Ann Diamond

1989

Business & Professions

Newsweek noted that Ann Diamond founded the first all women-lawyer legal firm in the Bay Area. In addition to that first, Ms. Diamond also pioneered the area of family law as a legal specialty. As a member of the Family Law Advisory Commission of the California State Bar, she helped to set state guidelines for child and spousal support.

Ms. Diamond came to the U.S. from Hungary at the age of seventeen, speaking no English. Within seven years she had graduated from high school, college and law school and passed the bar exam. She went on to practice law with distinction until retirement at age seventy-three, as well as teaching law at U.C. Davis.

Ann Diamond’s legacy includes the Marin Legal Aid Society and Lawyer Referral Service. She also developed family mediation techniques, earning her a cadre of lawyers and judges who called her a mentor. The first woman to serve as President of the Marin County Bar Association, Ms. Diamond was also the President of the Northern California Chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Ms. Diamond continued to remain very active with the Family Law Center, Kids Turn and other innovative programs designed to help families at the time of separation.