Former Phila. mass tort judge named '14 Sandra Day O'Connor Award winner by Phila. Bar Assoc.

Sandra Mazer Moss, the former Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge

who headed up the First Judicial District’s mass tort program, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Sandra Day O’Connor Award by the Philadelphia Bar Association.

Moss, who is currently the executive director of the Sheller Center for Social Justice at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, previously served as a judicial team leader in the civil division of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

During her time on the bench, Moss oversaw complex medical malpractice, products liability and catastrophic accident cases.

She is the founder and coordinating judge emeritus of the Complex Litigation Center at the First Judicial District where she supervised more than 9,000 mass tort cases, according to Temple Law.

Late last year, Moss was appointed executive director of the Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice at the Philadelphia law school, which is named for Stephen Sheller, a prominent Philadelphia products liability attorney, and his wife.

The center, which was established in early 2013, serves as a think tank where law students can work side by side with faculty members and practicing attorneys to receive training in legal research, advocacy and policy development.

It also handles civil liberties, environmental, consumer protection and disabilities rights issues.

The Philadelphia Bar Association’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award, which went to Temple Law Dean JoAnne Epps in 2009 and to Temple Law Professor Marina Angel in 1996, recognizes a female attorney who has demonstrated superior legal talent, achieved significant legal accomplishments and has furthered the advancement of women in both the law profession and the community in which she serves, according to Temple Law.

Moss previously received the Philadelphia Bar Association’s 2007 Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Distinguished Jurist Award, which honors a judge who adheres to the highest ideals of judicial service.

And she was selected as the Beasley School of Law’s Certificate of Honor Recipient at Temple’s Founder’s Day Celebration back in 2008.

Last year, Moss was inducted into the National Trial Lawyer’s Hall of Fame in honor of her 25-year contribution to mass tort litigation.