10 Questions for Michael Levinson, Partner at Cooley Godward Kronish

Michael Levinson, a native San Diegan, graduated from Stanford University and Stanford Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Law Review.

He clerked for William Norris of the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals. Specializing in real estate law, Levinson practiced with Simpson Thacher and Bartlett in New York, and with Solomon, Ward, Seidenwurm & Smith and Procopio in San Diego. During a 10-year hiatus from law, he ran Marika (women’s athletic apparel manufacturer) a family business founded by his father, Arthur. Levinson joined Cooley Godward Kronish in 2006 as a partner to start the real estate practice group in their San Diego office. That practice group has grown to include five associates and a paralegal.

Levinson currently serves as a trustee of La Jolla Playhouse, as a director of Jewish Family Services of San Diego and is a member of the UCSD-Judaic Studies Board of Visitors. He is a past campaign chair of United Jewish Federation of San Diego, and was a co-chair of the UJF annual men’s event that brought Bill Clinton to San Diego last year.

What brought you to Del Mar?

My wife of 13 years, Karen Grossman Levinson.

What makes Del Mar special to you?

I have to say the Mar. Definitely the Mar. Not so much the Del.

If you could snap your fingers and have it done, what might you add, subtract or improve in Del Mar?

The horses would run year-round at the racetrack and there would always be a parking space available near the 17th Street lifeguard tower.

Who or what inspires you?

Karen teaching me every day to be a better parent; my folks’ generosity; and my Uncle Mandell Weiss’s supportive call following my arrest for an anti-apartheid sit-in at Stanford.

If you hosted a dinner party for eight, whom (living or deceased) would you invite?

Woody Allen, Queen Elizabeth I, Bill Walsh, Mary Louise Parker, John Lennon,

Scarlett Johansson, Danny Gordis and Maureen Dowd.

What are you currently reading?

“Netherland” by Joseph O’Neil and “Legacy of Ashes: History of CIA” by Tim Weiner.

What is your most prized possession?

My Manny Farber “Candy” painting.

What do you do for fun?

Watch TV, train lamely for a marathon and yell at the soccer matches of my daughters (Eliana and Julia).

Describe your greatest accomplishment.

Remaining a Chargers fan for 47 years.

What is your motto or philosophy of life?

So it goes.