Aerospace & Defense

  • January 29, 2025

    White House Rescinds Trump's Spending Freeze

    The White House on Wednesday rescinded a directive freezing federal funding, saying it wants to end litigation and confusion, but said the move will not end a review of spending to ensure compliance with a series of executive orders by the president.

  • January 29, 2025

    Defense Department's Top Atty To Join Hilton As GC

    The former general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense, who was the first woman confirmed by the Senate as CIA general counsel, is joining Hilton in March as its top attorney, the global hospitality company has announced.

  • January 28, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Gov't Made A Mess Pulling 9/11 Planners' Pleas

    After four hours of oral arguments on the government's bid to yank back plea deals from a pair of 9/11 co-conspirators that had already been signed, the D.C. Circuit agreed on one thing Tuesday — that this was a problem that need never have landed on their laps.

  • January 28, 2025

    Sig Sauer's Strategy To DQ Experts Gets Knocked Out At 6th Circ.

    Gunmaker Sig Sauer Inc.'s legal strategy to disqualify experts who testified its P320 pistol was defectively designed suffered a blow when the Sixth Circuit ruled, in a split decision, that the witnesses could opine on if the arms manufacture should have utilized a safer build, forecasting potential outcomes in similar appeals before the Third and Tenth circuits.

  • January 28, 2025

    Boeing Supplier Seeks $583K Fees In Texas Biz Records Suit

    A Boeing supplier, Spirit AeroSystems Inc., has asked a federal judge to approve over $583,000 in legal fees after it won a bid to shut down attempts by Texas state officials to examine its business records.

  • January 28, 2025

    Combat Vet Says Army Base Job Triggered PTSD In $25M Suit

    A U.S. Army combat veteran has filed a worker discrimination complaint seeking $25 million from a Washington recycling company, alleging that his former civilian employer mocked his military service and dispatched him to a military base despite knowing it brought back war zone fears and triggered PTSD symptoms.

  • January 28, 2025

    Transgender Troops Challenge Trump's Military Ban

    A group of current and prospective transgender service members sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court on Tuesday over an executive order barring transgender troops from serving in the military, saying the order is unconstitutional.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trump Wants 'Iron Dome' Missile Defense System For US

    President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to create an "Iron Dome" defense system to protect against ballistic missiles and other advanced aerial threats, saying those weapons pose the "most catastrophic threat" to the U.S.

  • January 28, 2025

    Calif. Panel Says Workers Can Be Added To $935K Wage Deal

    A California state appeals court declined to upend an order allowing the reopening of a $935,000 settlement that resolved workers' wage and hour lawsuit against an aerospace company, saying the employer failed to show that unionized employees were correctly exempted from the deal.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trump Bars Trans Service Members, DOD Diversity Initiatives

    President Donald Trump has issued executive orders eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the military, reinstating service members who refused COVID-19 vaccinations and barring service by openly transgender troops.

  • January 28, 2025

    Menendez Says Any Prison Time Should Wait For Appeal

    Former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez told a Manhattan federal judge ahead of his sentencing hearing Wednesday that any prison term should be delayed until after his appeal of his bribery conviction plays out, saying the Second Circuit could well rule in his favor.

  • January 28, 2025

    Judge Temporarily Halts Trump's Funding Freeze

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal spending that was set to go into effect at 5 p.m., as a group of nearly two dozen attorneys general filed a separate case challenging what they described as an illegal and potentially catastrophic move.

  • January 28, 2025

    DOD Raises Propulsion Program Contract Ceiling To $3.5B

    The U.S. Air Force modified two contracts previously awarded to GE Edison Works and Pratt & Whitney to develop engines intended to be used in its next-generation fighter jets, boosting the contract ceiling from $975 million to $3.5 billion.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trump Wants TikTok 'Bidding War' As Microsoft Enters Talks

    President Donald Trump said that Microsoft is in discussions to purchase TikTok, stressing that a bidding war would be a "good thing" because that's how to get "the best deal."

  • January 28, 2025

    Former FAA Chief Counsel Joins DLA Piper

    The Federal Aviation Administration's former chief counsel Marc Nichols has joined DLA Piper in Washington, D.C., as partner and co-chair of its transportation practice, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • January 27, 2025

    Calif. Rep Demands Explanation Of Military Assets At Border

    Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., on Friday demanded the Pentagon explain its use of military assets for immigration enforcement following President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration at the southern border, saying the diversion of such assets could set a "dangerous precedent."

  • January 27, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Servicemembers Law Doesn't Bar Arbitration

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Monday that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a federal law that grants financial protections to members of the U.S. armed forces, does not override mandatary arbitration agreements in lenders' contracts with military borrowers.

