A Tribute to the Warmth & Wisdom of Professor Michael Gerber
Professor Michael Gerber, shown at left and center, joins Kathleen and Bradley Hoffman, parents of the late Michael Simmons ’20. Attendees in the audience, including many past and present students he mentored, gave Professor Gerber a standing ovation at far right.
Professorship Created by Parents of Michael Simmons ’20 Celebrates Faculty Mentorship
Professor Michael Gerber was honored as the first faculty member named to the Michael Simmons and Michael Gerber Professorship on Nov. 18 at a celebratory investiture ceremony and reception that united 200-plus attendees, including family members, friends, and faculty, as well as students and alumni, many of whom were mentees of the professor.
Kathleen and Bradley Hoffman, parents of the late Michael Simmons ’20, created the professorship to honor their son’s memory in perpetuity and to pay tribute to his treasured alma mater and to Professor Gerber, the mentor who made a profound impact on his life. The endowed professorship, which will be awarded to faculty on a rotating basis for two-year terms, was seeded with a generous $775,000 gift.
In his remarks, Professor Gerber explained that Michael Simmons was an exceptional student who developed an unexpected fascination with the intricacies of bankruptcy law.
“This is a faculty chair that seats two, and I'd like to tell you about the other occupant, the Michael who isn't here with us today, who majored in comparative literature and philosophy, who went to law school with the goal of becoming an entertainment lawyer, and who, by the time he graduated, was well on his way to becoming a distinguished bankruptcy and business restructuring lawyer. So how does that happen?” Professor Gerber said.
He attributed the change in direction to what the late screenwriter Sydney Field described as the “plot points” of a film, or unexpected and often life-altering events.
“Michael and I had our first one-on-one conversation in late fall of 2018 when Michael stopped by my office to tell me that our Debtors’ and Creditors’ Rights class was much more interesting than he ever would have expected. That wasn't just faint praise. It was a plot point,” Professor Gerber said. “But of course, we didn't realize it at the time, because even before we had exhausted the endlessly fascinating topic of bankruptcy law and practice, we had moved on to more philosophical ones. Dogs—how to raise them, wristwatches—how to wear them, whether a vodka martini really qualifies as such, and whether to switch from martinis to scotch before or after the switch from daylight savings to standard time… By the end of the semester, Michael had decided that he wanted to pursue a career as a bankruptcy lawyer, another plot point.”
The conversation was classic Professor Gerber, whose wit and mentorship of students is legendary, as is his deep knowledge of bankruptcy law. He was named last month as an incoming fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.
“It was really through exposure to the teaching and mentorship of Professor Michael Gerber that Michael Simmons discovered his true professional passion and what it was he was meant to do,” Dean David D. Meyer said. “Through honoring their bond, we celebrate a quality that is at the very heart of what makes this Law School so special, which is the transformative power of education and, specifically, of mentorship. The faculty are the lifeblood of any academic institution, and our success rests first and foremost on their shoulders, not only through research and teaching, as important as those are, but also through their personal investment in the welfare and success of the students through counseling, encouraging, inspiring, alerting students to opportunities they never imagined for themselves, and then picking up the phone when appropriate, and going to bat for them to help their dreams come true.”
Michael Simmons was an extraordinary student, Meyer said, who served as an editor of the Brooklyn Law Review and was named a Barry L. Zaretsky Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Fellow. After graduation, he served as a judicial clerk i/n the chambers of Bankruptcy Judge Louis A. Scarcella in the Eastern District of New York, who attended the investiture.
He had only recently begun his second clerkship, with District of Delaware Bankruptcy Judge Karen B. Owens, when he died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism on Nov. 7, 2021, at age 26.
Michael Simmons’ father, Bradley Hoffman, who was joined by his wife, Kathleen, and other family members in the front row, spoke warmly of his son and his mentor.
“He would have done, as David said, many great things in the world, not just in in law, but in life itself. He valued life and he treasured life, and he understood what was important. He had good values, and those values continued when he came to Brooklyn Law,” Hoffman said. “There is a saying that a teacher affects eternity. You never know where his or her influence ends. And Michael, you influenced our Michael.”
In addition to Professor Gerber’s role as a professor and mentor, Board of Trustees Chair Frank Aquila ’83 pointed out in his welcoming remarks that he has given back to the Law School itself. The professor has also held the role of associate dean, spent two years as an interim dean, and served as an administrative dean who expertly oversaw the Law School’s finances.
“I knew that the Subotnick Center was not going to be sufficient space for this event,” Aquila said of the event’s change of venue to the Moot Court Room. "When I talk to alumni, faculty members, students, and staff, everybody has their Michael Gerber story. It is not just about him being a fabulous professor, which he is. It's really the fact that he has extended himself so many times for all of them.”