Remembering fellow Isabella Horton Grant

"About Isabella" and thoughts from the fellows

Judge Isabella Horton Grant


Memorial Service Notes Isabella Horton Grant was a pioneering lawyer and judge who specialized in the fields of family law and probate law. She practiced for 25 years as an attorney before being appointed to the Municipal Court by Governor Jerry Brown in 1979 and to the Superior Court in 1982. She served as the presiding judge of the Family Court and later, for 11 years, as the presiding judge of the Probate Court. Judge Grant was involved in creating a separate domestic violence calendar in which people complaining of abuse could receive specialized attention in the Family Court. She was also involved in the creation of the legislation that created no fault divorce. In the Probate Court, she established staff structure, established streamlined court procedures, established the Guardianship Monitoring Program, and made sure that up to date court rules were available to attorneys. Judge Grant was the recipient of the Treat Award from the National College of Probate Judges in 2000 and the Rose Bird award from the California Women Lawyers posthumously on March 24, 2011.

Isabella Horton Grant was born in Hollywood, California. Her uncle, Edward Everett Horton, a film star, imbued her with a lifelong affection for the arts. She was graduated from Swarthmore College in 1944 and two years later, received a master's degree in economics from UCLA. She also studied political science at Oxford University and was an employee of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. She graduated from Columbia Law School when few women ventured to enter the legal profession, which was male dominated. She was employed by prominent San Francisco attorney, Lawrence Livingston, in 1954, and became one of the few practicing women attorneys in the city at that time. She later headed the law firm of Livingston, Grant, Stone & Kay and practiced law until her appointment to the bench in 1979. She taught at UC Hastings College of the Law from 1971 to 1979.

Following retirement, Judge Grant was appointed to the Ethics Commission and later served as a private mediator with the 1st District Court of Appeal. She remained interested in the Probate Court and Family Court. Judge Grant's contributions are numerous and concrete and live on.

From the Fellows


Lorie Nachlis: I just learned that Judge Isabella Horton Grant passed away on Saturday. I am not quite sure what to say. She was an important presence early in my career when she sat on the bench in Family Law. She had some great stories to share with all of us from early in her career when she was practicing family law. And she remained committed to improving the status of family law and the quality of services provided to the families we serve. Her passing is a loss to all of us.
...With sadness... Lorie

Ron Wagner: A great attorney and Bench Officer but an even better human being.


Jennifer Jackson: Judge Grant has always loomed large for me, as she jump-started my career in family law. When I was her law clerk, Isabella, Lita and I were the entire family law department! I was really scared of her at first, but I found out that she was actually very shy - when you got to know her, she had a fabulous sense of humor and what a background! Her uncle was Edward Everett Horton, a very famous actor in the 20s, probably. So her apartment was covered with all these old Hollywood photos and memorabilia. She gave up having a life of her own to dedicate herself to the practice of family law, which is pretty much what you had to do as a woman in her day  and her tales of Mr. Livingston, her long-time boss, were at once hilarious and mortifying. A truly generous, outstanding, dedicated human being. And absolutely devoted to Jeanne Ames. Those two buddies cavorted across the country and around town together for fifty some-odd years, not to mention the things they did together for family law&so sad for Jeanne and her family. And us.

Pam Pierson: My very first case was against Isabella. It was a declaratory relief action regarding the a divorce judgment. I represented the second wife of a decedent. Isabella represented the first wife. Throughout the case she was gracious, friendly, never condescending and delightful. And she beat the pants off of me. But she also treated me with respect, never as though I was the young, inexperienced lawyer that I was. I did not win the case but I certainly learned a lot about how to be a good lawyer. I admired and respected her immensely. And I was very grateful to her for what she taught me.

Phil Hammer: It was indeed sad to learn of Isabella Grant's death. She was devoted to the our AAML chapter, and we became friends in the late '60s when we both seemed never to miss a meeting, most frequently at Jack's. She could often elicit a laugh, and she told us she was related (uncle or cousin I can't remember) to one of the funny character actors of the movies, Edward Everett Horton. Look him up in imdb.com, the place to look when you want to find out anything about a film. Too many years went by without our paths crossing again. Her passing is a loss to us all.

Diana Richmond: I was so sad to hear this. I recently had the pleasure of listening to Max Gutierrez render me the history of the work Isabella, Herma Hill Kay and he did to enact the 1970 Family Law Act. Isabella and he lobbied legislators on why this was important. I remember her and Larry Stotter trying a lengthy, tough case. Larry was his usual, high strung self. Isabella was all graciousness and good humor, bringing her client's home-baked cakes to share with all in the courtroom.On this, Women's Day, she is a good person for us to remember, a gracious lady with a tough spine and perseverance, which she needed even to get a job when she started. She helped pave the way for all of us who followed her. I will miss her.

David Fink: Well said, Diana! I am too young to have had a case with Isabella, but she was the one who swore me in as an attorney, and she was the judge before whom I first appeared in family court. She was a gracious lady and a pioneer, and she will be missed.

Suzie Thorn: When I burst onto the scene in the mid 60s, Isabella Grant was the only woman lawyer I met who was not locked in the closet! The others, maybe three of them, all did research in backrooms of law offices, rarely saw clients and never went to court. Isabella was clearly the sole role model. After our famous dog custody cases in the 70s, she recruited me to be a member of AAML. At that time, I was totally unaware of the small number of women who were fellows in the AAML. In her own understated way, Isabella was a true pioneer.