John Patrick Foley

John Patrick Foley was born July 18, 1927, in Torrance, California, and became one of Las Vegas' longtime members of a prominent Nevada legal family. He earned a degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1950 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1953. He was the son of U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Foley, and his brothers likewise built distinguished legal careers - among them federal judge Roger D. Foley, state District Court Judge Thomas A. Foley, District Attorney George Foley, and lawyer and University of Nevada Regent Joseph 'Joe' Foley.

Foley began practicing law in 1955 in Las Vegas with the Foley Bros. firm, and he continued to practice for more than 60 years across Las Vegas and rural Nevada. His work spanned probate law, wills, trusts and estates, estate planning, family law, divorce, adoptions, guardianship, civil litigation, business and corporate law, and insurance law. Among his notable matters, he represented a plaintiff who suffered brain damage in the 1988 PEPCON plant explosion in Henderson.

Beyond his private practice, Foley was a leader in expanding access to justice, co-founding the Southern Nevada Legal Aid Center in 1962 as a board member. He also served the public in elected office as a member of the Nevada State Senate from 1971 to 1974. He died October 31, 2016, at the age of 89.