Horvitz & Levy LLP - Patricia Lofton

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	DISCLAIMER

PATRICIA LOFTON
(1947-2007)

It is with sadness that we report the passing of Patricia Lofton on March 19, 2007 following a long-fought battle with breast cancer. Her courage and grace as she continued working as an appellate lawyer with her usual dignity, optimism, and energy while fighting that battle were an inspiration to all who knew her.

There is an old saying that “it is not the years of your life, but the life in your years that counts.” In her all too short life of 59 years, Patricia managed to experience more of life than many others have in far more time.

Patricia was born on May 3, 1947. At age 17, she began studying Applied Music at Northwestern University. She then headed to Broadway, appearing in “Man of La Mancha,” “Ari,” and “Celebration,” and in the national touring company of “Fiddler on the Roof.” She also toured Europe as an opera singer, winning a gold medal at the National Music Society of Italy in Genoa and becoming a finalist in the Viotto Competition in Vercelli, Italy.

Patricia eventually moved to California, working as a music critic for Opera Guide Magazine, as a theater administrator and instructor at the Theater of Light. Along the way she fell in love and married Christopher Lofton, a successful actor, writer, and producer, and together they had an extremely loving marriage. Her courage and quiet dignity in caring for Chris during his final years battling cancer were an example to us all.

For most people, a world-wide career in music would constitute a full life. But Patricia had more to give. She went back to college and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History (China Studies) with honors from California State University, Northridge. She then attended Pepperdine University School of Law, working as Notes and Comments Editor on the Pepperdine Law Review, and graduating fourth in her class of over 200 students while receiving numerous honors and awards along the way.

Patricia and Chris then moved to Idaho, where she worked for two years as law clerk for Ninth Circuit Judge Thomas G. Nelson, who described her as “one of the nicest people I’ve ever met” and “one of the best attorneys at handling complicated big record cases, if not the best” that have worked for him. After returning to Los Angeles to work briefly at a litigation firm, she joined Horvitz & Levy LLP in 1996, where for more than a decade she was our colleague and, more importantly, our dear friend.

Patricia quickly developed into a seasoned appellate attorney, winning more than her share of appeals. (See Patricia’s attorney bio.) She was incredibly thorough in everything she did. Yet she was humble about her many accomplishments. She also enjoyed handling pro bono cases that helped individuals—usually children. In 2002, for example, she took the lead in obtaining a favorable decision in The Alliance for Children’s Rights v. Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 1129, a case concerning an issue of great importance to tens of thousands of children in foster care in Los Angeles County. In the year before her death, she handled Durando v. County of Los Angeles, preparing six petitions for administrative writ of mandate that helped protect the rights of six disabled children and their adoptive parents. Patricia’s work resulted in a substantial six-figure settlement from the State of California on their behalf, which will be used to set up a trust fund for three of the children, who are mentally retarded, and to begin providing special services to the other children. (Shortly after her death, Patricia received a posthumous 2007 "Advocate of the Year" award from Public Counsel for her appellate work on the Durando case.)

When Patricia learned of her illness soon after her husband Chris died, a lesser person would have been angered at the unfairness of her circumstances. But that was not Patricia’s way. She soldiered on and, with dignity and immense grace, kept working and living her life while she valiantly fought the cancer.

In the past year, when it became clear that Patricia was losing this fight, she did not give in or give up. Even in her final week, when she spoke to friends at the firm from her hospital bed, she wanted to talk about their children and how they were doing, rather than her own situation. She also worried about her loyal friends who remained constantly at her side during the last few weeks and how her sickness was affecting them.

To the end, Patricia put others’ needs ahead of her own. She was a true friend who loved her life, loved her friends, always saw the good in everyone, and was an eternal optimist. We will deeply miss her tenacity as an appellate advocate, the appreciation of music and art she shared with others, the inner strength beneath her gracious demeanor, and the love she showed to her fellow employees and their families. Both Horvitz & Levy and Patricia's clients have been blessed to have known and worked with such a remarkable colleague, friend, and advocate.

(In light of Patricia’s love for the performing arts, she requested that any donations in her memory be made to the Gabriella Axelrad Education Foundation, which provides dance instruction to ethnically diverse, economically disadvantaged children in Los Angeles.)