Peter Crosby was an American lawyer who practiced in California from his admission to the bar in 1933. A partner of Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May in Oakland, he worked in general civil and trial practice with experience in antitrust, appellate, bankruptcy, employment, environmental, taxation, corporate, insurance, intellectual-property, labor, mergers, product-liability, and real-property matters.
Background
Peter Crosby was born on December 2, 1907, in Hayward, California, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Hayward developed during the early twentieth century as an agricultural, transportation, and later suburban center between Oakland and San Jose, placing Crosby within a rapidly changing urban and commercial environment.
He was associated with the Crosby family of the East Bay. Cemetery and family records identify Mary Boucher Crosby as his wife and place both spouses at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward.
Education
Crosby received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1929 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Hastings College of Law in 1933. Stanford University, founded in 1885 in the San Francisco Peninsula, was one of the leading American research universities of the period and combined liberal education with professional and scientific training.
Hastings College of Law, founded in San Francisco in 1878 as California's first law school, developed within the state's legal and civic institutions. Crosby's legal education there preceded his admission to the State Bar of California in 1933.
Career
Crosby entered California legal practice after being admitted to the bar in 1933. His professional work encompassed general civil and trial practice, including antitrust, appellate, bankruptcy, employment, environmental, estate planning and probate, federal and state taxation, finance and banking, corporate and partnership matters, insurance, intellectual property, labor, media, mergers and acquisitions, product liability, and real property.
He became a partner of Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May in Oakland. The firm was a major Northern California law practice with offices in Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; its history grew from earlier Oakland firms and a 1968 merger that produced the Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May name. Crosby's career therefore developed during the expansion of large regional law firms and the increasing specialization of American civil litigation and business law.
Membership
Crosby participated in the Alameda County Bar Association, serving as its president in 1960–1961. The association represented lawyers in Alameda County and provided a professional forum for legal education, service, and local bar administration.
He was also a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of California. Within the State Bar, he served as vice chairman of the Committee of Bar Examiners in 1965–1966 and as its chairman in 1967; the committee was responsible for administering and overseeing California's attorney-admission examination process.
President
Alameda County Bar Association
,
United States
1960 - 1961
Member
American Bar Association
,
United States
Vice chairman of the Committee of Bar Examiners in 1965–1966 and chairman in 1967
State Bar of California
,
United States
1963 - 1968
Connections
Crosby was married to Mary Boucher Crosby. They were buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, California.
Peter James Crosby, Jr. Burial Record
Provides the recorded 1907–1996 lifespan, marriage to Mary Boucher Crosby, and burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward.
Michael H. Crosby Obituary
Identifies Michael Crosby as the son of Mary and Peter Crosby and documents the family's Oakland background.
