Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Jen Coatsworth released the following statement in memory of Hon. Gene E.K. Pratter, U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who died on Friday. A U.S. District Judge since 2004, following a long career as an attorney at Duane Morris focused on commercial litigation, Pratter was a longtime member of the Association, including serving as chair of the Professional Guidance Committee from 2000-2001.
“We were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Judge Pratter, a distinguished jurist and attorney who was a valued colleague, friend and mentor to many in our community,” Coatsworth said. “Judge Pratter’s long career will serve as an inspiration to us all: As an attorney, she practiced at Duane Morris for 30 years, serving as the firm’s first general counsel from 1999 to 2004, and balancing a leadership role and a family at a time when greater barriers existed for women to do so successfully.”
“She was dedicated to the study of ethics and professional conduct, serving for decades as a member of our Professional Responsibility and Professional Guidance Committees, including as chair of the latter in 2001. She also taught and mentored numerous practitioners on this topic, both here in Philadelphia and overseas in programs she presented in former Soviet-controlled countries.”
“As a U.S. District Court judge, she oversaw numerous high-profile cases, earning a reputation for her fair and adept handling of often contentious proceedings. She was very active with our Federal Courts Committee, including serving as a panelist for our highest attended CLE program of 2023.”
“At her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2003, she was described as ‘a lawyer’s lawyer’ by Sens. Santorum and Specter, and she had a deep love and regard for this profession and what lawyers can accomplish. In a 1999 article for the Association’s magazine, she wrote the following to her daughter, who was then considering a career in law:
‘Every lawyer, whether destined for fame or infamy – or neither – becomes part of a tradition that is grounded in the most basic element of social order…. Law and lawyers have brought about stunning social sea-changes from both near and far, including the American constitutional system, Asian milestones such as peaceful civil disobedience led by Ghandhi, memorable European epochs such as the Nuremberg prosecutions and even today’s conjoining of law and popular literature. There are certainly days or tasks in every practitioner’s professional life when it helps to remember we are part of such a tradition. It helps more to think about opportunities to extend and enhance that tradition….’”
“We will remember Judge Pratter as someone who added to that rich tradition here in Philadelphia in numerous ways, and as someone who leaves behind a legacy of excellence. She will be greatly missed.”
