E. L. Lascher; Specialized in Appellate Law

Ventura attorney Edward L. Lascher, known statewide as an appellate lawyer and as a prolific writer on legal issues, has died at 63.

His wife and law partner, Wendy Cole Lascher, said Lascher died at their Ventura home on Saturday after battling stomach cancer for several years.

Lascher was the first attorney in Ventura County to specialize in state and federal appellate work, which brought him into contact with many attorneys at the state and local levels. He served as president of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers in 1975 and was vice president of the State Bar of California from 1976 to 1978.

In 1979, he headed a statewide commission that evaluates candidates for judgeships.

But in the California legal community, he was probably best known for his column, “Lascher at Large,” which appeared for nearly 20 years, first in the State Bar Journal and later in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, a legal newspaper.

Steven J. Stone, presiding justice of the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Ventura, described Lascher as “a member of the Establishment, but its strongest critic.” He said Lascher often faulted the State Bar for being “too bureaucratic, too monolithic.”

Stone said Lascher’s journalistic skills were evident in the appellate briefs he wrote. “He was a fine, fine writer,” Stone said. “We rarely see his style or craftsmanship anymore.”

Among Lascher’s most notable legal triumphs was the case of Vandermark vs. Ford Motor Co., which established that retailers as well as manufacturers were liable for the products they sold. Another landmark victory, in the case of Seamen’s vs. Standard Oil, held that a person or business could be sued for bad-faith denial of the existence of a contract.

Born in Illinois, Lascher earned his law degree at the University of Michigan in 1953 and moved to the San Fernando Valley a few years later. He decided to move to Ventura after spending a vacation at the beach, his wife said.

He specialized in appeals rather than more commonly practiced areas of law “because he hated depositions and he hated waiting around in hallways,” Wendy Lascher said. “And he loved the writing aspect of it.”

In addition to his wife, Lascher is survived by his sons, Edward Lascher Jr., Thomas Lascher and William Lascher; stepsons Joseph Wilner and John Wilner; daughter Susan Lascher, and a granddaughter.