Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 5.18 and 5.25: Love on an Escalator
We're eagerly awaiting the end of the Supreme Court's 2007-2008 Term -- not because of all the sexy end-of-Term opinions, but because we're hoping the SCOTUS clerk nuptial action will pick up! It's been far too long since one of the Elect has graced this space. We haven't even seen a truly top-grade circuit clerkship in a while.
So finish up those sexy opinions, SCOTUS clerks, and then get to work penning your bragadocious NYT wedding announcements! Until then, here are this week's outstanding finalists:
1. Kimberly Wilson and Michael Portnoy2. Noraan Sadik and Stephen Haskins
3. Maya Stowe and Daniel Silver
Read all about these newlyweds, after the jump.
1. Kimberly Wilson and Michael Portnoy
(Buy them a $1,499 rug.)
The Case:
- Seasoned lawyer marries law student: Michael (Brown/BU) is a senior lawyer with Coventry Health Care, and Kimberly is a 3L at American (U Mass undergrad).
- Normally the educational credentials above wouldn't be enough to merit LEWW consideration, but the story of how they met has a strong legal angle. It happened on the DC Metro:
She said: "I was coming back from class, and he saw me holding a law book, and that sparked our conversation. I've never spoken to anyone on the Metro before, but I had no hesitancy about talking to him.""I don't speak to anyone on the Metro either," Mr. Portnoy said, "but something was different about her. I got very nervous. I needed to talk to her or I knew I was going to regret not having tried."
Mr. Portnoy noticed that her law book was one of the ones he had studied in law school, and used that to start the conversation. He asked her about her studies. "I liked him immediately," she said.
He then exited the Metro with her, three stops before his intended destination. Kimberly eventually got over the creepiness of it all.
The Case Against:
- After taking Kimberly on a surprise trip to Paris, Michael proposed at the Pont des Arts because he "didn't want the cliché of the Eiffel Tower." To us, this seems a bit like proposing at a baseball game, but having the JumboTron read "Yo, shorty -- marry me," because, you know, God forbid the situation be clichéd in any way.
2. Noraan Sadik and Stephen Haskins
(Buy them a knife block.)
The Case:
- Stronger educational cred here. Noraan, an associate at Latham's New York office, was cum laude at U Penn and got her JD from Stanford. (We had her schools reversed initially; thanks to a commenter for pointing out our mistake.) Stephen went to Yale and medical school at NYU. He's set to begin a residency in anesthesiology at Cornell.
- Noraan, it need hardly be said, is gorgeous, and Stephen is attractive enough that he won't be "that guy with the wife who's way too hot for him." We like how each half of this couple looks like Barack Obama. They're probably big supporters.
The Case Against:
- Honestly, we're at a loss. They seem thoroughly classy and likeable.
3. Maya Stowe and Daniel Silver
(Buy them a cookie sheet.)
The Case:
- This bride (a Reese Witherspoon lookalike, no?) was magna at Brown and just received a medical degree from Columbia. She's about to begin a residency in psychiatry at Cornell.
- Daniel also went to Brown and got a JD, magna cum laude, from NYU. He's an AUSA in the Eastern District of New York.
- The father of the groom is a justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
The Case Against:
- The wedding took place at Deerpark Restaurant at Biltmore Estate in Asheville. LEWW has actually eaten at this restaurant. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet. Enough said.
4. Alyssa Saunders and Eric Trager
(Buy them a salad plate.)
The Case:
- You had us at "They met at Harvard." They were both cum laude there, and Alyssa has a JD from HLS. She'll start at Dechert in September. Eric was a Fulbright fellow and is now studying for a doctorate in political science at Penn.
The Case Against:
- The bride's middle name is Tami. We were appalled to learn that nearly 500 of every million babies born in the 1960s were similarly cursed.
5. Kristin Silverberg and Paul Lettow
(Buy them a tablecloth.)
The Case:
- The bride and groom are both lawyers who've moved on to more interesting things. Kristen (Harvard/UT) has been deputy assistant to President Bush for domestic policy and a senior advisor in Baghdad to Paul Bremer. She's now assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs at the State Department.
- Paul was summa at Princeton. He went on to earn a doctorate in international relations from Oxford and a law degree from Harvard. He now works at the White House on the staff of the National Security Council.
- The groom is the author of Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, about which an Amazon reviewer commented "That Reagan was a persistent cuss . . . and so was this author." He gave it four stars.
- Another judicial FOTG! Paul's dad is Charles F. Lettow, who sits on the Court of Federal Claims.
