The Washington Post has a very well-done profile of the nominee that should be read in full; a few snippets:

The real Sam Alito, according to the lawyers and other friends who know him well, is more like the second coming of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., but with a longer paper trail [than like Justice Antonin Scalia]....They don't know anyone who isn't a journalist who actually calls him "Scalito."

"He's John Roberts, but with a background in criminal law," said Michael Carvin, a colleague at the Justice Department. ... Douglas W. Kmiec, a professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine who worked with Alito at Justice, points out that unlike Scalia, Alito is often interested in trying to determine the legislative intent of a statute by studying its history.

Alito's strong record on business and contract cases, noted earlier here and here and here, draws attention in a W$J news-side piece. Case Western lawprof Jonathan Adler, in a Journal op-ed, argues that Alito "isn't 'pro-life' or 'pro-choice' but 'pro-law.'" And Joseph De Feo at Capital Research Center is out with a report taking a critical look at three groups likely to fight the nomination, Alliance for Justice, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and People For the American Way.