James Greene; Civic Leader Headed Law Firm

James Coffin Greene, former chairman of the Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers, has died. He was 82.

Greene, who headed the firm from 1975 to 1979, died Friday at his home in Pasadena.

He joined O’Melveny & Myers in 1939 and was a key corporate lawyer in the firm for nearly half a century, heading the corporate practice division for many years.

Greene chaired Town Hall Los Angeles in 1969 and was a longtime member of the organization’s board of trustees. He also headed the Los Angeles Committee on Foreign Relations and the boards of Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School and the Thacher School.

Greene served as a fellow of Claremont University Center and as a trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation and Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art.

Educated at Yale Law School, he served in the Navy as a lieutenant commander during World War II.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, the former Elizabeth Rollins; three children, Natalie Greene of Pasadena, Sarah Greene of Corvallis, Ore., and James Coffin Greene Jr. of Portland, Ore.; two sisters, Natalie Lewis of Nicasio, Calif., and Sheila Peck of Ross, Calif.; and three grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, 5 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena.

The family has asked that any memorial contributions be made to the James and Elizabeth Greene Scholarship Fund at that school.