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MUSICAL GROVES. Jennifer Choe Groves, who spent the past five years in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, has signed on as a partner in the Washington office of law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed. Groves was USTR's senior director of intellectual property and innovation, and chair of the "301 Committee," an interagency body that deals with intellectual property protection and enforcement. Earlier in her career, she worked at the firm O'Melveny & Myers and in the New York County district attorney's office. At Hughes Hubbard, she's expected to chair the firm's intellectual property rights and entertainment practice groups. Groves not only has law degrees from Columbia University and Rutgers University, she also earned a diploma in piano and composition from the Juilliard School of Music.

NEW LEASE ON LIFE. The new president of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association is William G. Sutton, who moves to ELFA from the Association, Education and Business Institute, which coordinates trade association efforts on student achievement. Sutton, a former U.S. Navy rear admiral, was previously assistant secretary of manufacturing and services at the Commerce Department during President George W. Bush's administration. The chief operating officer, who had been serving as interim president for the association, is Ralph Petta. He is a longtime veteran of ELFA and spent nine years working for former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga. The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association used to be run by former Rep. Ken Bentsen, D-Texas, now executive vice president for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

POWER CROUT. Qualcomm Inc., a developer of advanced wireless technologies, has chosen Steve Crout as vice president of government affairs in its Washington office. Crout comes from Motorola, where he was director of global government affairs. In that position, he helped plan a research and development program for wireless technologies. Earlier in his career, Crout worked as legislative director to former Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M. He also handled issues for Richardson before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Richardson eventually became former President Bill Clinton's Energy secretary, and Crout worked as the Energy Department's senior adviser for congressional and intergovernmental affairs and associate director of the policy office. He also spent time as a managing director for government affairs at the American Gas Association. Crout has a bachelor's degree from Florida's Rollins College and a master's in environmental sciences and policy from Johns Hopkins University.

This article appears in the May 1, 2010, edition of National Journal Daily.

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