Richard Sinkoff (JD '06)

Richard Sinkoff is a fourth-year, part time student at GGU. He is a well traveled renaissance man who is devoted to his field of study. Read on to find out more!

Tell me something special or interesting about your background before you went to law school?

During college Richard spent eight months in Mexico, Central and South America. He traveled mostly by land but did take one plane trip from Costa Rica to Colombia. He also received fellowships to study city planning and urban development in the Portuguese-speaking world (Brazil, Portugal). His time in South America crystallized his interest in urban development and settlement. He majored in Urban Studies/Art History at Columbia University and, after college, worked in an architectural office in New York City. Later he went to Stuttgart, Germany to study architecture at the Technical University of Stuttgart. After returning to the United States and working in New York City, Richard pursued his Master of City Planning (MCP) at UC Berkeley, where he majored in Land Use/Urban Design. After completing his MCP, he worked in land use planning and environmental planning for two urban planning firms whose clients were cities and counties in California. Today, Richard is a planning manager at the Port of Oakland.

Why did you decide to go to law school?

Richard was always interested in understanding how things work and how they are put together from the ground up. While at UC Berkeley, he took a class in planning law and 'got the bug.' He realized in that class that the law was a foundational body of knowledge for the practice of land use regulation, environmental regulation, and urban planning. He worked closely with the in-house legal staff and observed the role that the attorneys played in crafting agreements and resolving complex development and environmental issues. With his practical experience as in urban/environmental planning, he believed that he could contribute to the legal field. He deferred his legal education to create a stable foundation upon which to pursue his JD.

Tell me something special or interesting about your law school experience.

In reading cases and studying the law, he has seen firsthand the intersection and interplay of history, social policy, and the law in American society. He has understood how social issues often play out and are resolved in cases that come before the courts.

What is your greatest source of motivation/support as you work towards your JD?

Richard feels that pursuing his Juris Doctor on a part-time basis while working full-time is both extraordinarily demanding and beneficial. It has required studying at every spare moment: on BART going back and forth to work, on airplanes while visiting family on the East Coast; in hotel rooms while on business trips; and every single weekend during the school year. It also has required developing new skills in time and work load management. The most important factors that have kept him motivated are the support and encouragement of his "team" - friends, family, co-workers, and members of his study group.

What is your favorite thing you do when you are not at law school?

Richard spends much of his free time in the swimming pool as a member of a adult Masters swim team in San Francisco. He has competed in swimming in the Gay Games 3 times: New York in '94; Amsterdam in '98; and Sydney in '02. He did not compete this year because he was studying for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) but already is training to swim the Individual Medley event in the 2010 Cologne, Germany games.

If not at GGU, where can we find you?

When not at work, at GGU or in the pool, you can find Richard around his neighborhood near Dolores Park or traveling and visiting his friends and family.