Judges Scrutinize DOD's Claim Of Hesai's China Military Ties

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. Circuit panel on Thursday raised serious questions about the U.S. Department of Defense's broad interpretation of a law used to designate companies as "contributors" to the Chinese military-industrial base, pressing a government attorney on the basis for finding links between Shanghai LiDAR-maker Hesai and the Chinese military.

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Judge Says 9/11 Claimants Can Pursue Alleged Iranian Bitcoin

By Ganesh Setty

A New York federal court gave hundreds of individuals injured in the 9/11 terrorist attacks the green light to recover damages against Iran, following the federal government's recent forfeiture action against billions worth of bitcoin allegedly belonging to the country.

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Judge Certifies Military Reservist Class In Differential Pay Suit

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge certified a class of military reservists who sued the U.S. government to recover the difference between active duty pay and pay received for their federal civilian jobs, finding there are enough reservists with common claims.

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Ex-Judges Say Anthropic Case Doesn't Merit Court Deference

By Jared Foretek

Nearly 150 former judges are backing Anthropic's fight against its designation as a "supply chain risk" by the U.S. Department of Defense, telling the D.C. Circuit in an amicus brief that the judiciary shouldn't simply defer to the executive just because it invokes national security.

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Senate Panel To Vote On Satellite Security Bills Next Week

By Christopher Cole

U.S. senators next week will consider sending to the floor two bills designed to beef up satellite security, one of which had already gained bipartisan backing in the U.S. House of Representatives during the last Congress.

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Squires Concludes That Foreign Gov'ts Can't File AIA Petitions

By Theresa Schliep

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires said foreign governments cannot file patent challenges under the America Invents Act, providing the reasoning for his February rejection of a Chinese company's proceeding against an LG touch screen patent.

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Ericsson Paid Terrorists At Americans' Expense, Families Say

By Lauren Berg

Families of U.S. civilians and service members killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan allege in a lawsuit filed in D.C. federal court that telecommunications giant Ericsson made protection payments to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, helping to fund the terrorist groups' efforts to kill and kidnap Americans.

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Navy Loses Protest Over Ignored Proposal Extension Request

By Elaine Briseño

The Court of Federal Claims has sided with a shipbuilder challenging its disqualification from competing for a contract to dismantle and dispose of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, finding the U.S. Navy unreasonably failed to consider the company's extension request.

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USAID Contractor Sues Feds Over $610K In Unpaid Invoices

By Tom Lotshaw

A Maryland business told a Court of Federal Claims judge the government failed to pay it more than $610,000 for work under a pair of contracts for U.S. Agency for International Development initiatives in Zambia and Jordan.

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How Data Centers Can Prep For Legal Challenges Amid War

Amid conflict in the Middle East, data centers may now be exposed to state-level kinetic threats, creating significant legal, regulatory and contractual implications, so operators should update their legal and operational frameworks in order to withstand future disruptions and meet the regulator expectations, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

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5 Gov't Contractor Tips Following Anthropic Risk Designation

The Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk is an unprecedented action that raises significant legal questions, and with government contractors already receiving directives and inquiries concerning their use of Anthropic products and services, there are several strategies contractors can use to manage risk, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

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Series

Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

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Sitting Judges Take Stand Over Threats Growing 'Ordinary'

By Jake Maher

On the heels of an ethics opinion giving them wider latitude to speak publicly, sitting federal judges brought attention Thursday to the increasing threats against them and their family members, warning about the dangers of such threats becoming "ordinary."

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Anatomy Of A Citation Hallucination: AI Edit, Associate Review

By Rachel Riley

Counsel for consumers in a supplement labeling lawsuit against Amazon responded Wednesday to a Seattle federal judge's order to explain an AI-hallucinated citation, saying the error was introduced by a generative artificial intelligence tool used to "harmonize" drafts of a brief, then missed by a fifth-year Boies Schiller associate tasked with checking the citations.

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Jackson Walker, US Trustee Reach Deal On Fee Settlements

By Vince Sullivan

The Office of the U.S. Trustee and law firm Jackson Walker LLP on Wednesday resolved the bankruptcy watchdog's opposition to a series of settlements tied to a romantic relationship between a former Jackson Walker attorney and a now-retired bankruptcy judge.

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Judge Quashes Subpoena Of 5 Firms That Repped Twitter

By Rae Ann Varona

A Delaware federal court ruled Thursday that six former Twitter employees cannot subpoena five law firms that represented the social media company in connection with its acquisition by Elon Musk, rejecting the employees' "conclusory allegations" that the company and Musk used the firms to make false promises of severance benefits.

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Nomination For New DOJ Fraud Chief Heads To Senate Floor

By Courtney Bublé

The nomination of Colin McDonald for the new position of assistant attorney general for fraud was sent to the full Senate on Thursday, after the Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to advance his nomination.

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Judge Digs Into Counsel Over 'Astronomically High' Fee Bid

By Nadia Dreid

Attorneys who represented classes of people who say they received harassing phone calls from real estate agents in violation of federal telemarketing laws are asking for way too much of the $20 million settlement, according to the California federal judge who tore into them Wednesday.

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DOJ Antitrust Head Tells Staff: Don't Worry About Criticism

By Bryan Koenig

The acting head of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division said Thursday that he pays no heed to criticism of the agency and tells staff to do the same, while asserting in Washington, D.C., remarks that there's no better time to come work for the DOJ.

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Fired 'Arctic Frost' Agents Accuse FBI Of Political Retribution

By Dorothy Atkins

Two former FBI agents who worked on the "Arctic Frost" investigation into President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss have accused the government of abruptly firing them in an unconstitutional act of "political retribution."

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