McCarter & English partner David R. Kott was named recipient of the 2025 Francis X. Dee Award from the New Jersey chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL). The award celebrates outstanding advocacy skills and dedication to improving the standards of trial practice and the administration of justice.
Kott is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He has tried more than 50 jury trials to verdict and argued numerous appeals, including arguing 13 matters before the New Jersey Supreme Court. He is designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Lawyer. For more than 20 years, he has chaired the Legal Affairs Committee of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA), the largest business trade association in New Jersey. He is also a past Board Chair of the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute (NJCJI), the largest New Jersey-based civil justice reform organization.
Kott, who has been a Fellow of the ACTL since 2001, will receive the award on May 29, 2025 at a ceremony at the Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
“My partner, David, is so deserving of this award, which by name honors one of the titans of the New Jersey trial bar,” said Joseph Lubertazzi, McCarter’s Chair. “David is a tireless advocate for his clients in the courtroom, and someone who has dedicated his professional life to justice.”
In addition to receiving this award, Kott is listed in Band 1 for Product Liability in New Jersey in Chambers USA, and has been recognized by Best Lawyers as the “New Jersey Lawyer of the Year” in Product Liability Litigation twice.
The Francis X. Dee Award, established in 2018, celebrates the life of Francis X. Dee, an ACTL Fellow who was recognized by his peers as a trial lawyer who exemplified the profession’s highest ideals. The ACTL is an invitation-only Fellowship of exceptional trial lawyers from the United States and Canada who have demonstrated the very highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality.