Aerospace & Defense

  • August 26, 2024

    RTX Settles Bearing Co.'s Trade Secrets Suit On Eve Of Trial

    Defense contractor RTX Corp. on Monday settled claims that it passed a Connecticut roller bearing manufacturer's sensitive design drawings to a competitor, averting a trial set to begin this week.

  • August 26, 2024

    GOP Sens. Applaud Removal Of Undersea Cable Hurdles

    Two Republican senators are celebrating the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's decision to press pause on requiring special permits for undersea cables to run through marine sanctuaries as a "major victory" after railing against red tape earlier this year.

  • August 26, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Last week in Delaware's Court of Chancery, Boeing accused shareholders of using a new pressure tactic, Cantor Fitzgerald struck a $12 million deal, and a vice chancellor dealt with zombie companies. New cases involved displaced Pacific Islanders and an insurance customer acquisition platform. In case you missed it, here's a roundup of news from the Chancery Court.

  • August 26, 2024

    Gov't Contracting Policies To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    An overhaul to the U.S. Department of Defense's cybersecurity requirements and a pending rule requiring many contractors to report their greenhouse gas emissions headline a slate of significant policy initiatives for government contractors to watch for during the second half of this year. Here, Law360 previews four upcoming policy changes with significant potential impacts on government contractors.

  • August 23, 2024

    Fla. IT Worker Pleads Guilty To Working As Chinese Agent

    An information technology worker pled guilty to working as an agent for the Chinese government in Florida federal court Friday, telling prosecutors that he'd worked as a "cooperative contact" for the Chinese since 2012, even tracking Chinese dissidents within the U.S.

  • August 23, 2024

    VA Says It Properly Assessed Bids For $22B IT Deal

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has told the Court of Federal Claims that it had no obligation to consider potential future conflicts of interest involving contractors added to a $22.3 billion information technology contract, pushing back against allegations that it should have disqualified awardees.

  • August 23, 2024

    737 Max Families Spurn DOJ, Boeing's 'Cozy' Plea Deal

    Families of victims of the 737 Max 8 crashes told a Texas federal judge on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice's "cozy" plea agreement with Boeing must be rejected because it's based on misleading facts and shoddy math that overlook the tragic deaths of 346 people.

  • August 23, 2024

    Biden White House Unleashes More Sanctions On Russia

    The Biden administration issued a wave of sanctions against Russia on Friday — the eve of Ukrainian Independence Day — targeting 400 entities and individuals who are allegedly helping Russia avoid the sanctions imposed in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

  • August 23, 2024

    Federal Gov't Hits Georgia Tech With Cybersecurity FCA Suit

    The federal government has hit the Georgia Institute of Technology with a False Claims Act suit accusing the university of knowingly failing to comply with required cybersecurity standards while working on federal defense contracts.

  • August 23, 2024

    Judge Won't Restrict Access To RTX Trade Secrets Trial

    Defense contractor RTX Corp. won't be able to bar non-U.S. citizens from a trade secrets trial slated to get underway Tuesday, but exhibits, such as diagrams, will not be made visible to observers in the courtroom, a Massachusetts federal judge ordered.

  • August 23, 2024

    Canada Mining Biz Seeks US Listing Via $589M SPAC Merger

    Canadian rare-earth miner Tactical Resources Corp. plans to go public in the U.S. by merging with special purpose acquisition company Plum Acquisition III Corp. at an estimated value of $589 million, both parties announced on Friday, through a deal guided by four law firms.

  • August 23, 2024

    Patent Case Against USPTO Mimics Failed Suit, Feds Say

    The federal government has moved to toss a suit alleging that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website infringes patents covering the idea of two-factor authorization, arguing that a patent in the same "family" was thrown out in 2016 by a different court that said it contained "nothing inventive."

  • August 23, 2024

    The Biggest Enviro Policy Moves Of 2024: Midyear Report

    As the Biden administration hurtles toward the end of its term, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been hustling important final rules out its doors, including regulations for power plant greenhouse gas emissions, chemicals and automobiles.

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Military Bias Claims Against Alaska Airlines

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a class action alleging Alaska Airlines illegally denied accrued vacation and sick time to pilots on military assignments, saying the case now has the benefit of a decision from the court in a similar case involving the airline.

  • August 22, 2024

    GAO Backs Protest Over Navy Sonar Equipment Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has backed a protest over corrective action on a U.S. Navy solicitation for sonar equipment, saying the Navy failed to consider whether a restrictive term added to the deal made it inappropriate as a small business contract.

