Civil Rights, Department of Justice, Weddings

Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: September 3, 2006

By  
on

On the whole, this past weekend was a disappointing one for attorney nuptials. There were hardly any lawyer-lawyer weddings in the New York Times weddings-and-celebrations section — we counted just one. And most of the couples involving a lawyer weren’t super-exciting. Perhaps the Labor Day holiday is to blame.
But Legal Eagle Wedding Watch, in which we review and score selected lawyer couples from the NYT wedding announcements, soldiers on. As usual, we rate the happy couples in three to four categories: on their résumés, their families, their couple balance, and their beauty (if pictured).
Today three couples are in the mix:

1. Beth Hansher, David Javdan

2. Patricia Martone, Barbara Rosen

3. Richa Shyam, Deb Dasgupta

So which couple will come out on top? The answer, after the jump.
(Also, don’t forget to vote for your “August 2006 Couple of the Month.” You can do so by clicking here. Thanks!)


1. Beth Hansher and David Javdan
Résumé score: 9.1. She went to the University of Wisconsin for her undergraduate and law degrees; he went to Columbia and then Fordham Law. She’s now at the Justice Department, in the civil rights division (which has been experiencing some infighting; but hey, it’s still prestigious). He’s a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, the corporate restructuring boutique; before that, he was the general counsel at the Small Business Administration. (This last post lifts their score considerably.)
Family score: 8.9. Her father is a state court judge in Wisconsin, which is quite nice (although federal would have been better). Her mother is a reading coordinator at Milwaukee Urban Day School. His father is a retired physician, the former chief of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at two New York hospitals. Impressive — even if gastroenterology is one of those specialities, like proctology, that you’d rather not think too much about.
Balance score: 8.8. Fairly good. His post as GC of the SBA gives him an edge over her; but then again, he’s quite a bit older (37 to her 30). Taking the age differential into account, the balance is pretty good.
Overall score: 8.90.
Additional comments: They tied the knot at the Pfister Hotel, the grande dame of Milwaukee hotels.
2. Patricia Martone and Barbara Rosen
Résumé score: 9.0. Patricia is a partner at Ropes & Gray (Manhattan office), as well as an adjunct professor at NYU Law (where she received her undergraduate and law degrees). She also has a master’s in theoretical chemistry (huh?) from Johns Hopkins. Barbara is a retired psychotherapist, who went to Holyoke for undergrad and Rutgers for her Ph.D.
Family score: 7.2. Patricia and Barbara are older than the average couple — 59 and 62, respectively — and their parents have passed away. Patricia’s father was a supervisor of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Barbara’s father chaired the science department at Teaneck High School; her mother was a second-grade teacher.
Balance score: 9.3. Quite well-balanced. Patricia may have a more high-powered career. But Barbara probably makes the restaurant reservations, since she gets to call herself “Doctor.”
Overall score: 8.50.
Additional comments: In case you haven’t noticed, Patricia and Barbara a’re lesbians. (John Kerry’s not sayin’, he’s just sayin’…) So these ladies were a lock for these pages. The Times loves itself some sapphic action!
3. Richa Shyam and Deb Dasgupta
Résumé score: 9.1. Quite the brainiacs. She’s MIT, U. Chicago Law, and Williams & Connolly — wow. He’s MIT and MIT (master’s in electrical engineering and computer science), now working as a software developer.
Family score: 8.8. Her father’s a professor at Yale’s School of Management, where her mother directed international and special programs. One of his parents (Prasad Dasgupta — gender, anyone?) was a forensic chemist for the Pennsylvania State Police.
Balance score: 8.7. A little hard for us to say, since we don’t know the status value of his job as a software developer for Vecna Technologies (and whether it measures up to an associate gig at Williams & Connolly). But their educational paths are certainly comparable.
Overall score: 8.87.
THIS WEEK’S WINNING COUPLE: Beth Hansher and David Javdan, who eke out a narrow victory over Richa Shyam and Deb Dasgupta, in this somewhat slow week for weddings. Congratulations!
(To read past editions of Legal Eagle Wedding Watch, click here, and scroll down.)

Sponsored

Topics