Aerospace & Defense

  • December 13, 2024

    Helicopter Co. Calls Whistleblower Suit 'Premature'

    Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. told a Connecticut state court that a self-described well-known whistleblower failed to turn to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration before filing a lawsuit that accuses the company of firing him for reporting wage and hour and environmental violations, and it urged the court to toss the suit.

  • December 13, 2024

    Contractor Loses Bail For Texting Alleged Tax Cheat Allies

    A District of Columbia federal judge revoked bail for a former defense contractor accused of running a $350 million tax-evasion scheme that prosecutors call one of the largest in U.S. history, after the government said he'd been texting his alleged co-conspirators.

  • December 12, 2024

    DHS Must Do More For Acquisition Staff Troubles, GAO Says

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is not doing all it can to address the workload and hiring challenges its acquisition workforce is facing, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released on Thursday.

  • December 12, 2024

    Incora's Opt-Outs Not Like Class Actions, US Trustee Says

    The U.S. Trustee's Office on Thursday objected to the third-party releases in the Chapter 11 plan from aircraft parts supplier Incora, arguing in a Texas bankruptcy court that the opt-out mechanism for the releases is not comparable to class action procedures.

  • December 12, 2024

    GAO Affirms VA's Oral Solicitation For Peat Moss Buy

    A federal watchdog has rebuffed a vendor's arguments that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should have opened a contract for competition, finding that the department's initial estimate of the contract cost was reasonably below the threshold for a public solicitation.

  • December 12, 2024

    USAA Inks $3.25M Data Breach Deal With 22K Customers

    More than 22,000 USAA customers have asked a New York federal judge to grant preliminary approval to a $3.2 million settlement to resolve a proposed class action alleging the company's security failures in its online insurance quote system allowed cybercriminals to open fraudulent memberships.

  • December 12, 2024

    Newman Gets Amicus Support At DC Circ. In Suspension Row

    Two amici threw their support behind U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman at the D.C. Circuit on Thursday, with one free-market think tank criticizing what it said was the secrecy surrounding the disciplinary proceedings against Judge Newman over her refusal to participate in an investigation into her fitness to serve as a Federal Circuit judge.

  • December 12, 2024

    2 Deny Joining Would-Be Trump Assassin To Target Journalist

    Two New York City men on Thursday denied participating in a plot to kill a noted journalist and Iran critic, pleading not guilty to murder-for-hire charges that claim they worked for a foreign agent who also is tasked with targeting Donald Trump.

  • December 12, 2024

    Jury Clears Blank Rome Attys In Malicious Suit Case

    Three Blank Rome attorneys and an aviation company have been cleared by a Pennsylvania federal jury of claims that they maliciously pursued litigation over alleged misuse of confidential information against a lawyer who formerly represented the company and switched to plaintiffs work.

  • December 12, 2024

    NTIA's Davidson Stepping Down Jan. 20

    The head of the U.S. Department of Commerce branch in charge of managing federal use of the airwaves as well as a sprawling broadband deployment program confirmed Thursday he will leave the role in January when the Biden administration ends.

  • December 12, 2024

    Woody Allen Axed Private Chef Over Military Duties, Suit Says

    Filmmaker Woody Allen fired a personal chef because he repeatedly complained he wasn't being properly paid and had to take time off to participate in military exercises as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, according to a lawsuit filed in New York federal court.

  • December 12, 2024

    US Takes Hard Line Against WTO Litigating Security Matters

    The Biden administration issued a stern warning against the dangers of litigating national security matters at the World Trade Organization, stressing that allowing international tribunals to decide the legality of a sovereign country's security policies is untenable.

  • December 11, 2024

    Dems, GOP Agree That China Cyberspying Is A Problem

    For all their disagreements, Republicans and Democrats were largely singing the same tune Wednesday afternoon at a Senate hearing on the security of the nation's communications networks — that they're worried, and the government needs to get to work on a solution.

  • December 11, 2024

    Bipartisan Bill Would Sunset Afghan Oversight Office

    Congressional representatives Jason Crow and Young Kim introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday geared at sunsetting the office responsible for keeping Congress up to date with reconstruction activities in Afghanistan for the past 16 years.

  • December 11, 2024

    DOD Monitors Ukraine Military Aid Better, Watchdog Says

    The U.S. Department of Defense has significantly improved monitoring of military items sent to Ukraine for its fight against a Russian invasion, according to the Office of Inspector General, but the tracking of U.S.-origin items that partners are sending can still be improved.

  • December 11, 2024

    Group Targets Air Force Academy Over Race In Admissions

    Conservative advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions filed a lawsuit in Colorado federal court on Tuesday challenging the U.S. Air Force Academy's consideration of race in admissions decisions.

