MCBA Past-President C. Clay Greene recently rejoined the board of directors. The Marin Lawyer sat down with him to catch up on the latest.


What is your practice area?

My practice is focused on family law.

Do you have a particular emphasis?

Most of my work revolves around financial issues, including support and the characterization and division of community property. I do some child custody work but my partners handle most of that work. Over the last few years I also have developed a mediation and private judging practice.

Why did you decide to become a lawyer?

I’m not sure if I ever “decided” to become a lawyer—it was more like an opportunity to attend law school arose and I jumped on it. I had arrived in San Francisco a couple of years earlier in 1970, following two years in the military. San Francisco was a great place to be in those days and I took full advantage of all that was offered. At the time the “opportunity arose,” I was starting to look for meaningful work with zero thought of becoming a lawyer. A lawyer I had met offered me a clerk position in his office and introduced me to the local law librarian who told me about a night law school program. To make a short story even shorter, six weeks later, to my great surprise, I was attending law school. I ended up working my way through school with the same lawyer, graduating at the top of my class and of course, passing the bar.

Why do you live in Marin?

After living in the City, I moved to Marin not really thinking I would become a long-time resident. I’ve been here 44 years now. What’s not to like about living here in Marin except for there being nothing open past 9:00 pm?

What do you love to do when you’re not busy practicing law?

Outside of practicing law, I like to keep fit, travel and spend time with family and friends. I do a lot of road cycling, including riding in centuries and other long-distance rides. I’m hoping to complete the California Death Ride this summer, which is 14,000 feet of elevation gain over 130 miles. I will also be doing my fourth SF to LA AIDS ride this summer.

Tell us about your family.

I am blessed to be married to Romy Taubman who is also my law partner. I have a grown son (Alex) and three incredible granddaughters. I also have three wonderful stepdaughters with Romy, two of whom are still at home and one in college.

If you could pursue any other career besides law, what would it be and why?

If I was to start all over again and not be a lawyer, I would probably do some kind of environmental work or maybe be an archeologist.

Why did you join MCBA?

I joined the MCBA many years ago. Probably 1978 or ‘79. My purpose was to meet other lawyers and get to know the men and women who were senior to me. I would say that the saving grace (for me) in the stressful practice of law is the many wonderful friends made over the past 41 years. Not only do I know almost all of the attorneys I work against, in most cases I know their spouses and often their children. Starting with law school, I’ve always enjoyed the company of lawyers. I think our legal training and the work we do gives us a special bond.

If you had to pick a single highlight of your career, what would it be?

One of my most memorable cases was not a family law case. Many years ago, I defended a woman against a foreclosure of her home. In order to purchase the home, she had used her divorce attorney as a loan qualifier because she had no job and had put title in his name. Unbeknownst to her, this lawyer (long since disbarred) refinanced the house, pulled a lot of money out, quit paying the mortgage and disappeared. I sued the lender, got a restraining order against the foreclosure, and after a week’s trial in front of the Hon. Louis Burke, a retired Supreme Court Justice sitting by assignment, won a quiet title action against the lender and my client was awarded her home free and clear.