Attorney Mathew S. Rosengart, center, celebrated his award from the Beverly Hills Bar Association with Soleil Moon Frye, left, Mara Buxbaum, Casey Affleck and Caylee Cowan. (photo courtesy of Vince Bucci/Mathew Imaging)

The Beverly Hills Bar Association held its 10th annual Litigation Awards dinner on Sept. 20.

Casey Affleck and former SCOTUS Justice David Souter, who appeared by video, presented Mathew S. Rosengart with the Excellence in Advocacy Award.

Additionally, Judge David J. Cowan was presented with the Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence.

“The [BHBA] is pleased to recognize Rosengart and Cowan for their far-reaching impact in our legal profession,” BHBA President Anthony D. Ross said. “They are dedicated advocates of fairness and equal access to justice.”

Rosengart is a former federal prosecutor and preeminent litigator with clients throughout entertainment and other industries. He is a litigation shareholder at Greenberg Traurig LLP with wide ranging accolades from publications including the Los Angeles Business Journal, which has recognized him as a “go to litigator for Hollywood’s elite and corporate America.”

Cowan was lauded for his outstanding public service and dedication to advancing the legal profession. Cowan is the supervising judge of the Civil Division of the L.A. County Superior Court, comprised of 150 bench officers. He also runs the master calendar in Department 1 for the assignment of trials to courtrooms around the county.

Cowan also works with numerous local bar associations on issues of importance to the bench and bar, and in ensuring the court is responsive to lawyers’ needs and concerns. In particular, he has instituted bench-bar working groups on mitigating the effects of the pandemic on civil jury trials and in management of employment cases.

Cowan was also instrumental in the expansion of courtrooms at the Beverly Hills Courthouse – which the BHBA helped found in the 1950s – turning it into an active civil hub serving the Westside community and local lawyers. In 2020, the Trusts & Estates section of the BHBA gave him their Timothy Whitehouse Award. For information, visit bhba.org.