Michael Berch, Emeritus Alan A. Matheson Professor of Law, died November 6, 2021, at age 86. Berch, one of the early faculty hired by Professor Willard “Ped” H. Pedrick, founding dean of ASU Law, taught from 1969 until he retired in 2011. He served as associate dean in the 1990s and as head of admissions for two years during the 2000s, when he helped greatly improve the caliber of students accepted to ASU Law.

Berch and his wife, retired Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch, gave generously for decades in support of ASU Law scholarships and programs. He and Rebecca, who also taught at ASU Law for nine years, began giving to the law school in the 1980s, and in 1992, the couple started the Michael and Rebecca Berch scholarship, which benefits several students a year.

In recognition of their generosity and commitment to ASU Law, when the college moved to the Beus Center for Law and Society in 2016, the fourth-floor Student Success Center was named for Michael and Rebecca Berch.

In addition to teaching at ASU Law, Berch was an honors disciplinary faculty member of Barrett, The Honors College at ASU. He taught a wide variety of courses, including federal courts, civil procedure, conflict of laws, judicial remedies, civil rights litigation, law and the regulatory state, and professional responsibility. He also coached many of ASU’s winning Moot Court teams and wrote many articles and a textbook, “Introduction to Legal Method and Process.”

Outside the law school, Berch was involved in a number of pro bono cases and consulted with local firms finding “outside the box” solutions to legal issues.

It gave Michael Berch great pride when their daughter, Jessica Berch, joined the ASU Law faculty in 2017 as a lecturer, teaching a variety of courses including many of the same courses that her father taught.

In 2012, Berch and his wife funded the creation of an award to recognize top students in the Project Excellence program, a partnership between ASU Law and Barrett Honors College to help Barrett undergrad students gain exposure to the law school’s environment and teaching practices. The prize was given to Project Excellence students who excelled in legal research and leadership.

Berch was honored with numerous awards from organizations such as the ASU Alumni Association, Maricopa County Bar Association and the ASU Law Alumni. He also was a recipient of the 12th annual Last Lecturer Award and the Arizona State Bar President’s Award for outstanding service to the bar’s teaching mission.

Before teaching, Berch worked on a variety of high-profile criminal cases at the U.S. Department of Justice, was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and in private practice in New York.

Michael is survived by his wife, Rebecca White Berch, seven children, as well as grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and dogs. His family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the  Michael and Rebecca Berch ScholarshipMichael at ASU Law or the Arizona Animal Welfare League .  (Source: ASU Insight, ASU Foundation)