Dolly M. Gee has been selected to receive the prestigious 2026 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Ninth Circuit. Gee is chief U.S. district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the first Asian American woman to serve in that role for the Central District. She will receive the award at a special awards ceremony in Bellevue, Washington, in July.

“Chief Judge Gee is a staunch defender of the rule of law and has forcefully condemned recent attacks on the judiciary,” writes Judge Michael D. Weinstein, who nominated Gee on behalf of the Los Angeles Criminal Justice American Inn of Court with the support of four additional California Inns. In one recent speech, he pointed out, Gee urged lawyers to defend the judiciary, saying “If we lose the rule of law, we will lose our fragile democracy.”

A district judge since 2010, Gee became chief judge in 2024. Before assuming that role, she helped create and continues to oversee the Conviction and Sentence Alternatives Program, which has allowed more than 400 criminal defendants to avoid incarceration by addressing their substance use and mental health issues. The first of its kind in the federal courts, the program now serves as a model for programs around the country. Gee also helped launch the court’s loan modification mediation program, which helps financially challenged litigants avoid home foreclosure.

Before becoming a judge, Gee was a partner at Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dorhman & Sommers LLP and specialized in labor and employment law.

Gee has also worked to increase the legal profession’s pipeline. In 2015, for example, she spearheaded the creation of the Just the Beginning Foundation Summer Legal Institute to introduce underrepresented high school students to the legal profession. Prior to becoming a judge, she also served on the boards of organizations within the legal community, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, California Women’s Law Center, and Western Center on Law & Poverty. She cofounded the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County and the Multicultural Bar Alliance. She is a past president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association.

Gee earned a summa cum laude undergraduate degree in political science and East Asian studies at the University of California Los Angeles in 1981. She earned her legal degree from UCLA School of Law in 1984.

The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, inspires the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring. The organization’s membership includes more than 30,000 federal, state, and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in more than 350 chapters nationwide. More information is available at www.innsofcourt.org.

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Judge Dolly M. Gee selected to receive prestigious 2026 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the 9th Circuit.