Aerospace & Defense

  • August 16, 2024

    PE Firm's SpaceX Suit Belongs In Delaware, HK Co. Says

    A Hong Kong company that sued a California-based private equity firm for refusing to invest the company's $50 million into SpaceX says the firm has now sued the company's Chinese parent in California, creating "duplicative proceedings" that ought to be brought in Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • August 16, 2024

    Connecticut Litigation Highlights Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    Several high-stakes Connecticut cases came to a close in the first half of 2024, resulting in the resolution of Frontier Communications' $21.8 million feud with its ex-CEO and a $26.5 million deal for RTX Corp. subcontractors and employees who alleged that anticompetitive no-poach agreements prevented them from advancing their careers.

  • August 15, 2024

    Treasury's Sanctions Unit Slaps Penalties On Houthi Network

    An office of the U.S. Treasury said it has sanctioned a group of companies, people and vessels for shipping Iranian commodities to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of their network led by an Iran-based financier viewed as a leading enabler of Yemen's Houthi rebels.

  • August 15, 2024

    Audacy Sale To Soros Won't Be Rubber-Stamped, Cruz Says

    The Federal Communications Commission will hold a full commission vote on whether to transfer the licenses tied to Soros Fund Management's acquisition of an ownership interest in radio station owner Audacy Inc. after it emerges from bankruptcy, according to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

  • August 15, 2024

    Trump's $100M Tort Claim Against DOJ Faces Uphill Climb

    Experts say Donald Trump's $100 million claim against the federal government for the search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and the prosecution of the allegedly illegal retention of classified documents there will be an uphill climb for the former president because of the limited application of the Federal Tort Claims Act.

  • August 15, 2024

    Widows Of Plane Crash Victims Claim Part Maker Is To Blame

    The spouses of twin brothers who died when their two-seat plane crashed are suing aircraft parts manufacturer Marvel-Schebler, claiming a defect in the company's carburetor caused the crash.

  • August 15, 2024

    Army 'Shortcomings' Won't Sink $60 Million Support Deal

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has rejected a protest over a $60.3 million U.S. Army program support deal, ruling that although the Army had "shortcomings" in how it assessed proposals, those issues didn't make the overall analysis unreasonable.

  • August 15, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Interpreters' Unpaid Wages Suit

    The Fourth Circuit declined Thursday to reinstate a lawsuit two Nepalese-English interpreters brought against a government contractor accusing it of failing to pay them overtime wages, saying the Maryland laws they sued under don't apply to their case because they worked in Afghanistan.

  • August 15, 2024

    Semiconductor Co. Challenges 'Chinese Military' Designation

    The U.S. Department of Defense is again catching heat for designating a company as being affiliated with the Chinese armed forces, this time from a semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker that accused the agency of disregarding "incontrovertible evidence" that it is not a Chinese military company.

  • August 15, 2024

    NC Small Biz Challenges VA Bid Process For Prostate Drug

    A service-disabled veteran-owned small business in North Carolina is challenging the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' bid process for prostate medication, saying the terms unfairly favor foreign manufacturers despite purporting to prioritize American-made products.

  • August 15, 2024

    DLA Piper Adds SpaceX Exec In DC

    The former satellite policy, spectrum and regulatory affairs manager for SpaceX, an aerospace and astronautics manufacturer owned by Elon Musk, has moved to private practice with DLA Piper LLP's telecommunications practice, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • August 15, 2024

    Lockheed Martin Buys Satellite Maker In $450M Deal

    Global aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, advised by Hogan Lovells LLP, on Thursday unveiled plans to buy satellite maker Terran Orbital, led by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, in a deal that boasts an enterprise value of roughly $450 million.

  • August 15, 2024

    UAE Defense Manufacturer Paramount Group Hits Ch. 11

    Abu Dhabi-based defense company Paramount Group Ltd., which manufactures military aircraft, armored vehicles, maritime systems and equipment, filed for Chapter 11 protection Thursday in the Delaware bankruptcy court, listing liabilities between $100 million to $500 million. 

  • August 14, 2024

    T-Mobile Hit With $60M Fine Over National Security Risks

    The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. fined T-Mobile US Inc. $60 million for alleged national security failures, including failing to prevent the unauthorized access of "certain sensitive data" and to promptly report such incidents, according to news reports Wednesday and the agency's website.

  • August 14, 2024

    Amazon's Kuiper Says Satellite Framework Needed Soon

    Amazon's Kuiper Systems is pushing the FCC to "take expeditious action" to wrap up new rules dealing with spectrum sharing among non-geostationary orbit fixed-satellite service operators, comments regarding which have been filing into the docket for years.

  • August 14, 2024

    DOJ Defends Boeing Plea Deal Over Families' Objections

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that Boeing's plea agreement is the best possible criminal resolution that holds the company accountable for defrauding regulators about the 737 Max 8's development, rejecting claims from crash victims' families that the "morally reprehensible" deal lets Boeing skirt culpability.

