Spirit Aerosystems Eyes Buyout By Boeing Amid Safety Probe

By Rae Ann Varona

Boeing is in talks to acquire aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which took a first-quarter hit partly due to Boeing 737 production delays and a safety investigation resulting from a midair 737 door plug blowout in January, Spirit announced Tuesday.

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Microsoft Announces AI For Top Secret Gov't Cloud

By Daniel Wilson

Microsoft announced Tuesday that it will make generative artificial intelligence tools available for federal defense and intelligence agencies as part of its cloud system for classified information, using a private network not connected to the public internet.

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TikTok Urges DC Circ. To Ax 'Unprecedented' Divestment Bill

By Allison Grande

TikTok on Tuesday lodged its highly anticipated challenge to a new federal law that would exclude the popular app from the U.S. market unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company, telling the D.C. Circuit that the measure amounts to an unconstitutional and unprecedented ban on free speech. 

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Judge Bars Prominent Expert From Vets' Contract FCA Trial

By Daniel Wilson

A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday refused to allow a former senior Small Business Administration official to testify in a pending False Claims Act trial over an alleged scheme to defraud a veterans' contracting program, saying the proposed testimony covered an irrelevant issue.

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Florida Judge Delays Trump's Classified Docs Trial Indefinitely

By David Minsky

The Florida judge overseeing the criminal case that accuses former President Donald Trump of holding onto classified documents upon leaving office extended indefinitely the planned May 20 start of the trial, citing "myriad and interconnected pretrial" issues regarding the Classified Information Procedures Act, according to a federal court order filed on Tuesday.

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Commerce Revokes Huawei Export Licenses

By Jennifer Doherty

The U.S. Department of Commerce has revoked active export licenses for Chinese technology giant Huawei, an agency spokesperson confirmed Tuesday, the same day the company's Intel-powered Matebook X Pro 2024 laptop hit the international market.

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DOJ's 'Dr. Doom' Sees AI's Crime-Fighting Abilities, And Risks

By Hannah Albarazi

The U.S. Department of Justice is using artificial intelligence to bolster its investigations, including into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Tuesday at a cybersecurity conference at which she dove into the beneficial uses of AI alongside its threats to security and democracy.

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85 Lawmakers Join Chorus Opposing Space Force Transfers

By Chart Riggall

A bipartisan group of 85 federal lawmakers on Tuesday joined all 50 state governors in opposing a proposal to allow Air National Guard units to be transferred to the U.S. Space Force without gubernatorial approval, arguing the measure would undermine "the integrity and longstanding mission of the National Guard."

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NTIA To Dole Out $420M For Open RAN Development

By Nadia Dreid

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is putting another $420 million toward the radio equipment needed to develop open radio access networks, which many have pointed to as the solution for pivoting away from Chinese-made technology due to security concerns.

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Russian Charged Over $100M LockBit Ransomware Scheme

By Elliot Weld

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they have charged a Russian national with founding and heading the prolific ransomware group LockBit, which is accused of stealing more than $100 million from its victims.

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Lockheed Accused Of Causing $8.25M Damages In Ship Tests

By Alyssa Aquino

A marine transportation company took Lockheed Martin Corp. to Michigan federal court, accusing the defense contractor of negligently causing $8.25 million worth of damages to its dock while testing a naval combat vessel.

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Boeing Can't Widen Ethiopian Airlines Test Case Pool

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge chose six cases Tuesday for a November trial over the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash and gave Boeing the power to decide the order in which they'll face a jury, finding a middle road between sides sparring over how to select the bellwether cases.

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AIG Insurers Near Deal With Foam Co. Over MDL Coverage

By Hailey Konnath

Firefighting foam company Tyco Fire Products LP and a group of AIG insurers have reached a tentative settlement that would resolve a dispute over coverage of multidistrict litigation involving Tyco over so-called forever chemicals, according to a notice filed Tuesday in South Carolina federal court.

