Gary Greene ’71

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Gary S. Greene ’71, Esq., is the recipient of the 2024 UCLA Award for Community Service for his legacy of sharing his love of music to bring people together and engaging others in giving back.

Greene graduated from UCLA summa cum laude with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He continued his education at Loyola Law School, where he graduated with membership in the Saint Thomas More Legal Honor Society, for his dedication to legal studies.

Greene’s commitment to community involvement was exemplified in his years at UCLA. He served as president of UCLA’s political science honor society in 1968. A lifetime musician, he played violin in the symphony and opera orchestras and drums in the UCLA Marching Band.

With nearly 50 years of experience as a trial attorney, he was the youngest attorney in the nation to receive Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for ability and ethics. He has vast and varied legal experience, including having been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, after being nominated by California Governor Edmund “Pat” G. Brown, Sr.

In addition to his legal career, Greene has dedicated his life to bringing people together through music. For many years, he volunteered with the Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra of California, founded by his uncle Dr. Ernst Katz in 1937. He served as concertmaster and conductor, mentoring and inspiring thousands of young musicians from diverse backgrounds. The orchestra’s volunteer performances raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.

To share his love of music with his colleagues in the legal profession, he founded the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic, a nonprofit that has grown to include an orchestra, chorus and big band. As music director and board chair, he spearheads community concerts that raise funds for nonprofits including the American Diabetes Association, Hollywood Remembers World AIDS Day, City of Hope, Shriners Hospitals for Children and Ascencia.

In 2023, he performed with his big band for UCLA School of Law’s reunion and with a string quartet at the reunion’s golden anniversary. L.A. Lawyers Philharmonic performed with the Los Angeles Doctor’s Symphony Orchestra to raise funds for the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment.

Greene has been honored with the Person of Year Award from the Metropolitan-News Enterprise; the Board of Governors Award from the Beverly Hills Bar Association; commendations from Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; commendations from Los Angeles City Council and the Gold Medal from New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards.

He continues to share the joy of music, building community and making a difference for those in need. Today, a half century after his UCLA graduation, he continues to perform at Royce Hall, where he once graced the stage as a student.