Who: A partner at Patton Boggs LLP, and more notoriously, Karl Rove’s lawyer.

Degree: A.B. ’72, J.D. ’79, both magna cum laude

House: Winthrop

Hometown: Chicago

Current residence: Washington, D.C.

Spotlight: Here’s proof that great lawyers need not sympathize with their clients. Luskin—a firm liberal and Democratic voter—seems to have kept senior White House adviser and campaign wizard Karl Rove from a grand jury indictment. After more than two years of verbal and legal wrangling, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, J.D. ’85, decided against charging Rove with obstructing justice in the investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Somehow, Luskin apparently convinced the prosecutors that the most brilliant political strategist of the decade didn’t conceal his critical conversation with Times reporter Matthew Cooper; rather "Bush's Brain" just has a really bad memory.

Friends: Viveca Novak, the Times reporter who warned Luskin that Rove may have been Cooper’s source.

Enemies: Thanks to this decision, the entire left-leaning blogosphere.

Wheels: A black Ducati Monster, “the original ‘naked’ motorcycle,” which he often rides to work.

Dish: Luskin has the honor of being the first male lawyer to wear an earring—a silver stud—while arguing before the Supreme Court. Now he prefers a subtle golden hoop.

Scandal: Payment in the form of 45 gold bars and Swiss wire transfers of $169,000 from a convicted money launderer may sound suspicious, but Luskin investigated the offer from Stephen Saccoccia and concluded that it was legitimate. The Dept. of Justice wasn’t so certain, however, and eventually Luskin surrendered $245,000 of his fees.

Quotable: Harvard law professor Philip B. Heymann, J.D. ’60, comments on Luskin’s charm: “I could easily imagine his being a friend-making, humanizing force for anybody he is representing. I’ve never met Rove, but he looks like he could use it.”

Open Secrets: In recent congressional elections, Luskin gave more to Dems than to Republicans—but not a lot to anybody.

Zillowed: Owns a $1.15 million home.

Aspirations: Luskin always wanted to be a reporter. Working for the Harvard student radio station, he covered the 1969 student takeover and its dissolution from inside occupied University Hall. He and three fellow students later turned the subject into a book, The Harvard Strike.

Guilty Pleasures: Luskin enjoys listening to Steve Earle and Paul Westerberg.