Edward J. Gallagher, Jr. is the senior partner in the Gallagher, Langlas & Gallagher, P.C. law firm and is a lifelong resident of Waterloo.  He is a graduate of Sacred Heart School in Waterloo.  He received a BA Degree (Magna Cum Laude) from Loras College in Dubuque and also received an honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Loras College in 1998.  He received a Juris Doctor Degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1950.  He served on the Board of Regents at Loras College for nine years and now serves as a Regent Emeritus.

Gallagher is past Chairman of the UNI Foundation Board of Trustees and currently serves on the Board.  As a Board Member since 1990, he co-chaired the Cedar Valley Leadership Gifts Campaign for the Performing Arts Center that bears his name.

Gallagher is past president of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa Community Foundation, past chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Grout Museum and is currently a Trustee, a Board Member of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, a Trustee of Covenant Foundation, a member of the Waterloo Rotary Club, Waterloo Elks Club and Sunnyside Country Club.

He is a member of St. Edwards Catholic Church, and by Papal Invitation is a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.  He is also a member of the Columbus High School Hall of Fame and a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.

He is a Navy Veteran of World War II, having served on an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific theater of action and was awarded two battle stars.  He is past Post Commander of Waterloo Amvets Post 19, past State Amvet Commander and past National President of the Amvets Nation Service Foundation.  He was Committee Chairman for the 50th Anniversary Celebration for the Five Sullivan Brothers in 1992 and Chairman for the Dedication of the Five Sullivan Brothers Civic Center.

Gallagher was Waterloo City Attorney from 1969 to 1974 and is a past president of the United Fund of Iowa.  He was also the City Attorney for Evansdale, Iowa from 1954 to 1958. 

Gallagher is the founder of the Iowa Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocacy (ABOTA), and has been a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers for twenty-six years.  He served two terms (six years) as a Board Member.  He is a Past President and Board Member of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers.  He is Past Chairman of the Iowa Chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of local, state and national Bar Associations and a member of the International Society of Barristers.  He is admitted to practice law in the State and Federal Courts, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States.  As a trial lawyer, Gallagher has spoken at legal seminars in Iowa and throughout the United States.  He was first listed in the 1987 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” and has been listed in all subsequent editions.

Gallagher and his wife were awarded the Outstanding Philanthropists Award for Eastern Iowa in 1996 by the Board of Executives of Fund Raising Executives and Development Offices for Eastern Iowa.  He is President of the Gallagher Family Foundation.

Gallagher is married to Catherine Cassidy Gallagher and they have three adult children.  E.J. Gallagher, III, a partner of Gallagher, Langlas & Gallagher; Mary Kay Beecher (Mrs. John K.) and Sheila Jo Kain (Mrs. Stan) of Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin.  The Gallaghers have six grandchildren.

Ed Gallagher was the Democrat candidate for U.S. Congress in 1960 and served on the Iowa Democratic State Central Committee for six years.