Here is a short Intelligencer item we just wrote for New York Magazine, about the two years that Mikheil Saakashvili, president of Georgia, spent in New York. It begins:

Fifteen years before his country was invaded -- or, perhaps, reinvaded -- by Russia, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili was learning about the American system of law and living on the Upper West Side. He arrived here in 1993, spent a year at Columbia earning a master's in law, and then worked one year as an associate at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler before returning to the newly independent former Soviet republic.

How is Saakashvili remembered by the professors and partners who knew him back then? Find out by reading the rest of the piece, available here.

Tbilisi on the Hudson: What Georgia's president learned as a New York lawyer. [New York Magazine]

No official announcement has been made (despite the claim of Wikipedia that "[o]n September 16, 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Mukasey to serve as the 81st Attorney General of the United States"). But numerous news outlets are reporting that President Bush has selected Michael B. Mukasey -- currently a partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler in New Yorker, and former chief judge of the S.D.N.Y. -- as his attorney general nominee, to replace Alberto Gonzales.

We'll have more to say after an official announcement, which could come as early as tomorrow morning. In the meantime, read Judge Mukasey's interesting, frequently cited Wall Street Journal op-ed piece, on the Jose Padilla case (which he handled in part).

If you have firsthand experience with Judge Mukasey -- e.g., as a litigant who has appeared before him, or as one of his law clerks -- please share your thoughts in the comments, or by email. Thanks.

Bush plans to pick Mukasey for A.G. [Politico.com]
Bush Settles on Mukasey to Replace Gonzales [Washington Post]
Bush Expected to Name Judge as Gonzales's Successor [New York Times]
Judge Top Contender to Replace Gonzales: Aide [Reuters]
Bush Picks Mukasey as Attorney General [AP]
Sources: Retired judge may replace Gonzales [CNN]
Jose Padilla Makes Bad Law [Wall Street Journal]
Michael B. Mukasey [Wikipedia]

The latest firm to raise its clerkship bonuses: Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler. From a current clerk:

I have an offer from Patterson Belknap and I just received an email informing me that their bonus is 50K.

Keep up the good work.

To people with two clerkships or two years of clerking experience: no, we don't know whether Patterson's $50,000 clerkship bonus is "flat," or whether they pay more for more than one clerkship year. If you have an offer from Patterson and are in this boat, please contact the firm and find out what their policy is. And then tell your friends here at ATL. Thanks!

A few of the more prominent moves within this noble profession:

From government to private sector:

* Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton is joining Royal Dutch Shell, as general counsel for its "unconventional resources division" (e.g., extracting oil from "oil shale" and "extra heavy oil" -- don't ask us, we don't know).

(A WSJ Law Blog commenter sniffs: "One would think that she could have secured a more lucrative and high profile job, given her resume." We agree somewhat on the "high profile" part, but don't know enough about the filthy lucre associated with this gig.)

* Former assistant U.S. attorney Mauro Wolfe, with whom we used to work, to Dickstein Shapiro. He will be a partner in the firm's securities practice, in the New York office.

* Mark Paoletta and Andrew Snowdon, to the D.C. office of Dickstein Shapiro (as partner and of counsel, respectively). Paoletta previously served as served as Chief Counsel for Oversight and Investigations on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Snowdon previously served as a lawyer on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. They join the government law & strategy practice.

Within government:

* The United States Attorney for Connecticut, Kevin O'Connor, has been named associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department. His DOJ work will focus on violent crime, gangs, and guns. O'Connor plans to retain his post as U.S. Attorney for at least six months.

Lateral moves:

* M&A lawyer Michael Aiello, to Weil Gotshal, from Dewey Ballantine (as previously noted).

* Finance lawyer Philip Haber, to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, from Nixon Peabody.

New partners:

* Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft: Seven new partners. Names here (PDF).

* LeBoeuf Lamb: Five new partners. Names here.

* Patterson Belknap: White-collar defense lawyer Daniel Ruzumna, promoted from counsel to partner. Ruzumna served for six years as an AUSA in the legendary Southern District of New York. His final post in the S.D.N.Y. was Acting Chief of the Major Crimes Unit.

The voluminous links are collected after the jump.

Our summary of the most important or interesting moves within the profession. If you have any good gossip about these job changes and the players involved, or forthcoming announcements, please drop us a line (subject line: "Musical Chairs").

Lateral Moves:

* Former federal prosecutor and white-collar criminal defense lawyer Walter Loughlin, to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, from Latham & Watkins.

* Real estate lawyers Raymond Sanseverino, Richard Nardi, and Kenneth Sold, to Loeb & Loeb, from Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner.

* Litigator Keith Miller, to Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, from Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham.

* Corporate lawyer David Dedyo, to Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, from White & Case.

New Partners:

* Alston & Bird: Real estate lawyer William Stefko (from CWCapital LLC).

* Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler: Judge Michael Mukasey, returning to the firm after serving as a federal judge (S.D.N.Y.).

NY Litigation Partner Switches Firms [NYLawyer.com]
More NY Partners Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]

It used to be exceedingly rare for a federal judge to leave the bench for private practice. But times are changing.

Earlier this summer, Fourth Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig -- frequently mentioned as a possible Supreme Court candidate, and the nation's top judge when it comes to feeding his clerks into prestigious Supreme Court clerkships -- surprised the legal world by flying the Article III coop. He headed off to Boeing, to assume the position of general counsel at the aerospace giant.

And now the acclaimed Southern District of New York, generally regarded as the nation's most prestigious federal trial court, is losing its chief judge. Chief Judge Michael Mukasey is returning to the partnership of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, where he practiced before President Reagan appointed him to the bench. In addition to his partnership draw at Patterson, where profits-per-partner are in the seven figures, he'll receive his annual judicial pension of $165,000. KA-CHING!

Mukasey will be replaced as chief judge by the luscious Kimba Wood. Judge Wood, of course, is the ex-Playboy bunny who reigns as the #1 Superhottie of the Federal Judiciary.

Judge Mukasey is known as an efficient, hardworking, and occasionally cantankerous judge. One lawyer who appeared before him describes him as someone "who doesn't suffer fools gladly."

Sounds like the transition to Biglaw partner will be pretty easy for Mukasey.

As Judge Leaves for Law Firm, His Legacy Is Remembered [New York Sun]