Aerospace & Defense

  • October 25, 2024

    Airline Holding Co. Nabs $1.25B Refinancing For GOL Ch. 11

    Abra Group Limited, the holding company for Avianca and GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes airlines, announced it has closed $1.25 billion in refinancing transactions that will help resolve the financial defaults related to GOL's Chapter 11 filing earlier this year.

  • October 24, 2024

    Bell Says Vendor Shouldn't Get $127M In Trade Secret Suit

    Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. told a Texas jury that a third-party vendor took the aerospace company's tech and "slapped their name on it," saying during closing arguments Thursday that jurors should reject California-based digital avionics equipment supplier Rogerson Aircraft Corp.'s ask of $127 million.

  • October 24, 2024

    FTC Probing Boeing's $4.7B Spirit Aero Takeover

    The Federal Trade Commission wants to know more about Boeing's $4.7 billion plan to take over aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems before it decides whether to sign off on the transaction, new filings have revealed.

  • October 24, 2024

    Sen. Presses US Trade Rep To Take Up Fentanyl Probe

    A Democratic senator from Wisconsin asked the U.S. trade representative on Wednesday to take up a petition urging it to investigate the People's Republic of China's alleged vast illicit fentanyl exports to the United States that have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

  • October 24, 2024

    UCLA Strikes Out On Bid To Join Row Over Baseball Facility

    A California federal judge rejected The Regents of the University of California's bid to intervene in a class action filed by disabled, homeless military veterans who accused the federal government of misusing a Los Angeles campus that they claim was intended for housing veterans.

  • October 24, 2024

    EPA, Air Force Commit To PFAS Plan For Tucson Airport

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Air Force said they're committing to a framework to address "forever chemical" contamination at the Tucson International Airport Area Superfund Site in southeastern Arizona.

  • October 24, 2024

    Biden Issues Guidelines For National Security Uses Of AI

    President Joe Biden issued a memo Thursday on the development and use of artificial intelligence for national security, directing actions such as shoring up the security of computer chip supply chains and ensuring AI is not used to commit human rights violations.

  • October 24, 2024

    ITC Bans Foreign Counterfeit Tourniquets

    The U.S. International Trade Commission banned foreign counterfeits of a tourniquet used by the U.S. military, finding that a broad exclusion order was necessary to protect the domestic manufacturers' intellectual property.

  • October 24, 2024

    Huawei Trade Secrets Trial Pushed Back To 2026

    A Washington federal judge on Thursday approved a request from Huawei and the government to delay a trial until October 2026 in a case alleging the company stole T-Mobile's trade secrets.

  • October 24, 2024

    State Dept. Counterterrorism Expert Joins Jenner In DC

    A former U.S. Department of State counterterrorism expert and National Security Council director has left public service for his first-ever role in private practice, joining Jenner & Block LLP's team in Washington, D.C., as special counsel, the firm announced Thursday. 

  • October 23, 2024

    Boeing Machinists Reject Labor Deal, Prolonging Strike

    A majority of roughly 33,000 Boeing employees represented by the International Association of Machinists voted Wednesday to reject a new labor contract that included a 35% wage increase over four years, prolonging a nearly six-week strike that has hampered Boeing's production and cash flow.

  • October 23, 2024

    Feds, Huawei Ask To Delay 'Complex' Trade Secret Theft Trial

    Washington federal prosecutors and Huawei have both asked to delay until 2026 a trial in a case accusing the company of stealing T-Mobile's trade secrets, noting the complexity of the case and difficulties the attorneys for the Chinese chipmaker have had communicating with witnesses.

  • October 23, 2024

    DOD Could Exclude Generator Deal Bidder Over Conflict

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has backed the Defense Logistics Agency excluding a company from a solicitation for deployment of disaster relief generators, saying the DLA reasonably found conflicts of interest involving the company's work on a related contract.

  • October 23, 2024

    Southwest Union Wants 2nd Look At Colo. Sick Leave Deal

    A Transport Workers Union affiliate urged a Colorado court to rethink its recent decision dismissing the union's claims against the state challenging a settlement with Southwest Airlines over a sick leave law, arguing the judge wrongly analyzed the statute's exemption for workers covered by a labor contract.

  • October 23, 2024

    Navarro Seeks Justices' Review Of Presidential Records Ruling

    Former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court's ruling that the federal government can use the Presidential Records Act to force Navarro to hand over emails from his tenure at the White House.

  • October 23, 2024

    Penn State To Pay $1.25M To Resolve FCA Cybersecurity Suit

    Pennsylvania State University will pay $1.25 million to settle a False Claims Act suit accusing it of failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements for defense and NASA contracts, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ga. Tech Says No Basis For Feds' Cybersecurity FCA Suit

    The Georgia Institute of Technology has urged a Georgia federal judge to toss a False Claims Act suit accusing the university of knowingly failing to comply with U.S. Department of Defense cybersecurity standards, saying those rules didn't apply to its research contracts.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ohio Pension Funds Say Boeing Puts Profits Over Safety

    Two Ohio pension funds joined a Virginia federal lawsuit accusing Boeing executives and board members of putting profits over safety and regulatory compliance, causing a series of catastrophes and losing millions of dollars for investors, the Ohio Attorney General's Office said Tuesday.

