Tanya Neiman
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Tanya Marie Neiman (June 28, 1949 – February 27, 2006) was an American lawyer and activist based in San Francisco. For over 20 years, she was director of the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the
Bar Association of San Francisco The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) was established in 1872 as a nonprofit legal membership organization that provides San Francisco legal professionals with networking, educational and pro bono opportunities in order to better serve the co ...
, now known as the Justice & Diversity Center, "one of the largest and most innovative legal services programs in the country to serve lower-income people".


Early life and education

Neiman was born in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and raised in California, the daughter of Max Neiman and Helen Lamaga Neiman.. She graduated from
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School John H. Francis Polytechnic High School is a secondary school located in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Despite its n ...
in 1966, earned a bachelor's degree in economics, philosophy, and politics from
Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...
in 1970, and earned a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
degree from
University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (abbreviated as UC Law SF or UC Law) is a public law school in San Francisco, California, United States. It was known as the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (a ...
.


Career

Neiman taught at
Boalt Hall The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was never the official name. This cam ...
as a young woman. She joined the state Public Defender's Office in 1976. She became director of the Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) of the Bar Association of San Francisco in 1982, and, in her long tenure as the program's head, is credited with turning the VLSP, now known as the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC), into "one of the largest and most innovative legal services programs in the country to serve lower-income people". She helped to found the AIDS Legal Referral Panel, the Domestic Violence Consortium, and the Eviction Defense Collaborative. Neiman was honored by the
National Legal Aid & Defender Association The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoted to advocating equal justice for all Americans and was established in 1911. History The Fourteenth Amendment to ...
(NLADA) in 1996 with their Kutak-Dodds Prize. The
State Bar of California The State Bar of California is an administrative division of the Supreme Court of California which licenses attorneys and regulates the practice of law in California. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law ...
gave her the Loren Miller Legal Services Award in 1998. She received a Frontline Award from the
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...
of Northern California in 2005. Just before she died in 2006, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bay Area Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.


Publications

* "Teaching Woman Her Place: The Role of Public Education in the Development of Sex Roles" (1973) * "A Community-Based Response to Welfare Reform" (1997) * "Creating Community by Implementing Holistic Approaches to Solving Clients' Problems" (1999) * "Legal Services Leadership on Job Development: The San Francisco Experience" (2000)


Personal life and legacy

Neiman was known for wearing suits and bowties. In the 1970s, she had a longterm relationship with Mary Carolyn Morgan, who became the first openly lesbian judge in the United States in 1981, when she was appointed to the San Francisco Municipal Court by Governor
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
. Neiman and her partner Brett Mangels married at
San Francisco City Hall San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California. Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epito ...
in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. They were together for 24 years when Neiman died in 2006, from
ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...
, at the age of 56.Szymanski, Zak
"Legal activist Tanya Neiman dies at 56"
''Bay Area Reporter'' (March 2, 2006), via GLBT Historical Society, Online Searchable Obituary Database.
Flags at San Francisco City Hall flew at half-staff after her death, and mayor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
said that "San Francisco has lost a great humanitarian and altruist". The Tanya Neiman Building, home of the JDC's Homeless Advocacy Project, is named in her memory, as was the Tanya Neiman Pro Bono Professional of the Year Award, given by the National Association of Pro Bono Professionals.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neiman, Tanya 1949 births 2006 deaths American lawyers Lawyers from San Francisco University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni Mills College alumni LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania LGBTQ people from California