Roslyn Chasan
Roslyn Chasan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 September 1932 Luzerne, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | 24 February 2023 (aged 90) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Corporate and private legal practice; general counsel and vice president of Great Western Land & Cattle Company; judge pro tempore in Los Angeles County; member of California Law Revision Commission |
Roslyn Chasan (September 22, 1932 – February 24, 2023) was a distinguished American lawyer who practiced in both corporate and private sectors.
Early life and education
Originally named Roslyn Pearl Lefkowitz, she was born in Luzerne, Pennsylvania, as the eldest among four children. During her adolescence, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, where she completed her studies at Susan Miller Dorsey High School and attained an associate degree in merchandising from Los Angeles City College.
In 1954, she wed Fred Chasan, a World War II combat medic who was then a medical student. The couple made their home in Rancho Palos Verdes. Early on, Roslyn assisted as a nurse within her husband's medical practice. By 1958, she had taken on the presidency of the Delphian Society, a nationwide organization dedicated to advancing women's education.
They raised three sons together, one of whom, Mark Chasan, became a lawyer and entrepreneur by founding eMusic, an early innovator in digital music distribution.
While managing the responsibilities of motherhood with three young children in the early 1960s, Roslyn pursued legal studies. Between 1962 and 1967, she attended Southwestern University School of Law during evening hours and graduated magna cum laude. In 1968, she successfully passed the California bar examination at a time when women comprised fewer than one percent of law students.
Legal and corporate career
Chasan launched her general legal practice in Torrance, Los Angeles County, in 1968. The following year, she assumed the role of general counsel for the Great Western Land & Cattle Company and later advanced to vice president with responsibilities spanning operational management and securities offerings.
She was instrumental in coordinating the company's final overland cattle drive from Bluewater, New Mexico to southern Colorado. This endeavor involved intricate negotiations for territorial access with various governmental entities, including the Navajo Nation.
In 1970, she played an active part in establishing after-school enrichment initiatives within Los Angeles public schools. From 1972 to 1974, Chasan chaired multiple committees under the California Trial Lawyers Association, recognized as the largest state trial bar in the United States.
Her notable legal achievements include representing the Breimhorst family in a precedent-setting case against Richardson-Merrell in 1974. The verdict awarded $530,000 and established a connection between the fertility medication Clomid and birth defects.
By the early 1980s, Chasan served as judge pro tempore within Los Angeles County courts and acted as an arbitrator for the State Bar of California. In April 1982, Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the California Law Revision Commission, where her contributions helped achieve a legislative adoption rate of 98%. That same year marked her appointment as a trustee on the board of Torrance Memorial Hospital Medical Center.
House collapse
During the late 1970s, Roslyn and Fred Chasan constructed an expansive Mediterranean-style residence located on scenic cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean along Paseo del Mar in Palos Verdes Estates, California.
In the early 1980s, deterioration of the city's storm drain infrastructure occurred. Following a break in a California Water Service water main, a landslide undermined the cliffs supporting their home's foundation. The family evacuated in 1981; within two years, their property was either demolished or lost to coastal erosion. A jury determined that the city had been negligent in maintaining the storm drain system, resulting in a settlement that compensated the Chasan family.
Later years and death
During the 1990s, Chasan and her spouse became initial backers of eMusic, a groundbreaking digital media streaming service established by their son, Mark Chasan.
Upon retiring from her legal career, the couple moved to Rancho Santa Fe, California in the late 1980s. After Fred passed away in 2005, Chasan continued to reside in Southern California until she died of natural causes on February 24, 2023.