  • October 22, 2024

    No Bad Faith Found In Early Termination Of Air Force IT Deal

    An Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals judge has ruled that the U.S. Air Force's decision to terminate an information technology contract early was not made in bad faith, rejecting the contractor's bid for $630,000 in lost profits.

  • October 22, 2024

    Halkbank Not Immune In Sanctions Case, 2nd Circ. Says

    The Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank doesn't have common-law foreign sovereign immunity from charges that it laundered about $1 billion in sanctioned Iranian oil proceeds if the U.S. government's executive branch says it doesn't.

  • October 22, 2024

    Neb. Tribe Appeals Ruling To 4th Circ. In Army Burial Row

    A Nebraska tribe will ask the Fourth Circuit to overturn a lower court's decision that determined that the U.S. Army isn't required to repatriate the remains of two Indigenous children from an Indian Boarding School cemetery in Pennsylvania, arguing that the ruling is an affront to tribal sovereignty.

  • October 22, 2024

    EchoStar Blasts SpaceX 12 GHz Study As 'Deeply Flawed'

    Dish owner EchoStar hit back at SpaceX in a new filing with the Federal Communications Commission last week, calling a SpaceX study claiming that Dish's proposed fixed 5G service in the 12 gigahertz band would interfere with existing satellite broadband and broadcast service "deeply flawed" and based on "imaginary interference."

  • October 22, 2024

    How Law Firms Get And Keep Elite Status

    For decades, a handful of New York-based law firms thoroughly dominated the national consciousness when it came to power, profitability and prestige. But in today's legal market, increased movement of partners and clients from one firm to the next has begun to shake things up and create opportunities for go-getters to ascend the ranks.

  • October 22, 2024

    The 2024 Prestige Leaders

    Check out our Prestige Leaders ranking, analysis and interactive graphics to see which firms stand out for their financial performance, attractiveness to attorneys and law students, ability to secure accolades and positive legal news media representation.

  • October 21, 2024

    SpaceX Firing Suit Belongs In State Court, Ex-Workers Say

    Terminated SpaceX employees on Monday urged a California federal judge to remand their hostile work environment and retaliation case to state court due to lack of diversity jurisdiction, arguing that when they first sued, SpaceX's principal place of business was Hawthorne, California, not Starbase, Texas, where the company later moved.

Expert Analysis

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

  • Series

    Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.

  • Aviation Watch: Boeing Plea Agreement May Not Serve Public

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    The proposed plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing — the latest outgrowth of the company's 737 Max travails — is opposed by crash victims' families, faces an uncertain fate in court, and may ultimately serve no beneficial purpose, even if approved, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Secret Service Failures Offer Lessons For Private Sector GCs

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    The Secret Service’s problematic response to two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump this summer provides a crash course for general counsel on how not to handle crisis communications, says Keith Nahigian at Nahigian Strategies.

  • Managing Sanctions Defense Across Multiple Jurisdictions

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    Companies called before multiple regulators to account for the same conduct in this era of increased global sanctions and import-control enforcement should consider national differences in law and policy, and proactively coordinate their responses in certain key areas, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • 4 Ways To Prepare For DOD Cyber Certification Rule

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    Given the U.S. Department of Justice's increased scrutiny of contractor compliance with cybersecurity requirements, it is critical that contractors take certain steps now in response to the U.S. Department of Defense's proposed Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification implementation rule, say Townsend Bourne and Lillia Damalouji at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Class Action Trend Tests Limit Of Courts' Equity Powers

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    A troubling trend has developed in federal class action litigation as some counsel and judges attempt to push injunctive relief classes under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure beyond the traditional limits of federal courts' equitable powers, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.

  • IP Concerns For Manufacturing Semiconductors In Low Orbit

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    With space habitation companies working to launch private space stations in the near future, semiconductor manufacturers aiming to execute research and development in low or microgravity must consider the unique claim drafting and patent protection issues that will emerge, says Greg Miraglia at Quinn Emanuel.

  • $200M RTX Deal Underscores Need For M&A Due Diligence

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    RTX's settlement with regulators for violating defense export regulations offers valuable compliance lessons, showcasing the perils of insufficient due diligence during mergers and acquisitions transactions along with the need to ensure remediation measures are fully implemented following noncompliance, say Thad McBride and Faith Dibble at Bass Berry.

  • Taking Stock Of FCC's New Spectrum Rule For Drones

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    While an order recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission is intended to provide drones with rapid access to a limited amount of spectrum in the 5030-5091 megahertz band, the commission envisions an incremental approach to full usage that will play out over the course of the coming months and years, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • Navigating Restrictions Following Biotech Bill House Passage

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    Ahead of the BIOSECURE Act’s potential enactment, companies that obtain equipment from certain Chinese biotechnology companies should consider whether the act would restrict their ability to enter into contracts with the U.S. government and what steps they might take in response, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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