Steven Berk Full Bio

Steven N. Berk, Managing Partner

 

Telephone: 202-232-7550

Email: steven@berklawdc.com

EDUCATION:

  • AB, Washington University, 1981
  • MSc, London School of Economics, 1982
  • JD, Boston College Law School, 1985

BAR ADMISSIONS:

  • District of Columbia, 1992
  • Illinois, 1985

COURT ADMISSIONS:

  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
  • Supreme Court of the State of Illinois

MEMBERSHIPS:

  • DC Bar Standing Committee for Judicial Evaluations
  • Board of Directors of Appleseed Foundation
  • Chairman of the Board, Montgomery Cheetahs

 

Government Service

Steven moved to Washington, DC in 1989 to accept a position with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Office of the General Counsel. At the Commission, he prosecuted cases against professionals (accountants and attorneys) under Rule 2(e) and represented the Commission in federal court on a number of administrative matters.  In 1994, Steven was appointed an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1990-1994. As a federal prosecutor, he was lead trial counsel in over 25 jury trials in the Federal District Court and Superior Court for the District of Columbia. He also prepared and presented several appellate cases before the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and conducted numerous investigations and cases to state and federal grand juries. He focused on prosecuting economic crimes during his tenure as an AUSA and was recognized and awarded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his work in connection with the investigation, indictment and convictions of several individuals who embezzled

millions from a District of Columbia based pension fund.

The Private Practice of Law

After his tenure in the government, Steven became a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Jenner & Block, a top 100 firm with over 500 lawyers. Jenner is consistently recognized as having one of the leading litigation practices in the country. At the firm, he was lead trial counsel in a number of commercial cases in federal and state courts. His substantive expertise includes federal and state regulatory issues, antitrust litigation and counseling; internal corporate investigations; and white-collar criminal defense. He also spearheaded a successful nationwide litigation and legislative campaign to enable Certified Public Accountants to concurrently serve as Certified Financial Planners and sell securities to their clients. In doing so, he became a recognized expert on ethical and conflict of interest rules governing the accounting profession.

Over the past seven years Steven has developed a considerable expertise in class action litigation. He has been named lead counsel or has had a substantial leadership position in several nationwide cases seeking to protect the rights of consumers and investors. He has also served as class counsel to tens of thousands of African-American residents of public housing in Dade County Florida, in a Fair Housing case that was successfully resolved with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Miami-Dade County.

In May of 2009, Steven opened his own firm, Berk Law PLLC.  In addition to prosecuting class action cases, the firm has handled an array of other matters in state and federal courts throughout the country. The firm has counseled nominees in connection with senate confirmation hearings, represented investors and corporations in arbitration proceedings and filed claims on behalf of whistleblowers in connection with the False Claims Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank and IRS regulations.  Berk Law PLLC has grown in two years and now includes a staff of six, with offices in Washington, DC and Austin, Texas.

Professional, Educational and Community Activities

Steven is a member of the District of Columbia and Illinois Bars. He currently serves a standing member of the DC Bar’s Judicial Evaluation Committee. He has been admitted to practice before several federal district and circuit courts across the country and is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court.

Steven has also taught a seminar in Federal Court Litigation as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Boston College Law School.

Beyond his legal career, Steven has gained significant experience in the world of business and technology by founding and operating his own company, iHappen Interactive, a social networking site that pre-dated MySpace and FaceBook. Under his direction, the company developed an award-winning and innovative software application used in online marketing.  Continuing his interest in digital media, Steven founded and currently writes for TheCorporateObserver.com.  The site receives over 2,000 unique visitors per month.

Steven pursues a range of community and charitable pursuits. He was a founding volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum where he provided private tours and worked with holocaust survivors on documenting their experiences. For several years he coached youth baseball and soccer teams.  Most recently he was the co-founder (with his two sons) of the Montgomery Cheetahs, a hockey program for children with autism and other special needs. The team has won awards for voluntarism from both the City of Rockville and the State of Maryland.

Since the team was founded in 2007, it has served hundreds of children and promoted awareness of special needs and autism to an equal number of college, high school and middle school students who serve as mentors. The Cheetahs currently include 40-50 players (skating on A, B, and C teams) and over 50 mentors.  The team plays from September through April and attends at least one national tournament per season.  Steve is currently serving as the Chairman of the team’s Board of Directors

Steven has studied painting and drawing at the Corcoran School of Art and in his “spare” time Steven enjoys filling canvases with colors and lines.

Education

Steven graduated magna cum laude from Boston College School of Law where he served as Managing Editor of the Law Review. He has an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics in International Relations and an A.B. with honors from Washington University.

 

Sample of Past Cases

Kathie Aamodt Ward, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. American Home Shield Corporation; American Home Shield of California, Inc., No.CV-07-01380, United States District Court Central District of California, Western Division (2009).

Center for Science in the Public Interest v. Burger King Corp., Civil Case No. 07-1092 (RJL), United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ( 2008).

In Re: Long Distance Telephone Service Federal Excise Tax Refund Litigation; This Document Relates To Cohen v. United States, Gurrola v. United States, Sloan v. United States, MDL Docket No. 1798, Master File: 07-mc-0014 (RMU), 07-cv-0051 (RMU), 07-cv-0050 (RMU), 06-cv-0483 (RMU), United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (2008).

In Re: Series 7 Broker Qualification Exam Scoring Litigation, William Lowe, et al. v. The National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. and EDS Corporation, No. 07-7162, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2008).

Grimes v. Fairfield Resorts, Inc., No. 06-14363, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2007).

Strzalkowski v. General Motors Corporation, Civil No. 06-10010-GPM, District of New Jersey Cause No. 1:04-04740, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (2007).

Vicki Schaffer v. Hewlett Packard Company, No. 04-71391, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division (2007).

Anthony Ball and Shaarlynn Neeman v. Sony Electronics Inc., 05-C-307-S, United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (2005).

Chabansky v. Sony Electronics Inc, No. 05-CV-1979-JAH-RBB, United States District Court for the Southern District of California (2003).

Carlos Lazo v. Mercury Marine, A Division of the Brunswick Corporation, No. 03-12353 (2002).

Adker-Marie, et al v. Miami Dade County, et al, No. 1:1987cv00874, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (2001).

Hughes et al v. JVC Americas Corp., No. 2:05-cv-3947-DRD, United States District Court District of New Jersey, (2001)

Beverly Enterprises, Inc., and Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services, Inc., v. Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of the United States Department of Labor, and the United States Department of Labor. Civil Action No. 97-2475 SSH, United States District Court for the District of Columbia (2000).

Mellon v. Cessna Aircraft Co., Nos. 99-3292 and 00-3023, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2000).

United States of America, ex rel. Jack J. Grynberg v. ANR Pipeline Company, et al., No. 98-5224, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1998).

In re: Boston and Maine Corporation, et al., Petitioners, No. 97-1411, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1997).

United States of America v. Albert J. Sams, Consolidated with No. 95-3179, No. 95-3152 Consolidated with No. 95-3179, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1996).

Earles v. State Bd. of Certified Pub. Accountants, No. 95-CA-0505, Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit (1995).

United States of America v. Anthony Maurice McDonald, No. 92-3047, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1993).

United States of America v. McClellan Chatman, No. 91-3294, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (1993).

United States of America v. Cornell Foster, No. 91-3283, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1992)

Herbert Dellenbach v. James Letsinger, Paul Buchanan, Janet Roberts Blue, Marianna Novak and Debra Banach, No. 87-2972, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1989).