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The Samuel E. Gates Litigation Award is presented by the American College of Trial Lawyers to honor a lawyer or judge who has made a significant contribution to
the improvement of the litigation process. Established in 1980, the Award is named for
a distinguished president-elect of the College who died before he could assume the role of president, but whose contributions to the law and legal processes were widely recognized and deeply admired. Mr. Gates, a pioneer in the field of aviation law, played “a major role in shaping the laws and international conventions that govern airline flights, and in representing domestic and international airlines.” Persons selected to receive the award may include trial practitioners, judges, educators, legislators, administrators, initiators of organizations
or programs, or others “whose work has been substantively significant or who has inaugurated or advanced significant programs.”
The 2023 Samuel E. Gates Litigation Award was presented to the Honor- able Jeremy Fogel, who was accompanied at the Annual Meeting in San Diego by his wife, Kathleen Wilcox. Judge Fogel currently serves as the first Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute at Berkeley Law, a program that endeavors to build bridges between judges and academics and promotes an ethical, resilient, and independent judiciary. Judge Fogel came to the Institute after having already enjoyed a distinguished career that began in 1974 and which has included success as a trial lawyer in private practice, service as the founding Directing Attorney and Executive Director of the Mental Health Advocacy Project, appointments as a trial judge in the California state judicial system and as a federal district court judge in the Northern District of California, and (for approximately seven years) an impactful role as the Director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. – the education and research agency for the federal courts in the United States. Judge Fogel has earned a reputation as a keen observer of the human condition and as an exceptional educator and in- novator whose contributions to our judicial systems have been wide-rang- ing and profound. He is also a friend of the College, having attended the Leadership Workshop near Lake Tahoe in 2019, where he anchored a panel of jurists discussing the importance of judicial independence. In October 2023 he graciously granted an interview for the College’s “Trial
Tested” podcast (Season 7, Episode 3).
The theme of Judge Fogel’s acceptance remarks was aptly framed by the title he ascribed to them: “The Human Side of Judging: Why It Matters.” With a profound interest in understanding the values that influence peo-
ple in daily life, Judge Fogel initially expected to be a religious studies scholar; but he gravitated to the law, where he saw opportunities to help people grapple with their individual challenges and navigate the com- plexitiespresentedbylegalsystems.HedescribedhisworkwiththeMen- tal Health Advocacy Project as offering an opportunity to assist unseen and unheard persons, many of whom suffered from chronic mental illnesses. As
he noted: “My interest in religious studies came from wanting to understand what the core motivations of people were, the values that drive people in daily life, and I gravi- tated toward law practice that had some of that flavor to it.” After developing an un- derstanding of the needs of his clients, he found ways to address those needs through available legal means and other kinds of re- lief. “I was learning how to listen to them and figure out what their core situations were and how to communicate to a legal system what was actually needed, what their core situations were, and what kind of help they could get.”
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