The Case Against:
- A six-year age disparity (she's 37; he's 31) isn't exactly May-December. More like May-early-August. But whatever -- it costs them a few points. Better hurry up and squeeze out those GOP Mini-Me's!
The Verdict:
This one is tough. Our heart says Team Sadik-Haskins, but they're up against some two-JD competition, including one team with Harvard-Princeton-Oxford-Harvard in its write-up. So with some hesitation, we're awarding the crown this week to the double-JD (albeit non-practicing), Bush-loving, Team Silverberg-Lettow. Heckuva job, you two!
(87) Comments
First to say that Dechert people this year are starting in October, the woman above is not georgeous and that woman looks nothing like Reese Witherspoon...
LEWW sometimes is a bit too generous with the "gorgeous" compliments, but Sadik rightly earned it. Couple No. 2 is ok with not winning the LEWW award, because they won the hot LEWW couple award, and are in the running for hot LEWW couple of the year award. Couple No. 2 hold the title of first runner-up for hot LEWW couple of the week (and any other week might have won).
Congrats to the happy legal couples!
Stephen Haskins is kind of cute.
When will Silverberg (Couple #5) be indicted for whatever role she had in the Iraq mess?
Paul Lettow needs one more degree, I think. WTF is up with that?
I like couple 1, the meet-cute was movie perfect.
I like couple 1, the meet-cute was movie perfect.
To us, this seems a bit like proposing at a baseball game, but having the JumboTron read "Yo, shorty -- marry me," because, you know, God forbid the situation be clichéd in any way.
Oh SNAP!!!
Why doesn't couple #4 get a diversity bump for being lesbians?
The shape of Eric Trager's head gives me daymares...
"a senior advisor in Baghdad to Paul Bremer"
Shouldn't this be an auto-ding? Bremer's reign is universally acknowledged as a complete disaster, his medal of freedom notwithstanding. Either this chick gave total shit advice, or she wasn't listened to, neither of which is something to be proud of.
I'd vote for 1 (she's gorgeous and the story is cute), but they have very "eew" educations. 5 gets my vote, while 2 is competitive, 5's after-school accomplishments are impressive.
4 of 5 brides are keeping their last name
I am with 1:53 on the diversity. I really thought it was two chicks in the photo until I read the text.
yeah it's creative editing, but couple #2 gets extra points from me for being featured wanting a knife block.
LEWW, I love you like a sister, but you need to brush up on your critical reading skills. As clearly stated in the NY Times piece:
Noraan got her law degree from Stanford and did her undergrad at U Penn. Not the other way around. There is a huge difference.
I went to law school with her, she's even more gorgeous in person.
Is number 5 groom related to Renee Lettow Lerner, a professor at GW Law? If so, he's definitely the runt of Judge Lettow's litter. He only went to Harvard and didn't even become a Rhodes Scholar or a member of the Elect.
Ignorant broads in my high school used to say that all non-white people looked like Barack Obama all the time, it was no big deal.
Actually, they kind of DO look like Barack Obama!
It's in the shape of the face. (And of course, the skin color.)
1:53(1) -- Well done, well done, indeed.
Noraan went to Stanford law and Penn undergrad.
Couple #2. While Nooran looks hot, this group proves - again - that lawyers by and large are an unattractive group of people. Seriously, if you can't look good in a newpaper photo for yoyr wedding announcement, what do they look life in real life?
And since I am going to be accused of being insensitive - how about a nice Christian couple for a change, or is such a thing as dead as a dodo in the law field?
Couple #2's credentials are weakened by the fact that they likely got in on AA.
What - no extra points to Kristen for being one of the Elect?
2:11- I can generally agree with both of your points, with the limitation that these are (I understand) coming from the NY Times and so are a limited sample. I would guess that the number of attractive attorneys in NY is lower than elsewhere, as is the number of Christian attorneys. You might have to venture elsewhere to find either in high numbers.
2:11, there's no such thing as a "nice" Christian couple. They're all bigoted zealots.
2:17- thank you for being a prime example of someone who is open and thoughtful about the world and not at all judgmental, close minded, and prone to generalizations without having actually met everyone in the group your accusing of bad behavior. Bravo.
2:16 - Yes and #3 and #5 likely got in through legacy or connections, so what? STFU.
Going to Harvard for undergrad and then doing law school at Texas is TTT. Couple #5 is officially ruled out.
Texas is definitely TTT. Just writing the word Texas makes me nauseous.
Does Lat have someone checking the family court filings to see how many of these legal eagles have already petitioned for divorce?
Why again do I care about any of these people getting married? Oh thats right, I don't.
Yes, 2:30, you're making ME nauseated with your misuse of the word. I guess that makes it ok, though.
