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Grace Bergen - Creating Harmony between Music and the Law |
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She played classical piano at age six, sang with one of Philadelphia's premier music ensembles, the "Singing City" Choir, at age 17, and was accepted into the prestigious music program at UC Berkeley. These are lesser-known facts about a very well-known Sacramento lawyer: Grace Bergen. After entering UC Berkeley as a music major, Grace discovered that Berkeley didn't have a jazz program, her musical genre of choice at the time. So she changed her major to English, which eventually led to taking the LSAT and attending the University of San Francisco School of Law. As the saying goes, the rest is history. If Grace Bergen's name sounds familiar to you, that's because she is so familiar in the Sacramento legal community. An active member of the Sacramento County Bar Association, Grace was the 2004 President of Women Lawyers of Sacramento, the past president of the Sacramento Chapter of American Corporate Counsel, and a current appointee to the California State Bar Committee on Women in the Law. You might have heard her speak at the Investiture of Judge Judy Hersher, or at a symposium at McGeorge a few years ago (where she also taught Entertainment Law) entitled "Digital Music 1.0: A Panel on the Ethics of Digital Music Downloading." Or you may have seen her name in print, as the author of law review articles on digital music in the McGeorge Law Review and The Transnational Lawyer, or participating on the advisory board of California Lawyers for the Arts. Most likely, though, you know Grace for her talents as a transactional lawyer. As the General Counsel for Tower Records for over 9 years, Grace established the company's in-house legal department in 1993 and (sadly) drafted employee severance packages in 2002. But while Tower has gone through many changes, and Grace has now moved on to serving as Director of Legal Affairs for the California Motor Car Dealer's Association, the one thing that hasn't changed is her passion for music. The oldest of seven in a musical family (all of Grace's siblings play at least one musical instrument), Grace is truly a Jill of all musical trades. She plays classical and jazz piano, folk guitar, and she loves to sing. She sang international music with a twelve woman a cappella group in Sacramento called "Zado," and sang for two years in a jazz choir at American River College. She currently sings with a local choir known as "Diva" that does everything from show tunes to jazz standards. Her latest musical interest is the fiddle, and she practices regularly with a group called "Slojam," whose goal is to perform at an upcoming "contra dance," an American folk dance that was all the rage in the 1800's in which dancers form a set of two parallel lines and exchange many different lively moves with other couples. (Did I mention that in addition to playing and singing, Grace also dances?). Between attending guitar camps on the weekends and attempting to learn yet another instrument (the mandolin), Grace also somehow has time to Co-Chair two events you will no doubt be hearing about. First up is a joint project sponsored by the Sacramento County Law Library and California Lawyer for the Arts entitled "A Creative Merger: Lawyers and Artists." From April 14th through the end of May, a portion of the law library will feature the artistic works of Sacramento lawyers, and art with a legal theme created by local artists. Also in the works is the premiere performance of "Sacramento Sings for the Cure," an event that will benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation to fight breast cancer. Scheduled for November 10, 2005 at the Radisson Hotel, the event will feature a large choir (hopefully over 100 voices) made up of several local community choirs and an orchestra performing a challenging and exciting musical work. Despite all of her talents and accomplishments, when I asked Grace how she views herself as a musician, she replied that her talent is to "harmonize" with another singer; and she added that she is always seeking others to join her. But whether she has a singing partner or not, Grace creates her own harmony, blending her love and talents for music and the law for the benefit of all of us. "Encore! Encore!" for Grace Bergen! Grace Bergen's latest musical interest is the fiddle. March / April 2005 |
