David F. Levi Named 2026 Bolch Prize Recipient

The award honors Levi’s lifelong commitment to strengthening the rule of law and the institutions that sustain it.

David F. Levi, president of the American Law Institute (ALI), founding director of the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School, and former dean of Duke Law School, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Susan and Carl Bolch Jr. Prize for the Rule of Law. The prize recognizes Levi’s career of service to the judiciary and justice system and his extraordinary leadership in bringing together judges, lawyers, scholars, and policymakers to improve the administration of justice and support democratic institutions.

Throughout a career that has included service as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, nearly two decades on the federal bench, including four as chief judge, dean of Duke Law School, and now the presidency of the ALI, Levi has worked to strengthen the institutions that support a fair and functional justice system. In each role, he has emphasized collaboration and cooperation, bringing together judges, practitioners, scholars, and other stakeholders to address challenges facing the judiciary and to reinforce the norms of impartiality, integrity, and public service that underpin the rule of law.

“David has spent his career building and strengthening the institutions that protect the rule of law,” said Kerry Abrams, the James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law at Duke Law School. “From his work on the federal bench to his leadership of the Bolch Judicial Institute, he has shown a steady commitment to judicial independence and to the idea that a fair and impartial judiciary is essential to democracy. The Bolch Prize recognizes the importance of this work and the impact it continues to have on our legal system.”

A Career Rooted in Strengthening Democratic Institutions

Levi’s dedication to improving and strengthening the institutions that uphold the rule of law spans decades and multiple sectors of the legal profession. As U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, he emphasized fairness in federal prosecution while overseeing significant public corruption cases, reinforcing through leadership and example the principle that democratic institutions must be protected from criminal misuse.

“For the rule of law to prevail, individuals need to embody it compellingly enough for others to feel the force of its value,” said Richard Brodhead, president emeritus of Duke University. “With his intellect, charm, and boundless love of his field, David has advanced this cause on the bench, as a professor and dean, and as leader of a critical national resource, the American Law Institute. He has few peers as a representative of law as a fundamental human good.”

During his 17 years as a U.S. district judge in the Eastern District of California, including four years as chief judge, he presided over complex civil and criminal litigation and contributed to modernizing the civil justice system through service on several federal rules committees. He served as chair for the federal courts’ Civil Rules Advisory Committee and the Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, roles in which he worked to improve procedural fairness and strengthen the administration of justice.

“David’s influence on the federal courts and on judicial education cannot be overstated,” said Paul W. Grimm, former director of the Bolch Judicial Institute and retired judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. “His work on the civil rules helped modernize the justice system; his creation of the Bolch Judicial Institute offered judges a venue for rigorous study and reflection; and his continued leadership of the ALI helps shape the law itself. He exemplifies the dedication to institutional integrity that this prize is designed to honor.”

Dedication to Judicial Education

After stepping down as dean of Duke Law School in 2018, Levi became the founding director of the Bolch Judicial Institute. He worked closely with founders Carl Bolch Jr. and Susan Bass Bolch to build and advance the Institute’s mission of bettering the human condition by studying and promoting the rule of law. He is an emeritus member of the Institute’s Advisory Board.

Levi was also instrumental in bringing Judicature, the scholarly journal on judging, to Duke Law School. Under the Institute’s stewardship, Judicature has strengthened its role as a forum for thoughtful discussion about judging, courts, and the rule of law.

“David is a very worthy recipient of the 2026 Bolch Prize and a great friend to the North Carolina Judicial Branch,” said Paul Martin Newby, chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. “As co-chair of the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice, his foresight helped make North Carolina the first state in the nation with electronic access to every court; together with his strategic partnership in our trauma-informed courts project, these initiatives have strengthened the judiciary’s ability to fulfill its constitutional mandate to administer justice without favor, denial, or delay. I congratulate David on this well-deserved recognition.”

Guiding Thoughtful Development of the Law

Since 2017, Levi has served as president of the ALI, guiding the organization’s continued work of producing Restatements, Model Codes, and other influential works that shape legal doctrine nationwide. In addition to his work with the ALI, Levi has contributed to national efforts aimed at strengthening access to justice and improving the administration of law. He served on the board of directors of Equal Justice Works from 2010 to 2013, chaired the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the American Judicial System from 2014 to 2016, and co-chaired the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice in 2015. He later served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States in 2021 and is a member of the Leaders Council of the Legal Services Corporation.

“David and I first crossed paths when, as chair of the Standing Committee, he was working on class-action reform,” said Diane P. Wood. “Over the ensuing three decades, principally through our work with the ALI, he has been a colleague, a friend, and an inspiration in our mutual pursuit of justice and the rule of law. Throughout that time, he has been a model of courtesy, openness to competing viewpoints, and fairness. I can imagine no one more worthy of the Bolch Prize for the Rule of Law than David.”

 Michelle Kaminsky is managing editor of Judicature.