Iranian-born Diane F. Boyer-Vine, who was appointed legislative counsel in 2002, is the daughter of a military man and spent her early childhood travelling extensively. Her family eventually settled in Sacramento and while in law school—following the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979-1980—she renounced her Iranian citizenship. 

Although she danced with the Sacramento Ballet for 10 years as a youth, she pursued a more traditional academic and professional path. She received her undergraduate degree in business administration from California State University, Sacramento, and a J.D. from the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law in 1986.

She was an associate at the law firm of Martorana and Stockman prior to joining the legislative counsel’s office in 1988. Boyer-Vine focused on budget issues and spending in the early 1990s, working with the Department of Education’s task force on recodifying the Education Code. As chief deputy legislative counsel, she assisted with the Senate Committee on Insurance and the Assembly Committee on Insurance during the investigation of the settlement practices of the Department of Insurance under Commissioner Chuck Quakenbush.

She is married to Harry Vine, courtroom deputy to U.S. District Judge David Levi, and has two children.

Diane F. Boyer-Vine (Legislative Counsel website)

Diane Boyer-Vine Legislative Counsel of California (CPA Law Society)

Legislative Counsel Diane Boyer-Vine: On Her Toes, From Ballet to Bills (by Charity Kenyon, Sacramento Lawyer)