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Seattle attorney and law professor Matthew P. Bergman receives the American Jewish Committee’s Judge Learned Hand Award

The award recognizes lifelong contributions to the legal profession, dedication to humanitarian principles, individual rights, and democratic values.

SEATTLE—OCTOBER 25, 2022 – The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), a legal resource for parents of children and teenage victims harmed by social media addiction and online abuse, announced that its founding attorney, Matthew P. Bergman, has been named the recipient of the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) of Seattle’s 2022 Judge Learned Hand Award. 

Bergman was honored at an awards reception held on Monday, October 24, at the Rainier Club in downtown Seattle.  The Honorable Robert S. Lasnik, Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, was the featured speaker at the reception.

“I am truly honored to be recognized by the American Jewish Committee as the recipient of one of the legal profession’s highest honors, the Judge Learned Hand Award,” Berman said. “As attorneys, we strive to stand for those who cannot stand for themselves with a hope that we can make a difference in their lives and make a long-term impact on the practice of law.  These are the ideals that Judge Hand stood for and the ideals for which we should all strive.”

Bergman is being recognized for his lifelong work as an attorney, law professor, philanthropist, and community activist.  He is the founder of SMVLC and Bergman Draper Oslund Udo and serves on the board of directors of nonprofit institutions in higher education, national security, civil rights, worker protection, and the arts.

He has chaired the Cardozo Society of the Seattle Jewish Federation and currently serves on the House of Delegates of the Oregon State Bar Association.  Bergman is a Trustee of Reed College and serves on the Board of Visitors of Lewis & Clark Law School, where he also serves as an adjunct professor teaching litigation strategy.

Bergman is a member of the board of the Mississippi Center for Justice, which prosecutes voting rights, fair housing, and consumer protection litigation in Mississippi.  He has been active in politics at the state and national levels for more than 40 years.  As a disciple of Henry “Scoop” Jackson, he worked to promote a close US-Israel relationship and mobilize American political support for the Solidarity movement in Poland, black trade unions in South Africa, and anti-totalitarian forces in the developing world.  He also works for a more stable and peaceful Middle East by gaining and imparting perspectives and establishing trust between nations as a board member of AJC’s Arabian Gulf Institute.

Bergman has testified before the U.S. Congress, was appointed to a dozen creditors’ committees in toxic tort cases, and serves on the advisory committees of several multi-billion-dollar asbestos trusts. He has carried the fight for injured victims from the courthouse to federal and state legislatures and works closely with medical providers throughout the northwest.

The Judge Learned Hand Award is the AJC’s most prestigious honor, named after famous American trial judge, lawyer, and legal philosopher Billings Learned Hand, who served as a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1924 to 1951. Recipients of the award stand for the same values Learned Hand defended in his own work— the rights of the individual and the protection of the freedoms of those living within a structured democracy.   

AJC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.  AJC is the leading global Jewish advocacy organization and is committed to advancing human rights and democratic values in the U.S. and worldwide.

About the Social Media Victims Law Center

The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), socialmediavictims.org, was founded in 2021 to hold social media companies legally accountable for the harm they inflict on vulnerable users. SMVLC seeks to apply principles of product liability to force social media companies to elevate consumer safety to the forefront of its economic analysis and design safer platforms to protect users from foreseeable harm.

About Matthew P. Bergman

Matthew P. Bergman is an attorney, law professor, philanthropist, and community activist who has recovered over $1 billion on behalf of his clients. He is the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center and Bergman Draper Oslund Udo law firm; a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School; and serves on the board of directors of nonprofit institutions in higher education, national security, civil rights, worker protection, and the arts.