Allan van Gestel

Allan van Gestel is a retired United States judge, who served as an associate justice of the Superior Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, located in Boston.

Judicial service
In 1996, Governor William F. Weld appointed Allan van Gestel as a judge to the Superior Court of Suffolk County, located in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2005, van Gestel reached the mandatory retirement age of 70, but was recalled and continued serving on that court through 2007.

In October 2000, van Gestel became the first judge in the Suffolk Superior Court's Business Litigation Session (BLS), a specialized business court docket in the Superior Court. He was the sole BLS judge until 2002, and issued numerous opinions, at least some of which were without the assistance of law clerks. During his time on the BLS, van Gestel issued over 250 opinions. van Gestel's "decisions have helped shape the law in Massachusetts concerning business disputes." He has been described as integral to the BLS's establishment and viability, and the father of the BLS.

Legal practice
From 1961 to 1996, van Gestel was a lawyer in private practice with the law firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar. In the 1980s, he was involved with notable litigation concerning Native American land claims in upstate New York.

Education
van Gestel received his undergraduate degree from Colby College in 1957, and his law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1961.

As an educator, van Gestel has served on the faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and as an instructor at the Boston University School of Law and Harvard Law School.

Awards and positions held
In 2015, van Gestel received the American College of Trial Lawyers Samuel E. Gates Litigation Award. In 2003, he received the Judicial Excellence Award from the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and was Chairman of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure from 1986 to 1993.

He is a Trustee of Colby College, and received its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2002.