DQ'd Co. Can't Protest $190M Navy Contract, Judge Says

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has rejected an autonomous military training company's protest of a $190.7 million Marine Corps contract, saying the company couldn't challenge the award after it was disqualified from participating in the solicitation. 

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Judge Says Bid Protester Had No Shot At $128M DOE Award

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims rejected a company's protest of the U.S. Department of Energy's decision to pass it over for a $128.9 million contract, saying the company wouldn't have won the award even absent the agency's evaluation error. 

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HUD Housing Aid Limits Will Drive Homelessness, States Say

By Rachel Riley

Washington and 19 other states launched a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Rhode Island federal court, seeking to stop abrupt policy changes they claim will result in tens of thousands of formerly homeless people being ousted from publicly subsidized housing and onto the streets.

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Feds Run Table In Housing Bribery Case With 70th Conviction

By Pete Brush

A former public housing superintendent from Brooklyn admitted accepting bribes in exchange for handing out no-bid work contracts Tuesday, as federal prosecutors secured the convictions of all 70 New York City Housing Authority workers arrested last year in an anticorruption sweep.

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IT Contractor Fights $6.8M Verdict In FAA Contract Dispute

By Carolyn Muyskens

An information technology company has asked a Michigan judge to erase or reduce a $6.8 million verdict finding the company caused a competitor to lose a Federal Aviation Administration contract, saying there was no basis for the jury's award.

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Mich. Schools Gain Chance To Opt Out Of Aid Privacy Waiver

By Carolyn Muyskens

Michigan schools have reached an agreement with the state for more time to make what the schools call an "impossible choice" to waive legal privileges to receive critical funding, while court challenges to the waiver play out.

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NJ Panel Confirms Utility Co. Misclassified Workers

By Irene Spezzamonte

A New Jersey utility systems installer should have classified workers on public projects under the prevailing wages for electricians, a New Jersey appellate panel said Tuesday, affirming the state Department of Labor determination that the company owed nearly $159,000 in wages, penalties and fees.

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GAO Denies Protest Of $84M Air Force Reaper Drone Contract

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Tuesday rejected a company's protest over the Air Force's award of an $84 million MQ-9 Reaper drone training services contract to another offeror, saying the service branch was not obligated to compare offerors' past performance records. 

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1st Circ. Offers Diversity Jurisdiction Lessons For Assignees

A recent First Circuit opinion in Gore v. SLSCO, dismissing a case after years of litigation, serves as a cautionary tale about what can go wrong if an assignee has not alleged sufficient facts to demonstrate there is complete diversity jurisdiction, says Ray Gauvreau at Robinson & Cole.

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Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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Bonus Spotlight

Magic Circle Firms Enchant Associates With Top-Tier Bonuses

By Tracey Read

U.S. associates at Linklaters LLP and Clifford Chance LLP have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, as the Magic Circle firms Wednesday became the latest to match the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.

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Analysis

After Big Win For 2 Trump Foes, A Third Faces 'Tougher Job'

By Phillip Bantz

The recent dismissal of federal criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey does little to help President Donald Trump's ex-national security adviser John Bolton, whose defense in a classified-materials case presents a thornier set of legal and factual issues, experts say.

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Roundup

Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court. 

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Interview

For Covington's Adrian Perry, Music Is A Family Affair

By Theresa Schliep

Despite having a famous rock star dad, Covington & Burling LLP partner Adrian J. Perry wasn't all that interested in being a musician as a young child, but he knew as early as 6 years old that he wanted to be a lawyer.

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Analysis

Calif. Privacy Agency Gaining Steam Ahead Of 5th Anniversary

By Allison Grande

California's data privacy regulator has taken several notable steps in recent months, including handing down its first penalty upward of $1 million dollars and finalizing long-awaited rules on topics such as cybersecurity audits and technologies that use artificial intelligence, and the groundbreaking agency shows no signs of slowing down as its fifth anniversary approaches. 

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Split 6th Circ. Shields Baker Donelson, Not City Councilman

By Matt Perez

In a published opinion, the Sixth Circuit has found that Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC is shielded by qualified immunity as outside counsel for the city of Nashville in litigation over the law firm's firing of a city election commission chair and member of the firm.

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Foley & Lardner Hit With Malpractice Suit Over Chancery Loss

By Rose Krebs

Foley & Lardner LLP has been sued in Delaware Superior Court by three officers of a now-defunct food recycling company who say the firm was negligent when representing them in a Chancery Court case that led to a $1.6 million judgment against them and another officer.

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DOJ Asks Court If It Can Release Epstein Files Under New Law

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a New York federal court's permission to publicly release the files related to the investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, clarifying Wednesday that it wants to release search warrant results, travel and financial records, police reports, and other materials.

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Keesal Young Poaching Suit Against Stradley Ronon Trimmed

By Madison Arnold

A California state judge cleared Keesal Young & Logan to pursue most of its lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young crossed the line when it recruited 10 former Keesal Young attorneys, finding that claims such as inducing breach of contract could move forward, in part, because of conversations among the attorneys.

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DOJ Says Ex-Employees Can't Challenge Firings In Fed. Court

By Rose Krebs

The government says a D.C. federal court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a lawsuit filed by a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and two other ex-Department of Justice employees, alleging they were unlawfully fired.

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Hub Hires: Todd & Weld, Freshfields, Shipman

By Julie Manganis

It was a busy November in Boston's legal community as another firm expanded into the market, and a longtime judge traded his gavel for the ability to address his growing concerns about the Trump administration.

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