Mark Ira Weinberger

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Mark Weinberger Obituary

WEINBERGER, Mark Ira - Died peacefully Thursday, July 14, 2005, in San Francisco, after a four-year struggle with leukemia. Mark was born in Oakland in 1948 and spent his early years in Palo Alto. He graduated Stanford University in 1970, where he was Editor in Chief of the Stanford Daily. He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard University in 1974 and thereafter played a pivotal role in the emerging field of California environmental law. For thirty years, Mark practiced environmental and land use law, initially as an attorney in the California Attorney General's environmental unit where he focused on coastal protection and logging regulation. In 1980, Mark joined with two other attorneys in the Attorney General's office to found Shute Mihaly & Weinberger LLP, a law firm that represents community groups and government agencies in land use and environmental matters. The firm has since thrived; it now has over 20 attorneys and is recognized as one of the leading land use and environmental firms in the state. Mark attended the firm's 25th anniversary celebration earlier this year. Mark was devoted to his law firm and he continued his law practice throughout the course of his illness. He was a brilliant litigator, winning many groundbreaking environmental cases. In later years, he skillfully negotiated a number of complex land use disputes, and developed innovative strategies for preserving open space and protecting environmental values. Mark is survived by his life partner, Tamara Galanter, and her sons, Ari and Jules; his son Adam Weinberger; his mother, Marion Weinberger-Greenberg and stepfather, Bernard Greenberg; his sister, Kathy Weinberger, brother-in-law Jim Friedlander, and niece Rachael Friedlander; and many friends and associates. He is preceded in death by his father, Edward Weinberger. There will be a Celebration of Mark's life at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 2005 at Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit Street, Oakland, California. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Mark's memory to the Greenbelt Alliance, 631 Howard Street, Suite 510, San Francisco, CA 94105; the California Wilderness Coalition, 1212 Broadway, Suite 1700, Oakland, California 94612, or other environmental organizations.

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Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Jul. 17 to Jul. 18, 2005.

Memories and Condolences
for Mark Weinberger

6 Entries

Brian Schmidt

July 20, 2005

Mark was a guiding influence in my career from my first job out of law school at his firm, to my present work at one of the firm's many environmental clients, the Committee for Green Foothills. We posted a small memorial to Mark at our website, at:

http://www.greenfoothills.or

g/blog/2005/07/mark-weinberger.html

His warm and wise presence will be missed.

Andrea Linder

July 19, 2005

We had the pleasure of meeting Mark while being treated at our facility. He was a delightful man, always pleasant and optimistic even in the most difficult circumstances. We are glad we had the opportunity to know him for even the brief time we spent with him. We extend our sincere sympathy to Tamara and Mark’s family and friends.

The Clinical Trials Staff, Hematology Division, Stanford University.

Mark Cohen

July 19, 2005

Mark has been a force in many lives. He has contributed greatly to the environment and he will be deeply missed.

Stuart Flashman

July 18, 2005

Hearing of Mark's death was one of those things one expects, but hopes won't happen. Mark was an inspiration to many of us who have worked to use the law to try to protect the environment. He will be greatly missed, not only as a tremendous legal mind, but also as a kind, generous, and thoughtful person.

irving perluss

July 18, 2005

Mark was my son Dennis' best friend, and I knew and enjoyed him. I take pride in that I helped start his career by recommending him to the Attorney General. I am very saddened by his death, and extend my condolences to his family. Irving Perluss, Judge of the Superior Court (Retired)

Jim Moose

July 17, 2005

Mark will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues in the California environmental law bar. He was a very fine person, in addition to being one of the luminaries in a legal discipline that he and his partners helped to shape and nurture over the last 30 years and more.

I in particular felt a special affection and gratitude for Mark, as he, along with his partners Clem and Marc, gave me my first environmental law job back when I was a lowly law student in 1983. Only now, as a graying middle aged lawyer, do I fully appreciate what it meant for such highly respected attorneys to befriend and share some of their knowledge with a scruffy kid in his mid 20s. Had I not had the great fortune to win that job, I might not have broken into the field myself. I therefore owe a great deal to the three founders of SMW.

My partners Tina Thomas, Whit Manley, and I are all great admirers of the entire SMW family, as was our late partner Mike Remy, who died in 2003 after a struggle similar to Mark's. We have all observed as SMW has grown to be a huge force for good in California; and we're sure that Mark's surviving partners and associates will continue with that good work. We're sure, too, that Mark must have been enormously proud of what he helped to create. We will keep thinking of Mark for continuing inspiration.

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