Diarmuid O'Scannlain, Jon Newman, Merrick Garland, New York Times, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court Clerks, Weddings

Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 9.6: The Point Is Probably Moot

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LEWW’s memory isn’t what it once was, but we can’t recall a stronger week in legal nuptials than this one. All six of our featured newlyweds are truly impressive, and a few are even interesting! And not to give anything away, but if you love SCOTUS clerks (and oh, we do!) prepare to curl your toes in ecstasy.
Here are our finalists:

1. Lee Bickley and Martin Carr
2. Betsy Anderson and David Gottlieb
3. Karen Dunn and Brian Netter

Join us in evaluating these couples, after the jump.



1. Lee Bickley and Martin Carr
(Buy them a gravy boat.)
The Case:
– This is the first of two couples this week who formed a love connection at Yale Law School. The bride, who was summa at Columbia, works for the SEC. The groom, who graduated from Stanford, is a partner at Belzer & Carr in Sacramento.
– They met the day they arrived at Yale, way back in 1995. After bonding over “the artistry of Rick Springfield” (seriously!) they dated for a year and a half before splitting up. Then:

They remained friends, and nothing more, for 10 years.
But in 2005, shortly after Ms. Bickley broke up with someone else, they started talking with increasing frequency. One day that May, he called and suggested that they give their relationship a second chance.
“How are we going to do that?” she responded.
“You could tell the doorman to let me in,” said Mr. Carr, who was standing in the lobby of her apartment building, having just flown across the country.

Most YLS courtships, while no doubt memorable for the two participants, are pretty pedestrian: meet in small group or at an ACS event, hookup, graduation, clerkships, wedding. We love that this one took a more meandering path.
The Case Against:
– Er, nice website, Belzer & Carr.

2. Betsy Anderson and David Gottlieb
(Buy them a butter knife.)
The Case:
– This classy-looking bride graduated from Princeton and has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. Until earlier this year, she worked at a hedge fund. Her current employment status is not discussed.
– The groom, whose previous marriage ended in divorce, was summa at Yale and cum laude at HLS. He’s a partner at Cleary Gottlieb in New York.
The Case Against:
– Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain officiated at their ceremony, but it’s unclear why, other than that it was in Oregon. David clerked for Jon Newman on the Second Circuit, not O’Scannlain. (Maybe Judge Newman did David’s first wedding.)

3. Karen Dunn and Brian Netter
(Buy them a bed tray.)
The Case:
– People, the prestige emanating from this announcement is making our eyes water. You’re looking at not one, but two SCOTUS clerks. Together! Potentially mating! Behold them, and wallow in your inferiority.
– The details: They met at YLS (probably one of those conventional courtships we discussed above). She was magna at Brown (America’s douchiest college); he was summa at Michigan.
– She clerked on the DC Circuit for Merrick Garland (who officiated at their wedding), then for Justice Stephen Breyer. Now she’s an associate White House counsel.
– He clerked on the DC Circuit for Judith Rogers and is currently an associate at Mayer Brown. He’ll clerk for Justice Breyer next year.
The Case Against:
– They got married at a venue called the Whiteface Club and Resort. We get that it’s the name of a mountain, but still — has it not occurred to the Whiteface marketing team that, when you’re stuck with a name like “Whiteface Club,” it might be nice to stick a few non-white faces on your website?
The Verdict:
– An exceptionally strong week, but Team Dunn-Netter has this one locked down. Congratulations!

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