Defense Tech Legal Network Newsletter 8

March 9, 2026

Our goal is to build the community of defense tech legal professionals. The newsletter aims to further your professional development and raise awareness of good content and opportunities.

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News

• Insights in Iran: Lethality in Action, Defense Tech and Acquisition, Matt MacGregor and Pete Modigliani, Feb. 28, 2026. News headlines and summaries from the week; nonlegal focused.

• Anthropic officially told by DOD that it’s a supply chain risk even as Claude used in Iran, Mar. 5, 2026, CNBC. Anthropic responded to the designation with this public post by CEO Dario Amodei here. The post details Anthropic’s response and states in relevant part that 10 U.S.C. § 3252 designation should be limited because “the supply chain risk designation doesn’t (and can’t) limit uses of Claude or business relationships with Anthropic if those are unrelated to their specific Department of War contracts.” Anthropic also stated it would challenge the designation in court. The administration is also looking to extend “for any lawful purpose” use term for AI systems to all federal contracts.

• Pentagon gets new CISO with appointment of Aaron Bishop, March 7, 2026, Jon Harper, DefenseScoop. Also, DoW names Gavin Kliger, former DOGE and Databricks, as Chief Data Officer.

• DIU notches first launch of commercial hypersonic test platform,  March 3, 2026, Mikayla Easley, DefenseScoop.

•  On March 6, the Administration published The President’s Cyber Strategy. Link to document. It focuses on six policy pillars to guide federal actions, resourcing, and partnerships: (1) Shape Adversary Behavior, (2) Promote Common Sense Regulation, (3) Modernize and Secure Federal Government Networks, (4) Secure Critical Infrastructure, (5) Sustain Superiority in Critical and Emerging Technologies, (6) Build Talent and Capacity.

• NASA Administrator announced NASA Force. This new OPM partnership under U.S. Tech Force will fast-track top private-sector engineers and aerospace experts into NASA in two-year assignments. NASA covers salaries and there aims to be an option to return to industry or convert to civil service. The objectives of the program are to rebuild internal technical expertise, close skill gaps, deepen public-private ties, and accelerate Artemis and U.S. space leadership.

Social Media and Podcasts

• Inside the Iran War and the Pentagon’s Feud with Anthropic with Under Secretary of War (Research and Engineering) Emil Michael, All-In Podcast.

• CMMC Scoping 101: The Most Expensive Mistake Contractors Make (And How to Fix It), CMMC Compliance Guide Podcast.

• We Mapped 130 Iranian Cyber Attacks to CMMC… Here’s What We Found, Summit 7 podcast. 

• Linkedin post highlighting the U.S. Army Strategic Capital Initiative which seeks industry input for these ARmy priorities:  (1) Energy Resilience and Dominance; (2) Organic Industrial Base; (3) Strengthening Logistics and Supply Chains; (4) Real Assets and Facilities Utilization; (5) Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Adoption; and (6) Critical Minerals and Resource Development. Link to RFI.

• AT&Ts New In House Law Firm, Pearls On, Gloves Off: The Legal Innovation Podcast, Mar. 5, 2026, Mary O’Carroll.

• The Anthropic Dispute: Government Authority in the Age of AI with Alan Rozenshtein, ABA National Security Law Today Podcast.

• Linkedin post with CNN video highlighting CENTCOM’s Rapid Employment Task Force fielding low cost drones based on the Iranian Shaheed-136 drone. 

• Congress Pushes Back on FCC Overreach, Space Commerce Week, Substack, March 8, 2026, Tom Patton. Weekly update discusses proposed FCC notice of proposed rule-making that seeks to impose mitigation and collision avoidance rules including an FCC proposed human casualty thresholds. Critics say this goes far beyond FCC’s jurisdiction to manage spectrum.

Open Defense Tech Legal Jobs

* Indicates new additions since last newsletter.

