Attorney Virginia Blumenthal is a Riverside icon. The first woman attorney in Riverside, Virginia has risen to fame as one of the undisputed best lawyers in the United States. Virginia has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to her community by the Riverside Mayor and City Council; the Riverside County Board of Supervisors; the California Governor and Assembly; and the President of the United States.
Virginia's began her working life as a school teacher. She became a lawyer in 1975, opening her own law practice. Over the years, Virginia has handled the toughest cases in California with remarkable and quite regular success. She appears before me often.
Her inspiration is her parents. Her father was a highly decorated World War 2 Navy Veteran, a veteran of the USS Franklin. Commissioned in 1944, the USS Franklin earned four battle stars in the Pacific War. In March 1945, 800 of its sailors were killed in a Japanese attack.
Virginia describes her father as the most "non malicious chauvinist" you ever wanted to meet. She tells a touching story about her dad. "I had often joked my parents were the world's greatest prosecution jurors. Until one day one of my father's friends said to him, 'John, how did you ever let your daughter become a criminal defense attorney.' Daddy looked at him and pointed his finger at him and he said, 'You listen to me. I put my life on the line on the USS Franklin, and my fellow sailors gave their lives protecting these freedoms that my daughter defends.'
And I thought, 'Daddy, you do understand.'"
Please listen and share this interview with my good friend Virginia Blumenthal. Contact me at mejohnsonauthor@gmail.com