These posts make me want to take up arms against the bourgeois overclass.
Well my name is Tammy, I was born in 80's and I really don't understand what is so f'ing terrible about that. I mean, this is coming from someone named "Laurie", so maybe I'll take it with a grain of salt.
I'm tempted to suggest that you go jump off a cliff for writing that "each half" looks like Barack Obama.
My incarcerated ex-business partner's retarded gay niece went to Brown.
It's not Tammy, it's Tami.
Tammy also sucks, but not as bad.
How did LEWW miss that Kristen is a Thomas clerk?! This is insane.
Apropos of nothing, what do you do when your girlfriend of 4.5 years decides to leave you during finals week of your 1L year?
ANY name ending in -y or -i is pure PWT.
Signed,
Hartford B. Wellingfordshireham IV
Silverberg is incredibly smart. She clerked for David Sentelle on the DC Circuit and then for Justice Thomas at One First Street (yes, she is a member of the Elect). In between, she spent a year at Williams and Connolly.
2:53 - Drink, and then get back to the books. That's what I did.
Of course she is a Thomas clerk. He loves those TTT grads.
2:39 - you cared enough to post a comment. Bitter? Jealous? Spiteful? Or all of the above?
Paul Lettow also clerked for Danny Boggs on the Sixth Circuit. So LEWW may have found it's prestigious clerkship as well.
It must irk Paul that his wife (a UT grad) clerked for SCOTUS, but he (a HLS grad) got only as far as the Sixth Circuit.
Then again, maybe Boggs > Thomas?
2:54, you missed "ie", douchebag.
2:54 = Silverberg (or affiliates thereof)
Wow...seriously? Did LEWW just stoop to what essentially boils down to "all black people look the same"? And assumes that Sadik/Haskins probably support Obama....because they're both black? Dude. Chillax on the blanket race-based comments.
2:45 = incredible
They both look like Obama? You've got to be kidding me.
3:35, Is Haskins black? He doesn't look black to me. Chillax on the blanket photo-based racial assumptions.
As for them being Obama supporters, probably all the couples are except #5. You can base that assumption on them being young and the products of elite educational institutions. It doesn't have to be racial.
the other case against Eric Trager is that he is a douche bag
Can we please stop the marriage topics? I'm sorry but reading tabloid on who is marrying who does not hold my attention.
Paul Lettow rules!!!! Go Potomac Panthers football.
I disagree with Ms. Lin. I know Noraan and she's way too hot for Stephen.
2:19, being a part of the "Christian" category requires one to suspend rational and independent thought. I'm not being judgmental or close minded because these qualities are a sine qua non of group membership.
p.s. Learning the difference between "your" and "you're" will help your argument. (hint, they're completely differen't words!)
The Case Against #4 would be their faces.
Edit: You're right, I am being judgmental. I judge Christians because they suspend rational and independent thought and try to impose their worldview on others, often by force. I don't feel too bad about judging them, though.
Looks like Silverberg was recently named the US ambassador to the EU.
@2:53: A problem, yes, but harmless error. LEWW still gave them the win, Thomas clerkship notwithstanding. (It does make the opening paragraph less relevant, however....)
Silverberg clerked for Thomas in 1999-2000 and was nominated to be the U.S. representative to the EU (with rank of ambassador) April 24, 2008. The NYT wedding announcement was published May 25, 2008, but mentions neither fact. I don't know what the standards are for including facts in an NYT wedding announcement, but the omissions surprise me. We're also given no clue what Paul Lettow is going to do when and if his new bride moves to Brussels.
Some of these comments really had me in a stitch...retarded gay niece!...lesbian couple...daymares...really great guys, super-duper.
Neither in couple #2 looks like Barack Obama. That is totally offensive. and inaccurate.
Maya Stowe does, however, look very much like Reese Witherspoon.
um, hello, 6:25, the guy in #2 looks exactly like a young Obama. The woman kind of looks like him, too.
I see Obama's chin in the bride, but I don't see any resemblance to Obama in the groom, other than that he is possibly of mixed Caucasian and Black ethnicity.
-NOT 6:25
Silverberg;'s nomination probably wasn't in the NYT wedding announcement because they require announcements to be submitted a month or so before the wedding, maybe even six weeks, I can't remember exactly. So when the announcement went in, there was no nomination. Maybe NYT shoud have added it after, but it is the wedding section after all - they probably don't check for ambassador nominations for their postings.
4:32, for the love of all things sacred!
Give it a rest! You haven't proven anything or tackled any part of what would be a potentially good argument! Suit up, do some research, and come back to play.
