Aerospace & Defense

  • August 30, 2024

    Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Base Networks, Nuclear Power

    In August, the U.S. Air Force named the 23 companies that will carry out its $12.5 billion network modernization effort, while a domestic nuclear company agreed to help build the first small modular reactor nuclear power plant in Africa. ​​​​These are Law360's most noteworthy government contracts for August 2024.

  • August 30, 2024

    RTX Reaches $200M Deal Over Export Control Violations

    RTX Corp. has reached a $200 million settlement with the U.S. Department of State to resolve violations of export control rules, including sending controlled defense items and data to China, the agency announced Friday.

  • August 29, 2024

    Airline Ducks Liquidated Damages In Military Leave Suit

    A class of pilots accusing American Airlines of violating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by denying pay for time spent on military leave can't seek liquidated damages, given a lack of evidence that the airline knew it was breaking the law, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • August 29, 2024

    CFPB Fines NewDay $2.25M Over VA Home Loan Practices

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau levied a $2.25 million fine against NewDay Financial LLC on Thursday for allegedly deceiving active-duty service members and veterans seeking cash-out refinance loans on their home mortgages.

  • August 29, 2024

    FCC Rolls Out Rules For Drones' Use Of 5 GHz Band

    The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced it had adopted initial rules for the use of drones in the 5 gigahertz band by allowing operators to obtain frequency assignments.

  • August 29, 2024

    GAO Backs VA Cancellation Of Air-Unit Installation Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office is supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs' decision to cancel a solicitation that lacked proper instructions to bidders, thereby denying a protest from a Maryland business that had its contract canceled.

  • August 29, 2024

    Judge Asked To OK Settlement For Halliburton CERCLA Suit

    Halliburton and more than 30 companies seeking to recover costs associated with the cleanup of long-accumulated contamination at a Superfund site have struck a settlement in California federal court in an attempt to bring to a close a decade of litigation.

  • August 29, 2024

    Under-The-Radar Gov't Contracts Cases: Midyear Report

    Alongside blockbuster rulings so far this year shaking up the federal contracting landscape are lower-profile decisions with noteworthy legal outcomes, addressing issues such as when late submissions matter, when they don't, and whether local wage requirements can affect federal contracts. Here are four lower-profile decisions from the first half of 2024 with significant legal findings that could impact federal contractors.

  • August 28, 2024

    ACLU Offers Harris 'Roadmap' To Rein In Gov't Surveillance

    The American Civil Liberties Union is urging the Democratic presidential nominee to stop what the group calls exploitation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by the federal government by ending unwarranted surveillance of Americans if she wins office in November.

  • August 28, 2024

    Co. Pushed Director To Work With Broken Fingers, Suit Says

    A military contractor forced a department head to work with broken fingers and a spinal injury following a serious fall, refused to provide short-term disability leave paperwork and ultimately fired him when he raised concerns, according to a complaint filed in Connecticut federal court.

  • August 28, 2024

    Contractor Drops Fed. Circ. Challenge To Registration Rule

    The federal government and a joint venture on Wednesday agreed to end a Federal Circuit appeal that questioned whether the U.S. State Department unfairly disqualified the company from a security contract over its failure to register on the contracting database.

  • August 28, 2024

    Cooley, Latham Steer Defense Co.'s $80M VC Funding Round

    Parry Labs announced Wednesday that the Virginia-based defense technology company, represented by Cooley LLP, has raised $80 million in its first institutional investment round fueled by Capitol Meridian Partners, represented by Latham & Watkins LLP, and other venture capital firms.

  • August 28, 2024

    2nd Circ. Affirms Ex-GE Engineer's Espionage Conviction

    A General Electric Co. engineer convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage lost his bid Wednesday to undo his conviction, with a three-judge panel on the Second Circuit affirming the judgment of the New York district court.

  • August 28, 2024

    Russia Seeks Pause On $5B Naftogaz Award Suit

    Russia thinks that the D.C. federal court overseeing a bid by Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company to enforce a $5 billion arbitral award over the seizure of its Crimean assets ought to pause the matter while proceedings in the Netherlands play out.

  • August 28, 2024

    Taliban And Iran Ordered To Pay $144.7B For 9/11 Attacks

    A New York federal court issued judgments requiring the Taliban and the Iranian government to pay $144.7 billion to thousands of people who were directly injured or lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

  • August 28, 2024

    Congress Urged To Address Trump Financial Conflicts

    After possible financial conflicts of interest caused consternation during President Donald Trump's first term, an ethics watchdog is calling for a series of legislative reforms to prevent them from recurring if he's reelected.

