Aerospace & Defense

  • October 31, 2025

    Contractors Face Rising Costs From Gov't Shutdown

    Government contractors are facing mounting costs as a result of the monthlong government shutdown, while bid protests have been put on the back burner, creating a trickle-down effect that will be felt after the shutdown ends, attorneys said.

  • October 31, 2025

    Reps Pan Plans To Pull Troops, Test Nuclear Weapons

    Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress urged the Trump administration to rethink decisions to pull some troops from Europe and restart nuclear weapons tests, with some calling them dangerous and uncoordinated moves.

  • October 31, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: Tariffs, Fugitives & Contractor Liability

    The U.S. Supreme Court will begin its November oral argument session Monday, during which the justices will consider President Donald Trump's authority to impose tariffs on foreign countries under an emergency statute, whether military contractors can be held liable for alleged breaches of contracts in war zones, and if there are time limits for litigants who want to vacate a void judgment. Here, Law360 breaks down the week's oral arguments.

  • October 31, 2025

    Gov't Owes $330K In Fees For NSF Funding Fight, Court Told

    A higher education association seeks more than $330,000 in attorney fees and costs from the government after winning a ruling blocking the Trump administration from cutting certain National Science Foundation funding, according to a memorandum filed in Massachusetts federal court.

  • October 31, 2025

    Federal Action Sought To Boost Low Earth Orbit Satellites

    Federal officials need to update rules governing low Earth orbit satellites to allow the space-based communications industry to keep expanding at a time of rising congestion, according to a pair of think tanks.

  • October 31, 2025

    Gov't Shutdown Puts Pause On Firefighting Foam PFAS Suits

    A South Carolina federal judge on Friday agreed to stay 22 cases in a multidistrict litigation seeking to hold the U.S. government liable for so-called forever chemical contamination from firefighting foam as the government shutdown continues.

  • October 30, 2025

    Squires' National Security Fears Over RPIs Draw Skepticism

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has started requiring patent challengers to disclose all real parties in interest when filing their initial Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions, building on his policies to limit such challenges and citing concerns over national security.

  • October 30, 2025

    Trade Deals At Risk In Trump Tariff Case, Feds Tell Justices

    The federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that President Donald Trump's global tariffs have led to significant trade deals addressing the underlying national emergencies he declared, and a ruling determining them unlawful would prove catastrophic.

  • October 30, 2025

    Lockheed To Integrate Gemini For On-Premises Infrastructure

    Google's Gemini models will be deployed in Lockheed Martin's on-premises artificial intelligence platform as part of an effort to enable faster data analysis and accelerate research and development, according to a new strategic partnership announced by the companies. 

  • October 30, 2025

    China Delays Expanded Mineral Export Controls, Trump Says

    China has agreed to delay for a year an expansion to export controls for key minerals and is set to start purchasing more U.S. agricultural products including soybeans, while U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will decrease 10%, President Donald Trump said early Thursday morning.

  • October 30, 2025

    SpaceX's China Ties Require Scrutiny, FCC Told

    SpaceX's plan to buy $17 billion in spectrum shouldn't be approved until the FCC looks into Elon Musk's "deep reliance" on the Chinese Communist Party for financing his space exploration company's operations and manufacturing its equipment, a consumer group says.

  • October 29, 2025

    Ex-Army Sgt. Gets 4 Years For Giving China Military Secrets

    A former U.S. Army sergeant who provided classified information to China has been sentenced by a Washington federal judge to four years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

  • October 29, 2025

    Portland National Guard Deployment Bench Trial Begins In Ore.

    President Donald Trump overstepped the constitutional bounds of his power when he ordered National Guard members to Portland to address a "manufactured crisis," the Pacific Northwest city told an Oregon federal judge on Wednesday at the start of a bench trial to determine whether the deployment passes legal muster.

  • October 29, 2025

    FBI Weaponized Loneliness, IS Crypto Funder Tells 4th Circ.

    A Virginia man sentenced to over 30 years for bankrolling the Islamic State group with cryptocurrency challenged his convictions to the Fourth Circuit, arguing the government investigated him for years primarily based on his distasteful Facebook posts while weaponizing his "loneliness" by introducing him to covert agents who entrapped him. 

  • October 29, 2025

    Lockheed Investing $50M In Lethal, Unmanned Sea Vehicles

    Lockheed Martin said it's investing $50 million into California-based maritime drone company Saildrone for a collaboration aimed at delivering armed, unmanned surface vehicles for the U.S. Navy.