  • January 27, 2025

    VA To Nix $6.1M In Contracts Under Trump's DEI Order

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday that it has placed dozens of employees on paid leave and will cancel $6.1 million worth of contracts as part of efforts to root out diversity, equity and inclusion activities.

  • January 27, 2025

    General Atomics Asks Musk Team To Reform Arms Acquisitions

    General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.'s CEO published an open letter Monday to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, urging leader Elon Musk to refine the defense acquisition processes to bolster global security, making it the second letter sent to the newly created agency by a defense contractor proposing suggestions on reducing bureaucracy.

  • January 27, 2025

    Buddhist Group Wants Army Corps Everglades Plan Blocked

    A Buddhist community asked a Florida federal court to block construction on an Everglades restoration water retention project, arguing its concerns that the project will make its adjacent religious retreat center unusable have fallen on deaf ears at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

  • January 27, 2025

    4 Things The Menendez Trial Judge Will Weigh At Sentencing

    When he sentences former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez on federal bribery and corruption charges Wednesday in New York federal court, U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein will weigh the politician's lifetime of public service against the stark evidence of his crimes.

  • January 27, 2025

    Ancora Seeks To Make US Steel 'Great Again' With New Board

    Ancora Holdings Group on Monday said it plans to make U.S. Steel "great again" by installing a new CEO and board at the company "committed to abandoning" the $14.9 billion proposed merger with Nippon Steel that was blocked by former President Joe Biden earlier this month. 

  • January 25, 2025

    Senate Confirms Kristi Noem To Lead DHS

    The Senate voted 59-34 on Saturday in a rare weekend session to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

  • January 24, 2025

    Musk Can't Yet Appeal Twitter Investors' Cert., 9th Circ. Says

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday rebuffed Elon Musk's request to immediately appeal a California federal judge's decision to certify a class of thousands of Twitter investors over claims the billionaire businessman fraudulently tweeted about the social media company's alleged bot problem to get out of his $44 billion acquisition.

  • January 24, 2025

    Senate Narrowly Confirms Hegseth To Lead DOD

    The U.S. Senate on Friday narrowly confirmed former Fox News pundit Pete Hegseth to lead the U.S. Department of Defense, ignoring concerns over his allegedly poor management experience and allegations of past abusive behavior.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: How Court Nixed Boeing Plea Deal Over DEI

    Author Photo

    A Texas federal court's rejection of the plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing over the 737 Max aircraft gratuitously injected the court's views on diversity, equity and inclusion into a case that shouldn't have been a criminal matter in the first place, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • How To Manage During A Trade Dispute With USMCA Partners

    Author Photo

    Companies can try to minimize the potential impacts of future tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, and uncertainty about future trade relations, by evaluating supply chains, considering how they may be modified, and engaging with the new administration over exemptions and the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • What FARA Enforcement In 2024 Reveals For The Year Ahead

    Author Photo

    A number of developments, from indictments to legislation, shaped the Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement landscape last year, and following the U.S. Department of Justice's recently released long-awaited proposed amendments to the law, 2025 shows no signs of slowing down, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • How New Fraud Enforcement Tool Affects Gov't Contractors

    Author Photo

    Government contractors will likely face greater scrutiny under the recently enacted Administrative False Claims Act, which broadens federal agencies' authority to pursue low-dollar fraud claims, but contractors may also find the act makes settlement of such claims easier to negotiate, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

    Author Photo

    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

    Author Photo

    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Adjustments, Preclusion, Waivers

    Author Photo

    Ken Kanzawa at Seyfarth examines three recent decisions from the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals that examine distinctions between requests for equitable adjustments and claims, forum selection and res judicata, and the waiver of penalties for expressly unallowable costs.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

    Author Photo

    In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

  • Compliance Lessons From Raytheon's FCPA Settlement

    Author Photo

    A recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act action involving aerospace and defense company Raytheon underscores the importance of risk management related to retaining and overseeing third parties — especially in higher-risk jurisdictions — and the promotion of a companywide culture of compliance, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

    Author Photo

    As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing, Relationships, Responsibility

    Author Photo

    In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office, offering helpful reminders about claims court jurisdiction and standing, meaningful-relationship commitment letters, and responsibility determinations.

  • Preparing For More Limber Federal Supply Chain Oversight

    Author Photo

    Ahead of the Federal Acquisition Security Council Improvement Act, which would speed up federal acquisition security risk investigations and federal procurement bans, companies should take steps to identify indirect involvement with foreign adversaries in their supply chains and prepare to respond quickly to a FASC recommendation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Green Projects Face States' Foreign Land Ownership Limits

    Author Photo

    As states impose restrictions and disclosure requirements around foreign investment in agricultural land — in some cases piggybacking on existing federal rules — renewable energy developers and investors must pay close attention to how the rules vary, says Daniel Fanning at Husch Blackwell.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Aerospace & Defense archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!