Easiest Way to Get into the NYT Wedding Section? Be an 'Elite' Lawyer

You literally cannot go wrong with a write-up in the NYT wedding section. So is there an easy way to get into the esteemed wedding section? As proven by our very own Legal Eagle Wedding Watch, lawyers seem to have been featured in abundance. But that's just the first part of the equation, according to a new demographics study....

Since getting engaged, I’ve been wondering whether we should even bother trying to get into the New York Times wedding section. I’m sure that almost every newly engaged couple has similar thoughts, especially the blushing bridezillas in training. After all, the NYT wedding section is the place to announce your upcoming nuptials. Being featured in those hallowed pages is viewed as the ultimate sign of marital prestige.

You literally cannot go wrong with a write-up in the NYT wedding section (unless, of course, you end up with a Sex and the City situation and it looks like you’re a woman with a Hitler-esque mustache). So is there an easy way to get into the esteemed wedding section?

As proven by our very own Legal Eagle Wedding Watch, lawyers seem to have been featured in abundance. But that’s just the first part of the equation, according to a new demographics study….

Everyone knows that you need to have some sort of shining achievement on your résumé to even stand a chance. That being the case, Eric Randall over at the Atlantic Wire wanted to see how newly engaged couples could increase their odds of being featured in the NYT wedding section.

What’s the best way to do so? You not only have to be a lawyer, but you have to be an elite one. Here’s what Randall had to say:

  • You are an elite lawyer

Our rating: insanely over-represented As in the other categories, we had to pick some representative firms to champion their category as a whole, and so we looked for lawyers from three elite New York law firms: Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Sullivan & Cromwell; and Davis Polk & Wardwell. In the past year, we found two Cravath lawyers, five Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers, and 11 Davis Polk lawyers whose weddings were announced by The Times. That means lawyers from these three firms made up 0.68 percent of couples on the page, compared with a near-zero percentage of the U.S. population. Davis Polk was the clear winner here among the firms. It’s site lists 682 lawyers, which means that in just one year, 1.3 percent of its lawyers announced their wedding in The Times. That seems insane to us. And it means that if you’re a Harvard Law grad who just doesn’t feel secure enough in her chances of making it onto the page, head on over to Davis Polk & Wardwell which is so far the only category we’ve found that gives a person a near-lock on nabbing a Times wedding announcement. Odds improvement: 974 times more likely than the average American.

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So, if you fall into the “elite lawyer” demographic in life, you’re 974 times more likely than the average American to be featured in the most prestigious wedding section of all time. But goddamn, Cravath’s representation in the NYT wedding section is almost as pitiful as its 2011 bonus scale. What are the folks over at Davis Polk doing to earn so much favor?

Apparently Robert Woletz, editor of the NYT wedding section, thinks being hot and cool at the same is an achievement. After all, Davis Polk is the coolest firm in all the land, and it’s packed full of hotties, too. How could these Biglawyers not take the prize for the best NYT wedding coverage?

So, lawyers, if you’re looking for a way to get your upcoming nuptials featured in the NYT wedding section and you’re not already working at DPW, you better start looking for a way to lateral yourself in… right now. And if you do make it, prepare for a feature in the second-most prestigious wedding section, right here on Above the Law.

The Odds of Getting into The New York Times Wedding Section [The Atlantic Wire]

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