Jerome P. Facher

Jerome P. Facher of Boston and Arlington formerly of Wilkes-Barre, PA, on Thursday, September 19, 2019. He was the beloved husband of Vivien C. Gattie, loving father of Gillian Facher of Philadelphia, PA, Marise Facher of Waltham, MA, and grandfather of Sophie. Dear brother of the late Herbert L. Facher. Services at Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Avenue, Belmont on Tuesday, September 24 at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Beit Olam Cemetery, 60 Old Sudbury Road, Wayland. Memorial Observance immediately following the burial at his home in Arlington.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the charity of your choice.

Facher was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA on December 9, 1925 to Morris and Gussie (Levy) Facher. After leaving Meyers High School early to attend Bucknell Junior College he discovered chemistry was not for him and so began his transfer to Pennsylvania State College where he majored in journalism, graduating in 1946. That same year he enlisted in the Army, serving a tour of duty in Korea.

Following his military service in Korea, Jerry was accepted to Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude in 1951. Jerry described it as “the defining experience of my life”. His appreciation and close association with Harvard Law School was lifelong. He taught a section of Trial Practice there for 29 years, was an instructor in Trial Advocacy Workshop and in 1999 was a Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series lecturer.

After graduation Jerry had offers to join Wall Street firms, but instead chose public service with the Department of the Army as part of a small cadre of civilian lawyers recruited to form the Office of Department Counselor. In 1953, he joined the U.S. Delegation to NATO in Paris, dealing with the important issues of U.S. participation in the planning, construction and financing of military projects being built in various NATO countries, including air fields, naval bases, and secret war headquarters. He then returned to Boston in 1955 where he joined Mintz Levin and Cohn as a litigator. Thereafter he joined Hale and Dorr in 1959 where he remained until his retirement in 2013.

At Hale and Dorr, Jerry became a senior partner and served as Chairman of its highly regarded Litigation Department, which included star litigators Joseph Welch and James St. Clair. He served on the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission, was appointed by President Carter as chairman of the First Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. The Supreme Judicial Court twice appointed him as special counsel to the Judicial Conduct Commission to investigate instances of judicial misconduct.

Jerry represented many important individuals and corporate clients, including the conglomerate Beatrice Foods. In 1982 Beatrice was sued by families in Woburn, Massachusetts claiming contamination of city wells. In 1986, after an 86 day trial, Beatrice was exonerated and the case was ultimately settled by the remaining defendant, W.R. Grace. The “Woburn case” as it came to be called, was chronicled by Jonathan Harr in his best selling book “A Civil Action”.

Jerry retired from WilmerHale in 2013 but long after retirement he continued to lead and judge the firm’s mock trial program, conducting his final mock trial last spring for over six hours and providing the participants with his usual candid, fair and constructive rulings and critique.

Jerry was a lifelong Red Sox supporter and an ardent theatre fan.