  • August 22, 2024

    Tech Firm Says DOD Was Ad-Hoc With Chinese Military Label

    Lidar technology firm Hesai argued Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Defense has not proved Hesai has connections to the Chinese military as the firm strives to get taken off a list denoting them as such.

  • August 22, 2024

    Air Force Cancels $12B Nuclear Missile Program Support Deal

    The U.S. Air Force has canceled a long-pending $12 billion solicitation for nuclear missile program support services in the wake of a protest decision finding that the Air Force didn't properly assess awardee Guidehouse LLP's contract proposal.

  • August 22, 2024

    Nadine Menendez's Bribery Trial Delayed Until 2025

    The bribery trial of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's wife is delayed until at least January because she is being treated for cancer, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • August 22, 2024

    Feds Accuse NYC Man Of Acting As Chinese Agent

    Manhattan federal prosecutors have accused a naturalized U.S. citizen of acting as an agent of the People's Republic of China and relaying intelligence to the Chinese government.

  • August 22, 2024

    Latvian Faces Charges For Alleged Role In Smuggling Scheme

    A Latvian national accused of helping Russians evade U.S. export controls issued after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war and obtain U.S. avionics equipment has been extradited to the U.S., the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

  • August 22, 2024

    Army Adviser Gets 12 Years For Scamming Gold Star Families

    A former New Jersey financial counselor with the U.S. Army and a major in the U.S. Army Reserve was sentenced to 151 months in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding Gold Star families and other related crimes, the U.S. attorney's office announced.

  • August 21, 2024

    IBM Incentivizes Biased Hiring, Ousted White Male Worker Says

    IBM financially incentivizes and pressures corporate leadership to hire people based on their race and gender, according to a new suit filed in Michigan federal court by a former IBM employee who claims he was unlawfully fired for being a "double whammy" white male.

  • August 21, 2024

    RTX Wants Trade Secrets Trial Closed To 'Non-US Persons'

    Defense contractor RTX is fighting with a manufacturer over whether a trade secrets trial next week over the design of a mechanical bearing used in the U.S. military's "StormBreaker" bomb should be closed off to all "non-U.S. persons."

  • August 21, 2024

    Alaska Air Seeks Clarification In Rogue Pilot Case

    Alaska Airlines has urged a Washington state judge to clear up his decision to partially dismiss a lawsuit alleging an off-duty crew member tried to crash a flight in October, saying the ruling doesn't clearly state the passengers suing the company can no longer pursue claims rooted in federal aviation safety regulations.

  • August 21, 2024

    VA Tells High Court Veterans' PTSD Claims Correctly Rejected

    The federal government urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to overturn decisions denying two veterans' claims for post-traumatic stress disorder benefits, saying lower courts properly refused to reconsider evidence whether the vets deserved the benefit of the doubt.

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

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    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • FARA Enforcement May Soon Be In The Halls Of Higher Ed

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    Given Congress’ increased attention to rising foreign influence on U.S. college campuses, the U.S. Department of Justice may soon turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act spotlight on educational institutions and groups, which will need to review their possible obligations under the statute, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • How The FAA Is Embracing Simplified Flight Controls

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    The Federal Aviation Administration's openness to approving simplified flight controls as part of its forthcoming refresh of regulations governing light-sport aircraft and sport pilot certificates is valuable and welcome — and the same approach can be brought to general aviation aircraft, says Paul Alp at Adams and Reese.

  • Making The Pitch For A Civil Resolution In A Criminal Case

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    Even without the depth of visibility into prosecutorial decision making offered by special counsel Robert Hur’s recently released report, defense counsel may be able to make the case for civil resolutions of criminal investigations while minimizing a potential negative response from prosecutors to such an argument, says Bill Athanas at Bradley Arant.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Practical Steps For Navigating New Sanctions On Russia

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    After the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia – the largest to date since the Ukraine war began – companies will need to continue to strengthen due diligence and compliance measures to navigate the related complexities, say James Min and Chelsea Ellis at Rimon.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Conflict, Latent Ambiguity, Cost Realism

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Markus Speidel at MoFo examines a trio of U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions with takeaways about the consequences of a teaming partner's organizational conflict of interest, a solicitation's latent ambiguity and an unreasonable agency cost adjustment.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Should Loosen Restrictions On Arbitration Services

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    The Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations should be amended so that U.S. persons can provide arbitration services to sanctioned parties — this would help align OFAC policy with broader U.S. arbitration policy, promote efficiency, and effectively address related geopolitical and regulatory challenges, says Javier Coronado Diaz at Diaz Reus.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls

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    Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.

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