House Rep. Quips

    Members of the U.S. House of Representatives criticized the federal government's 2022 purchase of 150 Chinese cameras over national security concerns during a Thursday hearing, with one lawmaker calling to get rid of them and send them to Russia instead.

  • February 29, 2024

    Boeing To Pay $51M To End 199 Arms Export Violation Claims

    The Boeing Co. will pay $51 million to resolve nearly 200 export violations that threatened U.S. national security when its foreign employees downloaded and transferred technical data in violation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, with $24 million to go toward compliance efforts, the U.S. Department of State announced Thursday.

  • February 29, 2024

    Ex-US Diplomat To Plead Guilty To Spying For Cuba

    A diplomat who served on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia told a Florida federal judge Thursday that he intends to plead guilty to charges he secretly acted as an agent of the Cuban government for decades.

  • February 29, 2024

    Watchdog Says Labor Mismatch Dooms Fighter Planes Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office called for the termination of a contract to maintain the Marines' Osprey fighter planes, saying the U.S. General Services Administration hadn't shown that the awardee was pre-qualified to offer the required workers.

  • February 29, 2024

    Feds Want To Ask Trump Jurors If 2020 Election Was 'Stolen'

    Florida federal prosecutors want to ask potential jurors in Donald Trump's classified documents case if they believe the 2020 election was "stolen" and if they hold opinions about how the FBI executed a highly publicized search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

  • February 29, 2024

    Defense Contractor Says Ex-Exec Took Sensitive Data To Rival

    A defense contractor accused a former executive of taking confidential business information and export-controlled data on the body armor it supplies to the U.S. military and local and state law enforcement to a rival, a foreign-owned business.

  • February 28, 2024

    Judge Blocks VA Support Deal Over 'Irrational' Conflict Ruling

    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has blocked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from moving forward with a suicide-prevention support contract, finding that it unreasonably cut a bidder from contention based on subcontracting work on a similar deal.

  • February 28, 2024

    Textron, DJI End Texas Drone Patent Case After $279M Verdict

    A Texas federal judge has signed off on a notice by Textron Innovations Inc. and Chinese aerospace company SZ DJI Technology Co. Ltd. that they've agreed to dismiss a case in which DJI was found to have infringed Textron's drone patents and told to pay $279 million last year — the fourth-largest patent damages award of 2023.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

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    As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

  • Strike Force Actions Underscore Foreign Risks For Tech Cos.

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    As recent prosecutions demonstrate, a multiagency strike force is ramping up enforcement of trade secret theft and export control violations, and companies will need to be proactive in protecting their sensitive technologies from foreign adversaries, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Questions To Ask Before Drafting Proposals With AI

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    Before federal contractors adopt AI tools to simplify their proposal writing, they should ask questions about how a given AI tool’s model was developed, and consider the procedures they will need to avoid cookie-cutter submissions and ensure accuracy, privacy and security, among other practical and legal considerations, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Even Without US, Deep-Sea Mining Rules Likely To Prevail

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    While the U.S. was absent from the International Seabed Authority's recent meeting in Jamaica, and has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it seems increasingly clear that the ISA's forthcoming deep-sea mining regime will become a global framework of reference, say Louise Woods and Elena Guillet at V&E.

  • In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

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    As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • SEC Focus On Perks Offers Insights On Cooperation

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with Stanley Black & Decker is the latest example of the SEC's continued focus on executive perquisites and highlights what type of cooperation may be required to avoid a civil money penalty, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Trends Emerge In High Court's Criminal Law Decisions

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    In its 2022-2023 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued nine merits decisions in criminal cases covering a wide range of issues, and while each decision is independently important, when viewed together, key trends and takeaways appear that will affect defendants moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Terror Funding Suit Could Affect Inherited Jurisdiction In NY

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    Depending on how New York’s highest court answers two questions certified from the Second Circuit in a case litigating companies’ liability for terrorist attacks, foreign companies with no relevant New York contacts may be subject to suit in state courts by virtue of an asset purchase, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Perspectives

    A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial

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    Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.

  • How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

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    Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

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    Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

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