Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: November 12, 2006

The weekend of November 4-5 was a little short on lawyer weddings in the New York Times wedding announcements. But the weekend of November 11-12 had a lot of them.
We had a hard time picking which pairs to profile. We came thisclose to writing about Lauren Clabby and James Moore V, but we were scared off by the epic length of their announcement. In the end, we settled upon these three couples:

1. Clare Cusack, Michael Gianaris

2. Rashida La Lande, Derrick Diggs

3. Jennifer Walsh, Stephen Cowen

Our numerical scores and comments for the newlyweds, after the jump.


1. Clare Cusack, Michael Gianaris
Résumé score: 9.2. Clare, a graduate of SUNY-Geneseo and Fordham Law, is now an associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius (New York). The career path of Michael is far more interesting. He graduated from Fordham (summa) and Harvard Law, and now he’s plugged into politics. He’s in the New York state legislature, to which he was first elected back in 2000, and he’s the finance chair of the New York Democratic Party. A New York Democrat and HLS grad — could Michael be the next Eliot Spitzer?
Family score: 8.0. Her father is a retired administrative assistant; her late mother taught high school chemistry and math. His father is an economics and finance professor at Fordham.
Balance score: 8.0. Not terribly well-balanced: Michael has the edge on his bride, in both familial and credentialist terms.
Beauty score: 8.9. Cute couple. They’ll look on the campaign trail together.
Overall score: 8.53.
Additional comments: The president of Fordham participated in the ceremony — that’s a nice touch.
2. Rashida La Lande, Derrick Diggs


Résumé score: 9.2. A delicious black power couple. Rashida is a partner at Gibson Dunn’s New York office — and she’s only 32. She graduated from Harvard and Columbia Law. Derrick is a project manager of Diggs Construction, a company founded by his father. He went to Morehouse and received an MBA and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Family score: 9.2. Her father is a lawyer in private practice, and her mother is an associate dean at York College. His father is the owner of Diggs Construction, which we’re guessing is a rather successful concern, and his mother retired as the director of human resources for Pizza Hut.
Balance score: 9.0.
Beauty score: 8.8. An attractive couple. Might Derrick be related to Taye Diggs?
Overall score: 9.05.
Additional comments: A destination wedding in Anguilla, at the fabulous Cap Julaca resort. Clearly this couple has good taste — and deep pockets.
3. Jennifer Walsh, Stephen Cowen
Résumé score: 9.3. She’s Yale College, Chicago Law, and Kirkland & Ellis (Washington, DC). He’s Harvard College (magna) and Chicago Law, and he’s now clerking for Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the D.C. Circuit. You’re sick of this already, but we’ll quote Borat anyway, ’cause we’re feeling lazy: Very niiiice.
Family score: 9.0. Her father is a partner at Vedder Price; her late mother was an English teacher at New Trier High School (where lots of smart rich kids go). His father is a doctor (an internist), and his mother is a substitute teacher in Ann Arbor.
Balance score: 9.0.
Overall score: 9.10.
Additional comments: At least on the surface, there’s nothing particularly unusual or quirky about Jennifer and Stephen as a couple. They’re two high-powered, well-credentialed lawyers, whose parents are professionals (lawyer, doctor, two teachers). So they don’t get any points for “originality.” But the flawless execution can’t be denied.
THIS WEEK’S WINNING COUPLE: This was a close one, coming down to a score difference of five-hundredths of a point. The winners: JENNIFER WALSH and STEPHEN COWEN. Congratulations!
(Yes, this is embarrassingly late. That’s why we’ve published it on a day like this.)
To read past editions of Legal Eagle Wedding Watch, click here, and scroll down.

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