William “Bill” Coblentz, a major supporter of Berkeley Law, died September 13, 2010 at age 88. He was senior partner of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP, a law firm with a 125+ year history in San Francisco. The Firm’s partners donated $500,000 to establish The William K. Coblentz Civil Rights Endowment Fund in honor of Bill’s passion and commitment to racial and social justice and equality under the law.
The Coblentz Fund provides resources for Berkeley Law’s students, through work-study and summer internship grants, to engage in innovative, policy-relevant research in areas of social justice and civil rights. Projects are determined by the students and their sponsoring organizations. Coblentz Fellows have engaged in research projects in immigration law, claims for asylum, disparate impact regarding voting rights, landlord-tenant rights and many other diverse areas.
In 2017, The Coblentz Fund established a post-graduate fellowship, The Coblentz Prize. The initial Coblentz Prize, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NorCal), enables a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law to design a specific project in the areas of civil rights and/or social justice to be undertaken as a full year paid fellowship at the Legal-Policy Department of ACLU-NorCal.
Bill Coblentz specialized in real estate and land use and development and complex business transactions, shepherding landmark Bay Area real estate projects like the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park, as well as acting as counsel to Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and concert promoter Bill Graham. A director, trustee, regent, and counselor of numerous public entities, charities, businesses, foundations, and families, he chaired the UC Board of Regents, received UC Berkeley’s prestigious Berkeley Citation Award, and was co-chair of Berkeley Law’s I. Michael Heyman Project.
Please click here to make a gift in Bill’s memory. You can also write a check to the “The William K. Coblentz Civil Rights Endowment Fund” and send it to the following address:
University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Boalt Hall Alumni Center
2850 Telegraph Ave., Suite 500
Berkeley, CA 94705-7220
If you have questions about making a gift, please call: 510-643-6542.