• Commercial Counsel, Public Sector, Peregrine Technologies, Washington, D.C. (Public Safety and Intel AI)*
• Lead Counsel – Public Sector, Datadog, Remote (Cloud monitoring and Security)*
• Government Contracts Manager, Mach Industries, Huntington Beach, CA and Washington, D.C. (Autonomous Systems)*
• Legal Counsel, Scout AI, Sunnyvale, CA (Robotics and AI)*
• Head of Strategic Contracts and M&A, Public Sector, NVIDIA, Richmond, VA (AI and Semiconductors)*
• Legal Counsel-Commercial, FieldAI, Irvine, CA (Robotics and AI)* 
• Senior Counsel, National Security and Platform Abuse, OpenAI, San Francisco, CA and Washington, D.C. (AI)*
• General Counsel, Ursa Major, Berthoud, Colorado (Space, Hypersonics)*
• Head of Compliance, Shift5, Remote (Operational technology, cybersecurity)*
• Head of Safety Compliance, Boston Dynamics, Waltham, MA (Robotics)*
• Director, Corporate Attorney, Vantor, Herndon, VA (Geoint)*
• Associate General Counsel, Product, Neros Technologies, El Segundo, CA (Small UAS)
• Contracts Specialist, CX2, El Segundo, CA (Electromagnetic Spectrum hardware/software)
• Director of Contracts, Inversion, Playa Vista, CA (Space)
• Senior Contract Specialist – Legal, Otto Aerospace, Washington, D.C. (Aerospace)
• Senior Counsel – Business Operations (National Aerospace Systems), Peraton, Reston, VA (IT and Cybersecurity)
• Regulatory and Export Compliance Attorney, True Anomaly, Denver, CO, Long Beach, CA, or Remote (Space)
• Corporate Paralegal, True Anomaly, Denver, CO, Long Beach, CA, or Remote (Space)
• Legal Counsel, Apex Technology, Inc., Los Angeles, CA (Space)
• Associate General Counsel, Government Contracts, Hadrian, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (Advanced Manufacturing)
• Senior Counsel, Contracts, Hadrian, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (Advanced Manufacturing)
• Compliance Counsel, Hadrian, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (Advanced Manufacturing)
• Senior Counsel, Export Controls & Cybersecurity, Hadrian, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (Advanced Manufacturing)
• Senior Corporate Counsel, Otto Aerospace, Washington, D.C. (Aerospace)
• Sr. Global Trade Analyst, SpaceX, Hawthorne, CA (Space)
• Sr. Global Trade Analyst, SpaceX, Washington, D.C. (Space)
• U,S. Privacy Counsel, Palantir, Washington, D.C. (AI, Intel, C2, and Data)
• Senior Legal Program Manager, IonQ, Bothell, Washington, United States; College Park, Maryland, United States; Remote, US (Quantum, Space)*
• Senior Counsel, Public Sector, Databricks, Washington, D.C. (Data and AI)
• Associate General Counsel, Persistent Systems, New York, NY (Radio networks)
• Corporate Counsel, Echodyne, Remote (Radar)
• Paralegal, Saronic, Austin, TX (Maritime Autonomy)
• Legal Operations Engineer, Hadrian, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (Advanced Manufacturing)
• Corporate Counsel, Ursa Major, Berthoud, CO (Space, hypersonics)
• Senior Corporate Counsel, Rocket Lab Corporation, Long Beach, CA (Space)
• Legal Operations Associate, Forterra, Clarksburg, MD (Ground Autonomy)
• Counsel – Supply Chain, Forterra, Arlington, VA (Ground Autonomy)
• Associate General Counsel, MP Materials, Las Vegas, NV (Rare earths)
• Legal and Compliance Analyst, Global Trade Compliance, Washington, D.C. and Hawthorne, CA, SpaceX (Space)
• M&A Corporate Counsel, Anduril Industries, Costas Mesa, CA (Unmanned systems and AI)
• Product Counsel, Nominal, Washington, D.C. (Engineering and testing platform)
• Legal Counsel – Contracts, Palantir Technologies, Washington, D.C. (Software/AI)
• Assistant General Counsel, K2 Space, Los Angeles, CA (Space)
• Paralegal, Beehive Industries, Loveland, OH (Advanced manufacturing)
• Commercial Counsel, Government Contracts, xAi, Washington, D.C. (AI)
• Senior Director and AGC, Product Legal (Privacy, IP, Employment), Scale AI, San Francisco, CA (AI)
• Lead Counsel, Product and Employment, Scale AI, San Francisco, CA (AI)

Professional Development and CLE of Interest

Legal and non-legal professional development. Some events have a registration fee. The list will be updated with new events.

Government Contracts & Acquisition

• Government Contracts in M&A: Navigating Compliance and Risk – Events, March 10, 2026, Webinar. Morgan Lewis. Includes overview on M&A compliance obligations, national security considerations, False Claims Act risks, and restrictions on assignment or change of control.

• ABA 2026 Federal Procurement Institute, March 11-13, 2026, Annapolis, MD. ABA Public Contract Law Section’s flagship event with CLE sessions on federal procurement trends relevant to defense tech.

• NCMA Warfighter Acquisition Forum, April 23, 2026, Washington, D.C. One-day forum for defense acquisition pros; discussions on strategies and policies.

• Hilton Head Government Contracts Week, July 27-31, 2026, Hilton Head, SC. FPS conference with masters-level sessions on govcon law; CLE available.

M&A, CFIUS, FOCI, & Trade Regulation

• 12th National Conference on CFIUS, April 22-23, Washington, D.C. ACI conference with discussions on CFIUS including filing requirements, risk mitigation strategies, and new regulations.

• 9th National Forum on FOCI, September 29–30, Washington, D.C. ACI. Focuses on Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence mitigation (parallel to CFIUS in cleared defense contractors); compliance strategies for national security reviews in defense M&A.

• Advanced Venture Capital 2026 | October 27, 2026 | In-Person Program – PLI, October 27, 2026, San Francisco, CA. PLI.

Export Controls

• Live Export Compliance Seminar, June 15-18, Chicago, IL. Enforcement-focused ITAR/EAR.

Intellectual Property (IP)

• 2026 AIPLA Spring Meeting, May 13-15, Fairmont San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. 2.5-day conference on trending IP topics, expert insights, networking; focuses on innovation/tech IP relevant to defense sectors.

Space

• Nebraska Law Annual Space Law Fall Conference, September 24, 2026, Washington, D.C.

Industry & Entrepreneurship

• Defense & Dual-Use Coffee Club Defense & Dual-use Coffee Club, March 11, San Francisco, CA

• PARC Forum: The Future of Defense Technology, March 26, Palo Alto, CA.

• Alignment Summit, April 29, Santa Clara. Deep tech connections.

• Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit & Expo, Sep. 22-24, 2026, National Harbor, Maryland.

Pro Bono and Volunteer Opportunities

• Volunteer as a judge for this year’s North American Round of the IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law moot court competition. More information about this great event is on the website.

Contact Defense Tech Legal Network.

Defense Tech Legal Network Est. January 2026

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