The letter, according to [Chuck Douglas]'s legal counsel Roy Kime, went to 10 of Washington's largest firms and seven Boston firms with D.C. offices. But the response has been rather slim. "Actually, you're it ...," said the nonplussed Kime last week.

One managing partner omitted from Douglas's list, Timothy May of Patton, Boggs & Blow, said he felt "neglected." Still, he had one job-hunting tip for Douglas - tell the world of his apparent feud with [John Sununu]. "That's a great credential," May said. "This fellow's not all bad. You can judge a man by his enemies."

The much-rumored split between 200-lawyer Dow, Lohnes & Albert son and the D.C. office of Ingersoll and Bloch is now official. The merger lasted less than a year, and the two firms declared Friday that they will go their separate ways. (The marriage was never consummated. Ingersoll and Bloch didn't even move in with Dow, Lohnes.)