- Dan Siegel (attorney)
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For the musician, see Dan Siegel (musician). For the physician, see Daniel J. Siegel
Daniel Mark Siegel, or Dan Siegel, is a civil-rights attorney at the Oakland-based law firm, Siegel & Yee.
Siegel was born and raised in New York City and on Long Island. He attended high school in New York, graduating second in his class. He attended Hamilton College (New York) in 1963-1967 majoring in Philosophy and Religion; he received his B.A. degree there in 1967,[1] graduating magna cum laude.
Siegel was a student activist in 1967-1970 while he attended the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He was also a leader in the local Students for a Democratic Society. As UC Berkeley Student President-Elect in 1969, Siegel is known for his role in the student rebellion on "Bloody Thursday," when thousands of students clashed with hundreds of California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff's deputies sent by the office of then-California governor Ronald Reagan to assert control over a piece of property known as "People's Park." During a rally on Sproul Plaza on that day, May 15, 1969, Siegel received the microphone as the crowd of 3,000 agitated to reclaim their community space, and when he yelled "Take the park!" a riot ensued that ended with authorities firing at demonstrators, killing one.[2][3]
He received his J.D. degree from the University of California School of Law in 1970. He passed the California bar examination, but was denied a license to practice law by a subcommittee of the State Bar of California. Siegel took his appeal to the California Supreme Court, which overruled the State Bar and found that Siegel possessed the requisite "moral character" to practice law.[4]
According to KeyWiki's article on Siegel,[5] Siegel was a founder of the New American Movement (a Marxist organization) and is listed among "former fellows, project co-ordinators and staff" of the Institute for Policy Studies.
Today, Siegel is a civil rights attorney at the Oakland-based law firm, Siegel & Yee.[6] In recent years, he has won a series of high-profile sexual harassment and employment discrimination lawsuits, and has represented clients such as the National Union of Healthcare Workers. He has served as both general counsel and Interim Executive Director of the Pacifica Radio Foundation, and has currently serves as a director on both the Pacifica National Board and the Local Station Board of KPFA-FM in Berkeley. In 2006 he completed an eight-year tenure on the Oakland Unified School District Board of Directors.
Siegel, a long-time friend of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, served as her legal adviser until November 14, 2011, when he resigned in protest. Seigel subsequently announced, via Twitter: "No longer Mayor Quan's legal advisor. Resigned at 2 am. Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1% and its government facilitators."[7][8]
The San Francisco Chronicle described Siegel as "one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics".[9]
Siegel and his wife, Anne Butterfield Weills, have lived in Oakland since 1977. Weills is an associate attorney with Siegel & Yee.[10] Weills has two sons and a grandson. Her younger son, Michael Siegel, graduated from Skyline High School in 1995 and is an associate attorney with Siegel & Yee.[11] Before becoming an attorney, Michael was a teacher in the Oakland Unified School District.[12]
Anne Butterfield Weills (b. March 14, 1942) is the second child of John C.S. Weills III and Audrey Davis.[13] Weills married journalist Robert Scheer in 1965; they later divorced.[14] Weills' older son is Christopher Weills Scheer (b. September 8, 1968).
References
- ^ "Dan Siegel's biography". Oakland, California: Siegel & Yee. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. http://www.siegelyee.com/dansiegel.html. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ Weiss, Norman. The Daily Californian. "People's Park: Then & Now." 17 March 1997.
- ^ Locke, Michelle (1999-04-19). "Berkeley Battling Over People's Park 30 Years After Clash". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19990419&slug=2956007. Retrieved 2011-11-14. "But 30 years ago this spring, Siegel was a counterculture catalyst, the man whose exhortation to 'Take the park!' was the precursor to a bloody clash between University of California students and police that left one man dead, another blinded and a city locked in martial law."
- ^ Supreme Court of California (1973-10-09). "Siegel v. Committee of Bar Examiners, 10 Cal.3d 156". Mountain View, California: Justia Inc.. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. http://law.justia.com/cases/california/cal3d/10/156.html. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "Dan Siegel - KeyWiki". KeyWiki. 2011-07-28. Archived from the original on 2011-11-15. http://keywiki.org/index.php/Dan_Siegel. Retrieved 2011-11-15. "In 1993 Dan Siegel was listed among 'former fellows, project co-ordinators and staff' of the Institute for Policy Studies, Washington DC."
- ^ Siegel & Yee
- ^ Gabbatt, Adam (2011-11-14). "Occupy Oakland: demonstrators prepare for police action – live updates". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/nov/14/occupy-oakland-police-action-live?CMP=NECNETTXT8187. Retrieved 2011-11-14. "Quan's legal advisor, Dan Siegel, has resigned from his position in protest at the eviction."
- ^ "Siegel's tweet". Twitter. 2011-11-14. http://twitter.com/#!/DanMSiegel/statuses/136100377203453952. Retrieved 2011-11-14. "No longer Mayor Quan's legal advisor. Resigned at 2 am. Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1% and its government facilitators."
- ^ Kuruvila, Matthai (2011-11-14). "Quan's top legal adviser resigns over raid". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/14/BAGA1LURQ7.DTL. Retrieved 2011-11-14. "Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics, said the city should have done more to work with campers before sending in police."
- ^ "Anne Butterfield Weills' biography". Oakland, California: Siegel & Yee. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. http://www.siegelyee.com/anneweills.html. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "Michael Siegel's biography". Oakland, California: Siegel & Yee. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. http://www.siegelyee.com/michaelsiegel.html. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "Dan Siegel - District 6 Board Member". Oakland Unified School District. 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. http://bex.ousd.k12.ca.us/DanSiegel.asp. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "My Genealogy - Information about Anne Butterfield Weills". Ancestry.com. http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/l/Derek-Walter-/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0039.html. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ "Christopher Scheer - Discover the Networks". DiscoverTheNetworks.org. Archived from the original on 2011-11-15. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1712. Retrieved 2011-11-15. "Son of National Lawyer Guild attorney Anne Weills"
External links
Pacifica Radio Network Stations Programs Persons Current: Aimee Allison • Dennis Bernstein • Blase Bonpane • Don Bustany • Pratap Chatterjee • Deepa Fernandes • Jack Foley • Amy Goodman • Juan González • Doug Henwood • Michio Kaku • Sasha Lilley • Nicole Sawaya • Jeremy Scahill • Roy Tuckman
Historical: Charles Amirkhanian • Larry Bensky • Mary Frances Berry • Jerry Brown • Marc Cooper • Bob Fass • Dorothy Healey • Lewis Hill • Pauline Kael • Saul Landau • Julianne Malveaux • William Mandel • Richard Pryor • Kenneth Rexroth • Susan Stone • Chris Strachwitz • Elsa Knight Thompson • Alan WattsRelated articles Categories:- Living people
- American anti–Vietnam War activists
- Members of Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
- American lawyers
- American political people
- People from Oakland, California
- Politics of Oakland, California
- Pacifica Radio
- American jurist stubs
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