  • December 11, 2024

    DHS Confirms 4th Chinese Nationals Removal Flight This Year

    More Chinese migrants were deported from the U.S. via chartered flight Monday as part of the federal government's policy imposing harsher penalties for those who enter the country illegally, marking the fourth large-scale removal flight to China in the last six months, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.

  • December 11, 2024

    Nippon Offers $5K Bonuses To Ease US Steel Deal Concerns

    Nippon Steel Corp. has committed to providing $5,000 closing bonuses to employees of U.S. Steel in hopes of easing concerns about the controversial $14.9 billion merger between the two companies, which both the sitting and incoming president have said they oppose.

  • December 11, 2024

    White House Wants US Chips In Gov't Supply Chain

    The Biden administration is asking for suggestions on how best to encourage government contractors to "scale up their use" of American-made microchips in a new request for information Tuesday, looking to drive demand as the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act incentivizes new domestic supply.

  • December 11, 2024

    FBI Director Wray To Resign Before Trump's Inauguration

    FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday he will resign in January at the end of President Joe Biden's term, averting what was expected to be his dismissal when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

  • December 10, 2024

    GAO Backs Army's Rejection Of Iraqi Contractor's Proposals

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office backed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' rejection of an Iraqi construction contractor's proposals for a design-build contract, saying the Corps reasonably deemed the contractor "non-responsible" for being ineligible to access an Air Force base.

  • December 10, 2024

    Wash. Woman Accused Of Smuggling Oil, Gas Parts To Russia

    A Washington-based regional manager of a freight forwarding company is accused of helping Russians evade U.S. export controls and sanctions issued after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine by illegally shipping industrial oil and gas equipment to Russia through intermediary countries like China, New York federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

  • December 10, 2024

    Abu Ghraib Torture Plaintiffs Say CACI Shoudn't Get New Trial

    Former prisoners tortured at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq, who were recently awarded $42 million in a case against defense contractor CACI, have pushed back at the company's request for a new trial, arguing it was rehashing arguments already rejected by the court.

  • December 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says VA Board Had The Power To Scrap Atty's Fee

    The Federal Circuit has ruled that a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administrative tribunal was within its rights to scrap a 20% fee awarded to an attorney dropped from a veteran's benefits challenge, saying the "tortured history" of the dispute does not reflect well on the department.

  • December 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Overturns VA Rule On 'Special' Ambulance Rates

    The Federal Circuit has vacated a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rule effectively reducing the rates the VA pays for "noncontract" ambulance services for disabled veterans, saying the rule exceeded the agency's statutory authority.

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From Final Regulations For China Investment Ban

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    ​The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rule banning U.S. investment in emerging Chinese technology clarifies some key requirements, includes additional exceptions for covered transactions and attempts to address concerns that the rule will put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Compliance Considerations Of DOJ Data Security Rule

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    Under the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule aiming to prevent certain countries' access to bulk U.S. sensitive personal data, companies must ensure their vendor, employment and investment agreements meet strict new data security requirements — or determine whether such contracts are worth the cost of compliance, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Unclear Criteria, Data Rights, Conflicts

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    Liam Bowers at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims examining the use of unstated evaluation criteria, an agency's investigation of its own data rights and unequal access to information about an organizational conflict of interest.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • In Terror Case, DC Circ. Must Weigh Justices' Twitter Ruling

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    When the D.C. Circuit hears oral argument in AstraZeneca UK v. Atchley, how the court interprets the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Twitter v. Taamneh will have a significant impact on future claims brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • DOD Cybersecurity Rule Will Burden And Benefit Contractors

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    The U.S. Department of Defense’s cybersecurity certification program, finalized in October, will pose tricky and expensive challenges for contractors, given its many requirements and the scarcity of third-party assessors who can provide certification, but companies may ultimately benefit from a narrower pool of competitors, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • 5 Areas Congress May Investigate After GOP Election Wins

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    With Republicans poised to take control of Congress in addition to the executive branch next year, private companies can expect an unprecedented uptick in congressional investigations focused on five key areas, including cryptocurrency and healthcare, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent

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    A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bight Enterprises v. Raimondo, ending Chevron deference, may have created a new defense to False Claims Act liability by providing the opportunity to argue that a given regulation is not material to the government's payment decision, says Tanner Cook at Husch Blackwell.

  • 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

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    Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 9 Considerations Around Proposed Connected Vehicle Ban

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    Stakeholders should consider several aspects of the U.S. Department of Commerce's recent proposal to ban U.S. imports and sales of vehicles incorporating certain connectivity components made in China or Russia, including exempted transactions and vehicle hardware imports, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

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