-Not 2:19, but someone nauseated by the ineptitude of your argument.
UMass! Hooray!
I would like to marry either Silverberg or Lettow...is that so bad? Amazing biographies for both. Congrats!
I agree with 3:54.
I think Silverberg looks like Piper Halliwell from Charmed. Is *that* so wrong?
To all the comments on Couple #2 - Stephen Haskins is the brother of my college roommate, and is a ridiculously smart and talented man. He is not an Affirmative Action anything, and I doubt he would settle for a wife who is not at least his intellectual equal. Secondly, he is mixed - dad is black and mom is white. I would vote for this couple in a heartbeat, even without their awesome credentials - if only because John Legend performed 'So High' as the couple's first dance at the reception. I think that trumps the other couples.
Well said, 12:21.
12:21, yes, he is probably an Affirmative Action admit. If Stephen attended the best schools to which he was admitted, and if he applied to a range of schools, some of which were long-shots, then he is an AA admit because he wouldn't have gotten into his alma mater were he not a minority. Because this is the most common applications strategy, Stephen is probably an AA admit.
Actually 1:40 - I know he's not an AA admit because of the fact that he was super smart, a great test taker, and talented. The man went to Choate, so maybe that boosted his application - is that what you were looking for? Just because he's a minority doesn't automatically mean he's an AA admit. I know you think that if he got into the best school to which he applied, he must be AA, but he actually had the qualifications to get in. Which can't be said of some of the legacies.
Actually 1:40 - I know he's not an AA admit because of the fact that he was super smart, a great test taker, and talented. The man went to Choate, so maybe that boosted his application - is that what you were looking for? Just because he's a minority doesn't automatically mean he's an AA admit. I know you think that if he got into the best school to which he applied, he must be AA, but he actually had the qualifications to get in. Which can't be said of some of the legacies.
Actually 1:40 - I know he's not an AA admit because of the fact that he was super smart, a great test taker, and talented. The man went to Choate, so maybe that boosted his application - is that what you were looking for? Just because he's a minority doesn't automatically mean he's an AA admit. By your logic, anyone who applies to an Ivy-league university or a school of its caliber (Stanford, U of Chicago, etc. - all those schools are long shots) is an AA admit, especially if they're a minority, and yet, Stephen applied to Yale knowing he had a better shot than most to get in, based on his prep school, test scores and grades. I know you think that if he got into the best school to which he applied, he must be AA, but he actually had the qualifications to get in, which can't be said of some of the legacies.
Stephen looks like Al Reynolds (Star Jones' ex)
Noraan's not gorgeous.
I am surprised by the amount of prejudice and outright -isms that have been posted on this seemingly intellectual website - I mean, we're all "supposed" to be knowledgeable and open-minded lawyers. Instead all I see is ignorant blank statements about Affirmative Action, religion, people's appearance (i.e. whether or not they are attractive or "lesbians"), and tragically even the authors of this piece immediately gravitated to Barack Obama because of Couple #2's appearance - who's to say one or both of them did/do not support Hillary Clinton or even John McCain.
I am truly disappointed...although, maybe that is ignorant of me to expect people to be as intelligent and open-minded as they should be...
I agree with 1:06.
As for Stephen, I've known him since high school and happen to know that he graduated at the top of his class (at Choate) and got into every school he applied to, including Harvard. He also was in the NYTimes as a model for the men's fall fashion magazine and this picture doesn't do him justice. I'm not sure why they picked it, but his wife looks great (she also looks better in real life). So, for all you haters, don't assume anything!
Yeah, 1:06, not to be rude, but that is pretty ignorant to think.
In a country where the next president of the United States may be a black man, racism still exists, and it is more likely to be seen from the "elite" (they are just better at hiding it...which is worse)
I somewhat agree with 1:24.
However, whose to say that the woman wasn't an AA admit to UPenn and Stanford?
In the end, this is a public board and people are allowed to express their opinions. They are not necessarily "hating". This may just be how they feel, even if it may, according to you, be unjustifiable. Some may not find the woman attractive, some may find the man didn't get into certain schools on his own merit, etc...
AA? Really? Apparently, someone didn't get into University of Michigan Law School and is still upset that the Supreme Court was okay with the fact that they didn't.
What A Bunch of Whinny Losers! Suck it up, at least we're still lawyers. Truly pathetic.
And 12:10, that is me expressing my (completely allowed) opinion.
Wow, 11:15. It really isn't that serious. Relax and chill. It will be alright. Forget to take your meds or something? If so, please remember to do so in the future. Maybe you have been in this profession too long.