Haley J. Fromholz

1938 - 2024

November 1, 1938 - August 25, 2024 Haley J. Fromholz of Pasadena died at his home on August 25, 2024, from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was 85.

Born on November 1, 1938, in Greenwich, Connecticut, Haley attended Dartmouth College and graduated from New York University and Duke Law School. Haley joined the sole office of Morrison & Foerster, in San Francisco, in 1967. In 1980, he was asked to become the managing partner of the Los Angeles office, which then numbered 14 lawyers.

Haley was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Governor Pete Wilson in 1994 and served first in Compton, then in Pomona, and finally in downtown Los Angeles. In 2003, Chief Justice Ronald George assigned him all Southern California Catholic church clergy abuse cases, numbering over 700. Haley oversaw those cases through the July 2007 settlement of 508 cases against the Los Angeles Archdiocese. In November 2007, Haley retired from the bench and became an arbitrator and mediator for JAMS, the arbitration and mediation service. He worked with JAMS until his retirement in 2018.

As a judge, Haley especially appreciated the work of jurors and understood that they made sacrifices to do their civic duty. He believed that jurors took their job seriously and reached the right results the vast majority of the time.

Haley also was an advocate for alternative dispute resolution and served as the co-chair of the Los Angeles Superior Court's bench-bar ADR Committee and on the board of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Center for Civic Mediation. His service to the legal community began early in his career: in the 1970s, he founded the Science and Technology section of the American Bar Association and served as its chairman. Haley was a member of the American Law Institute, a fellow in the American Bar Foundation, and a member of Chancery Club in Los Angeles. Haley was also chair and a longtime board member of the Constitutional Rights Foundation, now Teach Democracy.

Haley was a mentor to many lawyers, who remembered him as "the finest lawyer I have ever worked with" and "a great leader: smart, serious, fair, honest, generous with his attention, and unflinching in his commitment to do the right thing." "Even more than being a great lawyer, Haley was honest and fair with his colleagues, from the most senior partners to the mailroom folks."

Haley was dedicated to his alma maters, serving on the Board of Visitors of Duke Law School, from which he received the Charles S. Murphy Award for Achievement in Civic Service, and on the Dartmouth Alumni Council.

Haley's colleagues, friends, and family also fondly remember his dry sense of humor, complete with bursts of laughter, and his athletic prowess. Haley passed his love of sports-and his belief that team sports are not only great fun to play and watch but also teach life's most important lessons-on to his daughters, whose teams he coached and for whom he patiently caught tens of thousands of practice pitches. And he loved traveling; he and his wife Anita explored the world together, often by bicycle.

He leaves his wife of 59 years, Anita, his daughters, Ann and Julia, and his granddaughter, Alden.

A remembrance will be held on November 16 for his friends and colleagues. If you wish to make a donation in memory of Haley, his family suggests that you donate to Teach Democracy or Doctors Without Borders.