  • August 28, 2024

    Top Gov't Contracts Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    Federal courts in the latter half of 2024 are expected to scrutinize a strict federal registration requirement for contractors and decide whether whistleblower False Claims Act cases are constitutional, potentially affecting a key federal anti-fraud tool. Here, Law360 previews key disputes that government contractors should have on their radar in the second half of the year.

  • August 27, 2024

    Exec To Pay SEC $190K Over Macquarie Insider Trading Claim

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says a New York man who used inside information he learned as a Macquarie Group investor relations executive to profit from a then-pending deal to sell its airport services business to KKR & Co. has agreed to pay nearly $190,000 to settle the agency's claims that he violated securities laws. ​

  • August 27, 2024

    Electric Jet Co. Grounds Investor Suit Over SPAC Disclosures

    Investors in German aerospace company Lilium have failed to adequately allege that the company lied about its electric jet production efforts as it went through a $3.3 billion go-public merger with a special purpose acquisition company, a Florida federal judge determined in permanently tossing the suit.

  • August 27, 2024

    Navy Shipbuilder Pleads Guilty To Accounting Fraud

    A shipbuilder that contracts with the U.S. Navy pled guilty Tuesday to accounting fraud as part of a settlement to resolve criminal and civil investigations.

  • August 27, 2024

    Sig Sauer Shouldn't Get Retrial, Says Winner Of $2M Verdict

    Sig Sauer Inc. shouldn't get a new trial, said a man who won a $2.35 million jury verdict in his suit alleging that a defect in his P320 pistol caused him to accidentally shoot himself, telling a Georgia federal court Monday that the gunmaker comes nowhere close to showing any error.

  • August 27, 2024

    Admiral Seeks Bribery Trial Separate From Contractors

    A retired U.S. Navy admiral  accused of accepting bribes from two contractors is pushing a Washington, D.C., federal court to sever his trial from theirs, saying the pair appeared poised to pin any alleged misconduct on him.

  • August 27, 2024

    SpaceX, T-Mobile Seek Speedy Action On Mobile 'Dead Zones'

    SpaceX and T-Mobile last week continued to push the Federal Communications Commission to approve Starlink's planned direct-to-cellular service in light of the agency's approval of rules allowing satellite companies to join with terrestrial mobile providers to fill gaps in wireless service.

  • August 27, 2024

    Return Of Venezuela Sanctions Reignites Criminal Probes

    Criminal investigations into Venezuela-related sanctions violations appear to be ramping back up since the U.S. government reimposed crushing trade penalties on the South American country's oil and gas sectors in response to an allegedly sham presidential election, according to experts.

  • August 27, 2024

    Connecticut Litigation To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    The Connecticut state and federal courts will grapple with a number of closely watched cases during the second half of 2024, including three key lawsuits by state Attorney General William Tong.

Expert Analysis

  • When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge

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    The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Cos. Should Prepare For Foreign Data Transfer Regulations

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    A new regulatory regime designed to protect U.S. sensitive data from countries of concern may complicate an already intricate geopolitical landscape and affect even companies beyond the data industry, but with careful preparation, such companies can endeavor to minimize the effect on their business operations and ensure compliance, say David Plotinsky and Jiazhen Guo at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • How Export Controls Are Evolving To Address Tech Security

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    Recently proposed export control regulations from the U.S. Department of Commerce are an opportunity for stakeholders to help pioneer compliance for the increasing reliance on the use of outsourced technology service providers, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Breaking Down The Latest National Security Tech Regulations

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    Companies all along the semiconductor value chain, across all industries and all geographies, should be mindful of the nature and extent of the highly complex, sweeping U.S. export controls, and how they can impact research and development, investment, production, and sales, say Brendan Saslow and Anthony Rapa at Blank Rome.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • Defense Attys Must Prep For Imminent AI Crime Enforcement

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    Given recent statements by U.S. Department of Justice officials, white collar practitioners should expect to encounter artificial intelligence in federal criminal enforcement in the near term, even in pending cases, say Jarrod Schaeffer and Scott Glicksman at Abell Eskew.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Nonprecedential, Unreasonable, Scope

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    James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions showing that while the results of past competitions may inform bid strategy, they are not determinative; that an agency's award may be deemed unreasonable if it ignores available information; and that a protester may be right about an awardee's noncompliance but still lose.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Opinion

    Expanded Detention Will Not Solve Immigration Challenges

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    The recently defeated bipartisan border package included provisions that would increase funding for detention, a costly distraction from reforms like improved adjudication and legal representation that could address legitimate economic and public safety concerns at much lower cost, say Alexandra Dufresne and Kyle Wolf at Cornell University.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Facts Differ But Same Rules Apply

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    Zachary Jacobson and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine two decisions illustrating that reliance on a technicality may not save an otherwise untimely appeal, and that enforcement of commercial terms and conditions under a federal supply schedule contract may be possible.

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