David Michael Heilbron

David Michael Heilbron, son of Louis Henry Heilbron and Delphine Rosenblatt Heilbron, was a native of San Francisco and a graduate of Lowell High School, UC Berkeley (in English), Oxford University (in law, as a Rhodes Scholar), and Harvard Law School. He received all his degrees with first class honors. David made his legal career in the San Francisco firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, of which he became the managing partner in 1985. As a lawyer he was distinguished by his ability to negotiate solutions and, if that failed, to litigate with measured precision. He appeared often in the US Court of Appeals and once in the Supreme Court of the US, and shared his expertise in appellate procedures in courses he gave at UC’s Boalt Hall School of Law. His peers elected him their leader, as President of the San Francisco (1980) and then of the California State Bar Association (1985-6). During his two years of service at the state level, he fought successfully against a proposal in the Legislature to free practicing attorneys from the obligation of belonging to the Association, thus saving it from bankruptcy.

Following his parents’ lead, David was active in civic affairs. He did probono work and served on the boards of the Jewish Community Center, the Legal Aid Society, and the San Francisco Senior Center, of which he was President from 1972 to 1975. After retiring from his firm, he acted as an independent arbitrator with great success and practiced the old recipe of keeping his head clear by vigorous exercise. He was devoted to tennis, skiing, bicycling, and walking the dog. Among his closest friends were several of his fellow Rhodes scholars, who showed their wisdom by settling in the Bay Area. David was married for 59 years to Nancy Ann Olsen, also a graduate of Lowell and Cal; they made their home in San Francisco and then in Tiburon, where David died last week, his generous spirit and brilliant mind dimmed by Alzheimer’s disease. He is survived by Nancy and their daughters Lauren Rubin, Sarah Heilbron, and Ellen Schupbach, and by his brother John. He will live on in our hearts as a loving, generous, witty, and supportive husband, father, and brother.

A memorial service will be held in due course.