http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp Law & Lobbying in the Nation's Capital en-us 11/22/2009 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 Two very different cases are casting new light on a legal issue that has been simmering for years: when, whether and how defendants should be informed about the collateral consequences of pleading or being found guilty. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435725123&rss=nlj The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has emerged as a top priority for President Obama as he selects new federal judges, accounting for a third of his circuit court nominees so far. But lawyers who follow the appellate court say Obama's nominees are not necessarily going to remake its historically conservative outlook. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435446063&rss=nlj As electronic tracking becomes an increasingly cost-effective law enforcement tool, state and federal courts, grappling with privacy rights in public spaces, have divided over whether a warrant is necessary to secretly monitor movement of a vehicle. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435468667&rss=nlj In the first senior-level shake-up of the Obama administration, White House Counsel Gregory Craig is stepping down, to be replaced by Perkins Coie partner Robert Bauer. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435472697&rss=nlj A lawyer vents through tweets; a merger name is chosen; the SEC gets a dose of its own audit; a fraud section leader is found; an Akin partner breaks boards out of court; Arnold & Porter's appellate work gets an overseer; and Al Franken's former recount attorney moves to Perkins Coie in this week's column. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435724811&rss=nlj The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently dismissed a case challenging controversial proposed patent rules that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently dropped, but it left the door open for the plaintiff to recover legal costs. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435534694&rss=nlj Protect Marriage Washington has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to block the public release of the names and other personal information of 138,000 people who signed a petition the goal of which was to strip gay and lesbian couples of the same domestic partnership rights enjoyed by married heterosexual couples in Washington state. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435313480&rss=nlj The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday over whether states violate the Constitution by imposing a sentence of life without parole on juveniles who commit nonhomicide offenses. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435300965&rss=nlj As Sotomayor wraps up her second full argument cycle as a Supreme Court justice, it has become clear that she is a prolific and fearless questioner. She can be tenacious and direct, bordering on harsh. She knows her stuff and clearly loves the give and take. All of which is to say, she fits right in. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435464482&rss=nlj For a corporation, the U.S. Supreme Court's axiom may soon be: Home is where the headquarters is. Oral arguments heard Tuesday raise a seemingly simple but vexing question crucial for corporations: For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, where is a company's principal place of business? The answer will be crucial in determining whether a corporation can be sued in federal court or in plaintiff-friendly state courts. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435331977&rss=nlj The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday over whether states violate the Constitution by imposing a sentence of life without parole on juveniles who commit nonhomicide offenses. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435300965&rss=nlj Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle spoke with the NLJ about his jump from Alston & Bird to DLA Piper and his role in his new firm's global operations. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435716906&rss=nlj Longtime Patton Boggs managing partner Stuart Pape is planning to step down at the end of 2010, passing the job to current deputy managing partner Edward Newberry as the firm tinkers with the way the position is structured. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435442206&rss=nlj Most litigators at San Francisco-based Folger Levin & Kahn looked at Crowell & Moring and saw a firm that functions like a midsized outsider despite having more than 400 lawyers worldwide. Crowell's partnership was much more receptive. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435078178&rss=nlj