No Password Required: Threat Researcher at Cisco Talos and a Veteran of the Highest-Profile Cyber Incidents Who Roasts His Own Coffee Beans
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The FAA and Pilot DUIs
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Busted by the Feds: The Anatomy of a Federal Criminal Prosecution of a Drone Pilot
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Unruly Passengers on Flights
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Federal Criminal Aviation Cases From 2021
WEBINAR: The ABCs of Pilot Deviations
Compliance into the Weeds: Episode 115-Regulatory Capture and Regulatory Approval at the FAA
K&L Gates Triage: Using Drones in Medicine
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
On Feb. 18, 2025, in a case seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a Notice of Change in Position indicating that the DOJ will no longer defend in litigation "the...more
On February 19, the White House unveiled an interim final rule (IFR) to rescind all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has promulgated since 1977....more
The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is in the midst of a major judicial and regulatory shakeup. In the past three months, four major events have thrown the validity of NEPA regulations into doubt ...more
On January 31 — in Marin Audubon Society et al. v. FAA et al. — the D.C. Circuit Court declined petitions for en banc review of a panel’s November 2024 ruling that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) does...more
In a departure from past jurisprudence, a recent DC Circuit decision questioned whether the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) had the legal authority to issue key regulations under the National Environmental...more
Clients regulated by, or who have contracts with government agencies regulated by, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) should be aware of a major, recent court decision. On November 12, 2024, the D.C. Circuit Court...more
In a surprise monumental decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has no authority to issue regulations implementing NEPA and that CEQ’s NEPA...more
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) lacks statutory authority to issue binding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). While the decision does not invalidate any actions...more
The FAA continues its slow march forward in dealing with 5G issues. Last week, the FAA released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to address helicopter radio altimeter interference issues. Currently, the...more
On July 29, 2022, the D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Remote ID Rule against a grab-bag of constitutional and procedural challenges brought by a drone user named Tyler Brennan and his company...more
The FAA’s remote identification rules for unmanned aircraft (Remote ID) are back on track. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has just rejected the last serious challenge to the...more
Major airlines and airports are dropping their mask requirements following a federal court ruling that struck down the federal government’s mask mandates for public transportation. How Did We Get Here? The Centers for...more
The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decision to publish an airworthiness directive ordering the removal of certain cylinder assemblies used in piston...more
[Note: In light of the FAA’s announcement of the drone registry, we’ve revisited our recent analysis of its authority to require registration.] On December 14, 2015, the FAA issued the much-anticipated “Registration and...more
On November 21, 2015, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Registration Task Force Aviation Rulemaking Committee, chartered by the FAA, issued its Final Report to the FAA containing the Task Force’s recommendations for how the FAA...more
In a recently issued Presidential Memorandum, President Obama included privacy guidelines for the federal government’s use of unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) in the United States. Issued on February 15, 2015, and...more
On December 12, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published its “Arbitration Study Preliminary Results,” mandated by Section 1028(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act (the “Study”). Unfortunately (and despite its statements...more