William Schwarzer

William W. Schwarzer (April 30, 1925 – January 28, 2017) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Education and career Born in Berlin, Germany, Schwarzer emigrated with his family to the United States. Schwarzer served in the United States Army during World War II, beginning in 1943. He attained the rank of Second Lieutenant, and was discharged in 1947. He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree, (cum laude), at the University of Southern California in 1948, and a Bachelor of Laws with honors from Harvard Law School in 1951, where he was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, and where he also served as a teaching fellow from 1951 to 1952. He entered private practice in San Francisco, California in 1952 as an associate at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen (which later became Bingham McCutchen). He became a partner at the firm in 1960 and continued with McCutchen until his appointment to the federal bench in 1976. He served as senior counsel to the President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States (better known as the Rockefeller Commission) in 1975. Federal judicial service