Just two lawyer weddings show up on the Legal Eagle Wedding Watch this week, but both are vigorous, Ivy-licious contenders. There’s even a juicy clerkship in the mix to herald the approach of spring!

Here are our finalists:

1. Allison Podell and Bradley Saft

2. Dina Mishra and Benjamin Shultz

More about these couples’ qualifications, after the jump.

As promised, we’re back with our second installment of LEWW this week. We think you’ll agree that this one features some of our finest contestants of the season. A SCOTUS clerkship (finally!), a Rhodes, more YLS grads — enjoy this special Independence Day edition of the Legal Eagle Wedding Watch!

Here are the names:

1. Stephanie Denton and Zeno Baucus

2. Mary Fan and Dean Kawamoto

3. Emma Terrell and Trevor Leitch

4. Courtenay Van Sciver and Peter Washkowitz

5. Maria Glover and Derek Ho

Click on the “continue reading” link below to see these couples’ photos and sparkly credentials.

There was some ambiguity about the professional fate of Robert Somma, the Boston-based bankruptcy judge who was arrested for drunk driving while wearing a black cocktail dress, fishnet stockings, and high heels. At first he said he was resigning. But after a groundswell of support, Judge Somma reconsidered his resignation.

We were hoping for his return. Sadly, it looks like that won’t be happening. From the Boston Globe:

US Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma, who resigned after his arrest on a drunken driving charge in February and then tried to rescind his resignation, will not be coming back, federal court officials said this afternoon.

“The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Judge Robert Somma have agreed that he will not resume service on the United States Bankruptcy Court for Massachusetts but is leaving to pursue other endeavors,” the Office of the Circuit Executive said in a one-paragraph statement.

We wonder: Was Judge Somma strong-armed into staying away from the bench, by those killjoys on the First Circuit? Stay tuned. Somma’s lawyer, Robert Carpenter, told the Globe that “we may have our own statement to come out next week.”

As for those “other endeavors,” we’re curious. Will he become a widely acclaimed drag performer? Or move to Florida and become a television judge? Or maybe combine the two, and become America’s first cross-dressing TV judge?

P.S. We’re all in favor of drag performance. In fact, we’ve been described as “the blogging equivalent of a very talented drag queen” — one of our favorite compliments ever.

Update: Judge Somma is now in private practice in Boston. See here.

After drunken driving arrest, bankruptcy judge agrees to leave [Boston Globe]
Somma: On the Bench or Off? [Legal Blog Watch]

We’re bummed that we can’t write this week about the groom who arranges music for Yo-Yo Ma and Jay-Z. Or the one who’s associate counsel for the NBA.

But lawyer-lawyer couples abound, and we know those are the pairings ATL readers crave. Here are our finalists:

1. Lisa Kutlin and Alexander Goldenberg

2. Shauna Burgess and Jonathan Friedman

3. Elizabeth Frieze and Matthew Prasse

More about these legal lovebirds, after the jump.

Nothing could win you over. Not Judge Bruce Selya’s impressive vocabulary, Judge Juan Torruella’s magnificent yacht, Judge Kermit Lipez’s niceness and decency, nor Judge Sandra Lynch’s personal charm steely intellect.

In the end, you all turned into prestige whores. You succumbed to his fancy title of “Chief Judge,” as well as his strong track record as a feeder judge to the Supreme Court:

Congratulations to Chief Judge Michael Boudin, your favorite First Circuit judge!

Earlier: ATL Reader Poll: Who’s Your Favorite First Circuit Judge?

Last week was short, thanks to the New Year’s holiday; but it sure was busy. Here are some highlights from a very momentous week:

* No more jokes about Harriet Miers: the ill-fated ex-SCOTUS nominee has resigned as White House counsel. Speculation about her successor abounds.

* No more jokes about the Dewy Orifice: the ill-fated merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has been called off.

* Turns out that Chief Justice Rehnquist was a painkiller junkie. Once, while suffering withdrawal symptoms, he tried to bust out of a hospital in his PJs.

* Chief Judge David Levi, of the Eastern District of California, will be the new Dean of Duke Law School.

* All About Jan? Just as the aging Margo Channing’s reign over Broadway was threatened by the comely Eve Harrington, the aging Linda Greenhouse’s reign over One First Street is being threatened by the comely Jan Crawford Greenburg.

* Who knew? Law professors and legal bloggers sure know how to party! Photos of drunken legal academics available here and here.

* Cravath partner John Beerbower has enjoyed some amazing apartments over the years. Cravath partnership + Wealthy wife = $20 million, Park Avenue pad.

* Who’s your favorite First Circuit judge? Cast your vote here.

* If you’re a right-winger hoping that Justice Stevens will step down soon, don’t hold your breath.

* Today’s D.C. Circuit: Despite the occasional catfight, it’s not as bitchy as it used to be. Sigh.

* Oppressed law clerks, your Devil Wears Prada is on its way. Coming soon to a bookstore near you: Chambermaid, by former Third Circuit clerk Saira Rao.

In reviewing our coverage of the federal judiciary, we noticed that we don’t give the First Circuit enough love. For those of you who haven’t memorized this map, the 1st Circuit includes four New England states and Puerto Rico.

Perhaps we don’t cover the First Circuit that much due to its small size. With spots for only six active judges, it’s the smallest of the thirteen U.S. courts of appeals. Or maybe we don’t write much about it because it’s a fairly collegial court — and we like to cover benchslappery.

Regardless of the reasons for it, we’d like to remedy this deficiency in our court coverage. As a first step towards that goal, we bring you this rather random reader poll:

Update (12:15 PM): As pointed out by this comment, and confirmed in his FJC bio, Judge Bruce Selya took senior status a few days ago (this past Sunday).

We’ll leave Judge Selya in the poll, because many votes have already been cast, and removing him would screw up the results. But if Judge Selya gets the most votes, we’ll declare him the “honorary” winner, and name the runner-up as your favorite active First Circuit judge.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [official website]