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SCBA
Names Sacramento Native
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The SCBA Distinguished Attorney (the renamed Lawyer of the Year) Award honors an SCBA member who, through the practice of law has made Sacramento a better place to live and work. Joe is an outstanding example of such a person. Despite all the triumphs and accolades that he has received, Joe's focus remains in the Sacramento community rather than on his personal success. First and foremost, he is a proud native Sacramentan with strong community ties and a wealth of oral history to relate. Given the opportunity, he would spend hours, if not days or weeks, telling stories of how life used to be in Sacramento. He continues to live with his wife Barbara in Land Park within sight of the home where he grew up with his two sisters Mary and Eleanor. His father, Joe and his mother, Elva were born in Sacramento. Joe recalls hearing stories about his family's life in the early 20th Century, including his Uncle Frank's escapades roller skating in the ballroom of the Governor's Mansion. Joe places great significance on civic activities. Currently, he serves on the board of directors of the Friends of Light Rail; the executive committee and the board of directors of Valley Vision; and as a fellow of the American Leadership Forum and as vice chair and board member of its Mountain Valley Chapter board of directors. Joe has previously served on the boards of KVIE Channel 6, the Sacramento Symphony, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, the Diocesan Catholic Youth Organization, Gateway Foundation, as a trustee of Christian Brothers high school, of which he is an alumnus, and president and board member of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO). He is a former trustee of the Mercy Hospital Foundation, co-chair of the Sacramento Regional Economic Forum, and president of the Community Alcoholism Rehabilitation Effort (CARE). Asked why he became a lawyer, Joe credits his Stanford political science professor James T. Watkins with recognizing his talents and steering him in the direction of Hastings College of the Law. After law school, while still a member of the reserves, Joe came straight back to Sacramento to clerk for Judge Thomas J. MacBride at the Eastern District Court. He then worked at Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohwer until he left 12 years later to found Weintraub, Genshlea & Sproul. Joe's practice has involved many complex business jury trials. He is acknowledged as one of the foremost business litigators in the state. Many of his trials have been extremely lengthy, have involved matters of great legal significance and large sums of money. Despite this fact, Joe still recalls in great detail his first jury trial in 1967 before Judge Margaret "Peggy" Flynn where he litigated the "price of a pool table." Joe's enthusiasm for the law continues unabated. He is "always learning." He enjoys the fact that each case is completely different and that he works with, and represents, interesting people. He credits much of his success to the "lots of great help" that he receives from his colleagues at his firm. His colleagues and clients are equally enthusiastic about Joe. Rosemary Kelley, who is now a partner of Joe's at Weintraub, Genshlea, Chediak & Sproul and a friend since grade school days, says, "Joe can assimilate a complex set of facts quicker than anyone else. He was the smartest kid in his class when we went to Immaculate Conception grammar school in Oak Park, and he's still the smartest. Besides, he's a nice guy." Gregory S. Spencer, associate general counsel for Bank of America thinks highly of Joe. He says, "Joe is the trial lawyer that we return to for important cases in Sacramento. Joe has a way of distilling arguments down to their essence and making juries want to vote for him." Joe also has great physical energy. He runs 20 to 25 miles a week and placed 5411th in the 83rd annual running of the Boston marathon. He says that he intends to stay fit and healthy and that he wants to stay in touch and never retire. A Renaissance man, Joe's talents are summarized to perfection in the words of Judge Ron Tochterman, "Joe is an incorrigible prankster. I won't allow him in my courtroom. I'm afraid I would give in to the temptation to pay him back for forty years of scams, hoaxes and canards. I can nevertheless attest to his excellence as a trial lawyer. I know his reputation in the courthouse. Besides, he and I have debated every topic under the sun (Saul Bellow vs. W.B. Yeats, Jerry Jeff Walker vs. Mozart, Stanford vs. Cal., etc.) and I've never laid a glove on him. Joe's a great arguer. His brain is a well-indexed library. He's smart, well read, articulate, funny, tenacious and winsome. More important than all of that, though, is that he's a "mensch." He has a conscience that won't quit. He has strong opinions and beliefs, and he acts on them. He is good and he does good. I would put him on the Supreme Court if I had the power." SCBA salutes our Distinguished Attorney 2001, Joseph S. Genshlea. |
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For
the past 35 years Joseph S. (Joe) Genshlea has
spent much of his life in trial. He has acted for plaintiffs and
defendants, individuals and institutions, in intellectual property,
securities fraud, copyright, lender liability, real estate, corporate
and partnership dissolutions and almost every conceivable type
of business dispute. This year, in recognition of his professional
achievements, Joe was the first Sacramento lawyer to be elected
into the prestigious Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame by the executive
committee of the State Bar Litigation Section. In announcing the
award, executive committee chair, Jerome Sapiro, said "Mr.
Genshlea is a gentleman and a scholar and an example of what a
trial lawyer should be. He has been gracious in sharing with young
attorneys the skills he has learned through the years."