  • October 29, 2025

    Ex-Software Co. Exec Cops To Selling Trade Secrets To Russia

    A former manager of a software firm that contracts with the U.S. government pled guilty Wednesday to stealing trade secrets and selling them to a broker that advertises itself as counting the Russian government as a customer.

  • October 29, 2025

    Dems Blast Pause Of Army Corps Projects In Blue Cities

    Two Democratic lawmakers demanded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identify and pursue $11 billion worth of projects that may have been paused in line with a social media post by Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.

  • October 29, 2025

    FCC To Vote On Opening More C-Band For Wireless Use

    The Federal Communications Commission will soon vote on advancing a plan to auction up to 180 megahertz of prime midband spectrum for advanced wireless use, after Congress cleared a path this year to revamp the upper C-band.

  • October 29, 2025

    Gov't Can't Nab Win Over Ophthalmologist's Equal Pay Suit

    There is still an open question as to whether the government owes liquidated damages, benefits and some back pay to a Department of Veterans Affairs ophthalmologist who claimed she was paid less than male colleagues, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge found.

  • October 29, 2025

    Colo. Urges Court To Halt US Space Command Relocation

    The state of Colorado on Wednesday asked a federal judge to block President Donald Trump's order to move U.S. Space Command's headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama, claiming the decision stems from an unconstitutional attempt to punish the state for its mail-in voting system.

  • October 29, 2025

    Full 9th Circ. To Rehear Portland National Guard Challenge

    The full Ninth Circuit court will reconsider last week's panel ruling that was poised to allow the Trump administration to federalize and deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, according to an order issued Tuesday by Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Helen Murguia.

  • October 29, 2025

    Justices Seek More Briefing In Chicago National Guard Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court requested additional briefing Wednesday in relation to the Trump administration's request to send hundreds of federalized National Guard troops into Chicago, deferring for at least one more week the court's decision on whether to lift an Illinois federal judge's order barring the deployment.

  • October 29, 2025

    Calif. Co. Cites Export Ban In Bid To Block $490K Judgment

    A Los Angeles boat builder that supplies law enforcement agencies and the U.S. military asked a California federal judge to block a Chinese company's attempt to enforce a $490,000 arbitral award, saying payment would violate federal export controls.

  • October 29, 2025

    'Smart Drugs' Amphetamine Suit Moves Forward Minus Execs

    A Washington federal judge declined to trim claims from a former army nurse's suit alleging that Thesis "smart drugs" contained amphetamines without warning consumers, while dismissing her claims against two executives for the company.

  • October 28, 2025

    US Trustee Objects To Azul Ch. 11 Plan Releases

    The U.S. Trustee's Office is asking a New York bankruptcy judge to reject Brazilian airline Azul's Chapter 11 plan disclosure, saying it contains inadequate information on a plan rendered unconfirmable by its third-party releases.

Expert Analysis

  • Evading DOJ Crosshairs As Data Security Open Season Starts

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    As the U.S. Department of Justice begins enforcing its new data security program — aimed at preventing foreign adversaries from accessing government-related and personal sensitive data — U.S. companies will need to understand the program’s contours and potential pitfalls to avoid potential civil liability or criminal scrutiny, say attorneys at Cohen & Gresser.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • How Trump's Trade Policies Are Shaping Foreign Investment

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    Five months into the Trump administration, investors are beginning to see the concrete effects of the president’s America First Investment Policy as it presents new opportunities for clearing transactions more quickly, while sustaining risk aversion related to Chinese trade and potentially creating different political risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations

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    As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • Measuring The Scope Of COFC's Telesto Bid Protest Ruling

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    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims described its recent denial of bid protest jurisdiction in Telesto v. U.S. over other transaction agreements as a modest departure from prior decisions, but the holding also makes it difficult to distinguish between a follow-on procurement and a definitive agreement to proceed, say lawyers at Wiley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    FCPA Shift Is A Good Start, But There's More DOJ Should Do

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines bring a needed course correction amid overexpansive enforcement, but there’s more the DOJ can do to provide additional clarity and predictability for global companies, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute

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    The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.

  • Fed. Circ. In May: Evaluating Opportunistic Trademark Filings

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in the "US Space Force" trademark case gives the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board additional clarity when working through opportunistic trademark filings, particularly when the mark's value is primarily due to the potential value of a false connection, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

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