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Amazon Worker Wants Class Cert. In Military Leave Suit

By Emmy Freedman

A former Amazon worker urged a New York federal court to greenlight a more than 9,000-member class of military reservists in her lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of failing to provide paid leave for employees on active duty, saying the dispute is best suited for class treatment.

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Clyde & Co. Continues Aviation Growth With K&L Gates Atty

By Adrian Cruz

Clyde & Co. has announced it hired a new partner in New York from K&L Gates who brings over 30 years of experience working on aviation, project and transportation finance matters.

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Best Practices For Space Security In Our Connected World

NASA's recently published space security guide is another indication that cyber-resilience has become a global theme for the space and satellite sector, as well as a useful reference for companies and organizations reviewing their cybersecurity frameworks or looking to partner with the U.S. agency, says Hayley Blyth at Bird & Bird.

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Analysis

In Story Of Sex And Lies, Can Cohen Write Final Chapter?

By Phillip Bantz

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has told a story of scandal and scheming to the jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, setting the stage for the prosecution's star witness to take the stand and wrap up the narrative.

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Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO Cops To $1.5M Theft From Firm

By George Woolston

McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP's former chief financial officer admitted Wednesday to embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm and failing to pay income tax, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced.

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Lewis Brisbois Atty Fatally Shot In McDonald's Altercation

By Ryan Boysen

A Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP attorney was fatally shot at a McDonald's in Houston after reportedly stepping in as a good Samaritan and attempting to calm down an irate customer who'd been arguing with staff at the fast food restaurant.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Lieff Cabraser's Kelly Dermody

By Irene Spezzamonte

A semester off from Harvard University in the late 1980s meant for reflection instead turned into a pivotal moment in Kelly Dermody's life, settling the roots for her successful career during which she has become a lighthouse for employment and discrimination cases.

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ABA Will Study Rape Questions' Necessity For Bar Applicants

By Cara Bayles

An American Bar Association commission will issue a report and recommendations by August on the practice of requiring would-be lawyers to disclose and discuss their experiences of sexual violence during the attorney licensure process.

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ABA Directs Attys To Avoid Sharing Client Info On Listservs

By Emily Sawicki

It is in the best interest of clients for their legal counsel to avoid sharing information related to representation while seeking advice in an online listserv forum, if the comments or questions could be connected to a client's identity, according to American Bar Association guidance published Wednesday.

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Ga. Appeals Court Will Review Trump DQ Bid In Election Case

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed to review a judge's ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump.

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Fani Willis Is Outraising Primary Challenger More Than 5 To 1

By Chart Riggall

Less than two weeks from the first hurdle in her bid for reelection, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is boasting a​​ campaign war chest more than five times heftier than her Democratic challenger's, according to campaign finance disclosures filed this week.

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Biden Picks US Magistrate Judge In Fla. For 11th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday his intent to nominate U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry J. Kidd to the Eleventh Circuit.

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Robins Kaplan File Flub Bad Look For Both Sides, Panel Says

By Rachel Scharf

A Manhattan appeals panel expressed concern Wednesday that Robins Kaplan LLP had poked through an opposing party's Dropbox database that was accidentally shared in investor litigation, while also criticizing the other side for failing to catch the error.

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NJ Justices Approve Measures For Helping Atty Well-Being

By Emily Johnson

The New Jersey Supreme Court has accepted several recommendations from its committee focused on attorney well-being, paving the way for the committee to examine how attorneys can briefly postpone court dates or possibly receive an extension to meet deadlines so they can handle pressing wellness needs.

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Legal Access Program Being Set Up For Separated Families

By Alyssa Aquino

The Biden administration has tapped the Acacia Center for Justice to manage a court-ordered legal access program to help migrant families stay in the U.S. after they were separated under a Trump-era policy to prosecute anybody caught entering the country unlawfully.

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Colo. Judges Urge Attys To Take On More Pro Se Cases

By Thy Vo

A group of Colorado federal judges tried Wednesday to recruit more lawyers to help pro se litigants, who file about a third of the district's cases each year, with the judges recounting tactical mistakes and case delays that attorneys could have prevented.

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Series

Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

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