http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp Law & Lobbying in the Nation's Capital en-us 02/09/2012 Copyright 2009. Incisive Media US Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/newswire/nlj_rss.gif http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp In August 2009, boutique international law firm ShawnCoulson settled a $2.2 million fee dispute in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with former client PowerTrain Inc. Late last year, the Mississippi-based engine parts importer moved to reopen the case, seeking sanctions for an allegedly false affidavit filed in the case. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541328197&rss=nlj Immunity agreements between prosecutors and a defendant can pose thorny legal issues that pit a suspect's hope for leniency against the government's desire for accountability. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541663465&rss=nlj Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., addressing a national summit on indigent defense, said there remains a "crisis" in the provision of legal representation for the poor. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541559798&rss=nlj The next Citizens United, in the view of some of that decision's most vigorous critics, may have nothing to do with campaign finance or the First Amendment. Instead, corporations in a case the justices will hear this month seek not to spend their money but to avoid doing so by arguing that they have no liability under a 1789 statute for torts committed abroad in violation of international law or U.S. treaties. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202540984798&rss=nlj A high Overton ceiling; deja vu all over again for Holder; new lobbyist at the White House Project; DENSO and Yazaki on the hook; Lamberth the labyrinth guide; King & Spalding partner to run for West Virginia attorney general; and a writing award for an internal memo in this week's column. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202541306182&rss=nlj A Washington federal judge has denied class certification in an antitrust case against Whole Foods Market Inc., striking a blow to the 2008 lawsuit brought by an unhappy customer concerned about rising prices. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202540903189&rss=nlj The U.S. Supreme Court, moving cautiously in an era of rapidly changing technology, ruled on Monday that law enforcement's warrantless installation and use of a GPS device to track a suspect's vehicle violated privacy rights protected by the Fourth Amendment. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202539656031&rss=nlj For more than 75 years, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has promoted American-made goods, supporting billions of dollars in financing for foreign buyers in industries that include construction, medical technology and renewable energy. But not everyone is cheering the bank's support for U.S. airplane ­manufacturers and their supply chain. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202538387008&rss=nlj A unanimous Supreme Court decided Monday that the federal law governing the operation of slaughterhouses pre-empts efforts by California and other states to require humane treatment of "downer" or nonambulatory pigs. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202539653189&rss=nlj The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an Alabama death row inmate should not be penalized for missing a crucial appeal deadline when the error was caused by his pro bono lawyers from New York's Sullivan & Cromwell. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202538744906&rss=nlj Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. made a strong appeal to the Supreme Court on Tuesday to uphold the government's rules against broadcast indecency, asserting the need to preserve a television and radio "safe haven" devoid of foul language and nudity amidst a proliferation of new and coarser media. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202537962791&rss=nlj In recent years, Washington's top law offices have been hit hard by the recession. As a result, many have shed lawyers at an unprecedented pace. But that hasn't been the case for Lerch, Early & Brewer, the Bethesda, Md.-based firm that quickly but quietly has become the fourth-biggest law office in D.C.'s suburbs. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202540326389&rss=nlj Survivors of the firm's collapse are breathing sighs of relief now that they've by large settled into other firms. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202539426497&rss=nlj Earlier this month, two D.C. Council members introduced legislation to correct the disorderly conduct statute, adding language aimed at demonstrations. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202539417321&rss=nlj