Retired Judge Embarks on Several Careers
Patricia Herron ’49 knew she was interested in the
law before she ever set foot on the Marble Corridor. When she announced
her intentions at home however, the response was less than encouraging.
“No daughter of mine is going to be a lawyer,” said her father.
So Herron told him of her second choice; she wanted to be a farmer. He
sent her off to Trinity.
Trinity was not an altogether unfamiliar place upon Herron’s arrival.
Her aunt, Ellen Herron, graduated in 1914, and her cousin, Ellen Ganey
’27 was the longtime director of the Alumnae Association of Trinity
College. Herron pursued her English literature degree while continuing
a Trinity family tradition. She describes the bulk of her post-Trinity
career as “vocationally undecided.”
Returning home to New York after graduation to care for her terminally
ill mother, Herron came back to D.C. to pursue a Master of Science degree
at Catholic University. She and classmate Frances Butler, SND, then embarked
for Belgium to join the SNDs. Butler found her vocation, but Herron “did
not have the temperament” for religious service.
She then returned to D.C. again to take a position as Assistant Dean of
Women at Catholic University. It was the first of several education administration
jobs that would occupy the next decade of her career. She served as Acting
Dean of Women at CUA, Director of Guidance at East High School in Auburn,
N.Y., and Assistant Dean at Wells College.
Having traveled around Europe but never ventured too far west from the
Eastern seaboard in this country, Herron then set off on a trip that would
eventually land her permanently on the west coast. She worked as an instructor
of psychology and history at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif.
and as Assistant Dean of Women at Stanford before deciding, at the age
of 35, to embark on a new career in law.
Herron received her JD from Boalt Hall at the University of California
at Berkeley in 1964. She and several attorneys with whom she worked during
law school formed a partnership, and over the next 12 years, she served
as managing partner of Knox, Herron & Pierce (1965-1968), Knox &
Herron (1968-1974) and Knox, Herron & Masterson (1974-1977).
Nominated by then-Governor of California Jerry Brown, Herron was appointed
to the Superior Court of California in 1977. She would serve the next
10 years as a Juvenile Court Judge, a Criminal Court Judge and for a time,
Presiding Judge, one of the few women to hold that honor up to that time.
When Herron made the first of several attempts at retirement, it didn’t
last long. She found herself in demand as a private judge and later, as
a judge with the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) in
California. JAMS facilitates out-of-court settlements and alleviates overloaded
civil court dockets by conducting mediation services to which opposing
parties agree to be bound.
She retired from the bench for good in 2002 and now dedicates herself
fully to that other career – a farmer. Partner and manager of the
Barricia Vineyard in Sonoma, Calif., Herron enjoys her current vocation,
the cap to a career she describes as mostly “being in the right place
at the right time.”
Herron has also maintained an impressive record of service to her community,
serving on boards ranging from the American Red Cross and the YWCA to
the Trinity Alumnae Board. She professes contentment with retirement and
farm life, but perhaps we should check in with her in another 10 years,
as she may have found yet another outlet for her remarkable talents.
– Elizabeth Palmer ’92
