45 Years and Counting: Buck Delventhal's Commitment to Public Law
Burk 鈥淏uck鈥 Delventhal ’69 may have Herman Melville to thank for his long, productive career in the San Francisco City Attorney鈥檚 Office.
鈥淚 remember reading ‘Billy Budd’ as a high school student,鈥 says Delventhal. 鈥淚 was fascinated by the tension between the rule of law, individual rights, and human decency.鈥
The book, he says, helped him to cultivate the qualities that make him particularly suited to his profession: respect for the rule of law and the ability to hear and analyze conflicting points of view. Delvethal鈥檚 work as Chief Deputy, Government Law Division involves grappling with difficult issues that have conflicting and legitimate arguments on both sides every day. And he loves it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just abstract discourse,鈥 he says, 鈥渋t鈥檚 interesting presenting academic issues that have a direct effect on members of the community.鈥
Over the past four and a half decades, Delventhal鈥檚 successful litigation and legislative works have resulted in environmental protections; increases in public health and safety; support for minority businesses; a stronger, more equitable educational system; additional revenues for the City in the Post Proposition 13 era, and myriad other large and small impacts on the lives of the people of San Francisco.
As a law professor, Delventhal is committed to helping his students develop and cultivate an interest in the structure and public policy underpinnings of the law and he hopes they鈥檒l use it to address the two most urgent issues of our time.
鈥淭he first is the environmental catastrophe we鈥檙e facing. The law can play a critical role in forcing people to change the consumption of resources,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd we need significant shifts in policy to effect a more equitable distribution of wealth.鈥
In 2013, the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) awarded Delventhal its prestigious Charles S. Ryne Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor that surprised him but didn鈥檛 slow him down. Today, at age 76, he continues to make significant contributions to the public discourse over laws for the City and County of San Francisco and to share his knowledge with younger deputies in public law offices and his students at Hastings.
鈥淰ery few people get to do work they love,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 fortunate that I do, and that I have for so long. I also appreciate the great legal education I got at UC Law SF.”
As for Billy Budd, though the book is a bit too far removed from his State and Local Government Law course, Delventhal does continue recommend it to many aspiring law students.
About Gamechanger
GAMECHANGER is the way our students鈥損ast and present鈥搒ee the world. It鈥檚 the impact our alumni have on local, national and global policy and law. The ideas and events that come from the minds of UC Law SF students and faculty help transform the world. UC Law SF plans to celebrate its GAMECHANGERS on Thursday, May 9.