On the Cutting Edge: A Profile of Attorney Rick Sheinfeld ’80
Rick Sheinfield ‘80 has experienced both the public and private side of practicing law. He worked for three years in a large corporate firm upon graduating law school, and then went to the San Francisco City Attorney’s office, where he has practiced for fifteen years as a Deputy City Attorney. The reason Sheinfield has stayed in public law so long is simple: “It’s just more interesting” he says. He credits his time at Rivers for convincing him to pursue a life of public service. “Teachers like Jack Jarzavek had such passion for what they did. It made me want to find a job I loved as much as they loved theirs.”
The members of the San Francisco City Attorney’s office experience a wide variety of civil cases and legislative work and are unique in the country in the amount of cutting edge proactive legislation they pursue. Sheinfield has personally worked on legislation governing medical marijuana use, smoking in public places, and fighting predatory lenders who target the elderly. He has litigated for the City in suits regarding employment discrimination, excessive force by deputies in jails, and people who are injured using buses or on City streets.
Sheinfield notes that the most interesting part of his job is that “San Francisco, for better or for worse, is always about five years ahead of the rest of the country on a lot of legislation and policy.” Sheinfield cited legalizing and regulating medical marijuana, recognizing same-sex marriage, banning smoking of tobacco in public, and even banning the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and drug stores. At first national newspapers decried the actions as radical. Today the same issues are being discussed and legislated throughout the country. Being on the cutting edge can make it difficult to find precedents when preparing for a case, but Sheinfield says that this can make the job more exciting. “We have to think in ways that others haven’t thought before in order to get things done.”
Sheinfield also cites Rivers faculty member Melinda Ryan as an influence on his professional life. “She was so inspiring because she gave each student such individual attention and was so devoted to their learning.” He has taken this lesson and applied it in mentoring interns and young lawyers who come through the office. “I try to take the same approach with them that teachers like Mrs. Ryan took with me.”
He is unable to attend his reunion because he will be preparing for a trial, but Sheinfield has visited the campus on several occasions with his family and is astounded by the changes that have occurred. “It looks like a college campus now,” he exclaims. “I can hardly believe it’s the same place.”
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