July 22, 2005
http://www.sfgate.com/

A memorial service is scheduled Monday for San Francisco attorney
Mark Weinberger, cofounder of one of the first law firms devoted
to environmental protection and architect of agreements to
preserve open space in numerous California communities.

Mr. Weinberger, who lived in Berkeley, died July 14 after a
four-year battle with leukemia. He was 57.

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1974, he worked in
the environmental unit of the California attorney general's
office until Attorney General George Deukmejian disbanded the unit.

Three lawyers from that unit -- Mr. Weinberger, E. Clement Shute
and Mark Mihaly -- left the office in 1980 and started the firm
of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, representing community
organizations and local governments in environmental cases. It
was, and remains, one of the few for-profit firms dedicated
entirely to such cases, which are commonly litigated by
nonprofits such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and
Earthjustice.

The new firm's decision to represent only preservationists, and
not developers, was "a fairly remarkable position to stake out in
setting up a private law firm if you want to make a living,''
said Trent Orr, an environmental attorney and longtime friend of
Mr. Weinberger's. "It's gratifying that they've been successful.''

Mr. Weinberger's accomplishments, according to information
provided by the 20-lawyer firm, included:

-- Preserving thousands of acres of agricultural land and
establishing urban growth boundaries outside Livermore,
negotiated with Alameda County as attorney for the city of
Livermore.

-- Maintaining a limit on urban development south of the Carmel
River as a lawyer for the city of Carmel.

-- Successfully defending Marin County's 60-acre minimum zoning
for agricultural lands.

-- On behalf of a Marin County group, blocking the logging of
old-growth redwoods near the town of Nicasio, leading to the
grove's preservation.

-- Negotiating with Orange County developers for nearly a decade,
on behalf of community groups, leading to the establishment of
the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

"He was a supreme litigator ... an adversary when he had to be,
but also one of the most reasonable and cooperative lawyers you
could find'' in resolving cases, said Fran Layton, a partner at
the firm.

Mr. Weinberger, a native of Oakland, attended Stanford University
and was editor of the Stanford Daily.

He continued working and remained active throughout his illness,
and went snorkeling in Hawaii with his life partner, Tamara
Galanter, on the Sunday before his death, said Orr.

"Until the very end he had an amazing amount of optimism that
this was something he could overcome,'' Orr said. "He would sit
around and joke with me about his latest bout of chemotherapy.''

Mr. Weinberger is survived by Galanter; his son, Adam; his
mother, Marion Weinberger-Greenberg; stepfather Bernard
Greenberg; and sister Kathy Weinberger.

A celebration of his life is scheduled at 1 p.m. Monday at Temple
Sinai, 2808 Summit St., Oakland. The family suggests donations in
his name to the Greenbelt Alliance, 631 Howard St., Suite 510,
San Francisco 94105; or the California Wilderness Coalition, 1212
Broadway, Suite 1700, Oakland 94612.

--
It's a big old goofy world. - John Prine