Family.

(San Jose, CA — 1984. Highlighted, l–r: Jennifer, Donna, Nordin, and Dave)

I grew up around family law; in fact it was a family business. My dad, Nordin Blacker (1937-2021), started his legal career in the Santa Clara County Counsel’s office, subsequently opening a general practice which increasingly focused on family law.  In 1979 Nordin shifted his focus exclusively to family law, opening a new practice in San Jose. The business manager was my mom, Donna (1936-2023), who kept tabs on all the goings-on in the practice, and whose business sense and organization made it possible for my dad to focus on the law.  At that time I was 11 years old and joined in, filing and running pleadings to Santa Clara Superior Court. To great acclaim, my parents and attorneys Glenn Thompson and Tom Carmody restored an old Victorian in downtown San Jose for their office space — from drab gray to rust orange with brown and white trim (it was the ‘70s after all). At the urging of my mom, Nordin moved his law practice to San Francisco in 1986 when I went off to college and they became empty-nesters.

I first met Jennifer Mansfield in the early 1980s when she was a clerk and gopher for Nordin (I was in high school and she was in college). Two decades later, my parents had the confidence and foresight to hire Jennifer to take over the running of the practice when my mom retired in 2007. Jen continued on as office administrator of Blacker Sammis & Blacker, and I was thrilled to have her join me in my own practice, until she left to pursue a career in social work.

I had the good fortune to work with Nordin for 20 years, first as a paralegal as I pursued a music career, then as a lawyer, and finally as his partner. He relished mentoring young attorneys; he had the benefit of great mentoring when he was coming up and felt duty-bound to pay it forward. He was generous with his time, and patient. He had a glorious sense of humor.

Always looking to find areas of common ground and to settle cases where possible, he worked collaboratively with opposing attorneys. He was an early advocate of mediation. He saw litigation as a last resort — but in the courtroom Nordin was an inspiring trial lawyer. He was as comfortable in court as anywhere. He had a prodigious memory and could spin off a closing argument on the fly. 

Nordin retired in 2017, having worked as a lawyer for over 50 years. I couldn’t have learned from a better guy. He was the sort of lawyer and man I strive to be to this day.