Michael Ivan Spiegel

Michael Ivan Spiegel Michael Ivan Spiegel passed away August 3, 2012. Michael was born in 1934 and raised in New York where he completed his undergraduate degree in physics at Columbia University in 1956. After naval service he moved to California where he received his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1961. Michael was one of the founders of the Anti-trust Section of the California Department of Justice where he served as Deputy Attorney General and Supervising Deputy from 1963-1985. During this time he achieved national prominence as an anti-trust attorney and pioneered the development of modern class action litigation. He was best known for captaining the massive class action against several petroleum companies that netted over $140 million for several states and their citizens. After retiring from the Attorney General's Office, Michael and his partners formed a law firm - Spiegel, Liao and Kagay. In 1995 Forbes Magazine recognized him as one of the nation's 25 most successful trial lawyers. He and his family were members of Congregation Emanu-El for over twenty years. Michael was a devoted Talmudic scholar, a member of Rabbi Wolf-Prusan's weekly downtown Talmud group for over a decade. He was also a founding member, and Treasurer of the Marina Community Association. Two of the athletic/outdoor adventures which Michael most enjoyed were 'crossing the top of the world' at Ellesmere Island in 2002, and, at age 68, climbing to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Michael was regarded by family and friends for his great integrity, strength of character, well-informed and astute analytical mind, his persistence, constancy, loyalty, and his dry humor. He will be deeply missed by his partners, friends, and family - wife Virginia, children Brian and Samantha Spiegel, sister and brother-in-law, Eileen and John Harris, niece and nephew, Georgina Kilfoil and Lucien Harris. The family wants to thank several friends who were especially supportive of Michael and the family during his last difficult months: Marvin Rose, Donald MacDonald, Dick Shadoan, Bob Hanenberg, Rubin Glickman; his partners, always there for us, Wayne Liao, Charlie Kagay, Bart Lee. Services will be held at Fernwood, 301 Tennessee Valley Rd., Mill Valley, CA, Thursday, August 9 at 3PM. Contributions may be made to: Lehrhaus Judaeca, 2736 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704; SF Night Minisry, 1031 Franklin St., San Francisco, CA 94109.