Judge Daniel Anders rose to a leadership role within the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas at a time when COVID-19 cases were spiking and courts were working to continue operations through the challenges the pandemic posed. He was named supervising judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas First Judicial District’s civil division in November 2020.

Anders, who was Philadelphia’s first openly gay male judge, has been a key figure in bringing back in-person jury trials, something that has earned him praise from litigators happy to see cases moving again.