  • August 14, 2024

    DOD Issues Contractor Cybersecurity Implementation Rule

    The U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday issued a proposed rule laying out how it will incorporate its stringent pending Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, intended to boost cybersecurity standards across the defense industrial base, into defense contracts.

  • August 14, 2024

    House Republican Files Bill To Fix 'Rip And Replace' Shortfall

    A Texas Republican has introduced U.S. House legislation to fill the shortfall in the "rip and replace" program to reimburse telecoms for ridding their networks of Chinese-made components, to the tune of $3.08 billion.

  • August 14, 2024

    Boeing Scraps Electric Jet Co.'s $72M Trade Secrets Trial Win

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday canceled a $72 million jury award against The Boeing Co. for misappropriating electric jet startup Zunum Aero Inc.'s trade secrets, finding Zunum offered "only vague and amorphous descriptions" of the trade secrets at trial.

  • August 14, 2024

    Air Force Didn't Vet Trade Agreement Compliance On IT Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has sustained an HP Inc. unit's protest over a U.S. Air Force information technology deal, saying the winning bidder didn't properly show whether monitors it offered complied with the Trade Agreements Act.

  • August 14, 2024

    Sen. Durbin Slams DOD's Revocation Of 9/11 Plea Deal

    Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate majority whip, told U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday he is "troubled" by the secretary's decision to revoke a plea deal for the accused masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

  • August 14, 2024

    Army Analyst Cops To Selling Military Secrets To China

    A U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst has pled guilty to charges that he sold classified American military secrets to China for $42,000.

  • August 14, 2024

    M&A Surge May Bring Opportunities For Cybercriminals

    An increase in mergers and acquisitions is creating more openings for cybercriminals to exploit companies and their customers, highlighted by February's Change Healthcare breach and other major hacks, according to a new report from cybersecurity firm Resilience. 

  • August 14, 2024

    Feds Nab US-Iran Citizen On Aircraft Parts Charges

    A dual U.S.-Iranian citizen was charged in D.C. federal court with procuring American aircraft parts and attempting to send them to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.

  • August 14, 2024

    German Defense Biz To Buy US Army Vehicle Co. For $950M

    Rheinmetall AG said Wednesday it has agreed to buy U.S. military vehicle parts manufacturer Loc Performance Products LLC for $950 million, as the German defense firm moves to expand its product range globally.

Expert Analysis

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • How DOD Can Improve Flexibility Under Proposed Cyber Rule

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    The U.S. Department of Defense should carefully address some of the more nuanced aspects of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program to avoid unintended consequences, specifically the proposal to severely limit contractor use of plans of actions and milestones, say Joshua Duvall at Maynard Nexsen and Sandeep Kathuria at L3Harris Technologies.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify When Gov't Clawback Is Timely

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    The Federal Circuit’s examination of claims accrual in a January decision that allows the Defense Contract Management Agency to pursue overpayment claims under a cost-reimbursement contract serves as a reminder that the government can lose such claims by waiting too long to file, say Evan Sherwood and Peter Hutt at Covington.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Breathes New Life Into Article III Traceability

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Hardwick v. 3M Co. to vacate a district court's certification of one of the largest class actions in American jurisprudence for lack of Article III standing has potentially broader implications for class action practice in the product liability sphere, particularly in medical monitoring cases involving far-fetched theories of causation, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Aviation Watch: 737 Max Blowout Raises Major Safety Issues

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    The sudden in-flight loss of a side panel on an Alaska Air 737-9 Max last month, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane's cabin, highlighted ongoing quality issues at Boeing, the jet's manufacturer — but the failure also arose from decisions made by the airline, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Exporters Should Approach Self-Disclosure With Caution

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    A January Bureau of Industry and Security memorandum created an abbreviated process for disclosing export control violations that lack aggravating factors, but deciding which disclosure method to utilize remains a complex strategic undertaking to which companies must give careful consideration, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • How Recent Laws Affect Foreign Purchase Of US Real Estate

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    Early diligence is imperative for U.S. real estate transactions involving foreign actors, including analysis of federal and state foreign investment laws implicated by the transaction, depending on the property's nature and location, the parties' citizenship, and the transaction's structure, say Massimo D’Angelo and Anthony Rapa at Blank Rome.

  • Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo

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    Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Opinion

    The PLUS Act Is The Best Choice For Veterans

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    Of two currently pending federal legislative proposals, the Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services Act's plan to diversify and expedite the processing of veterans' claims through an expanded network of accredited providers offers the better solution, say Michael Andrews at McGuireWoods and Matthew Feehan at Nearside Solutions.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing And A Golden Rule

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Victoria Angle at MoFo examines one recent decision that clarifies the elements necessary to establish prejudice and federal claims court standing in multiphase protests, and two that exemplify a government procurements golden rule.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Brazil

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    Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.

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