Harvey Berger |

Berger & Williams, LLP

Harvey Berger | Berger & Williams, LLP

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Firm Summary

Harvey Berger co-founded the firm in 1996. For over 30 years Harvey has represented individuals, insurance companies, small businesses and billion dollar corporations in all aspects of civil litigation. Many of his clients have stayed with him for over a decade. His specialty is employment law, both representing employees, and defending employers, in lawsuits, class actions, mediations, arbitrations and California Labor Commissioner hearings. He also provides personnel advice and counsel to avoid litigation.

Harvey was voted by The San Diego Daily Transcript as one of the Top (10) Employment Attorneys in San Diego County, by other employment lawyers, in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014 & 2015. The Transcript conducted a peer voting process to determine the best lawyers in San Diego County in key categories.

Harvey has been selected as one of San Diego’s “Super Lawyers” each year from 2007-2018. Harvey’s selection as a “Super Lawyer” was highlighted in a special supplement to the Southern California edition of The New York Times and the San Diego Union Tribune as well as the annual issue of Southern California “Super Lawyers” for San Diego. The award followed a survey of more than 10,000 San Diego lawyers followed by an extensive panel review. Only 5% of San Diego attorneys have been selected for Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers has also given Harvey special recognition for the very unique distinction of receiving the award for 10 consecutive years. In addition, Super Lawyers listed him as a Top 50 attorney in San Diego for years 2014 and 2016. In 2015, he was listed as a Top 10 attorney.

Harvey was also selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America each year from 2008-2018 through Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. In addition, he was selected as one of San Diego’s Best Lawyers each year from 2008-2018.

In 2016, Harvey was selected by the San Diego Business Journal as Best of the Bar. He was also given the title of 10 Best 2016 for Client Satisfaction, Labor & Employment Law Division by the American Institute of Legal Counsel.

Harvey has achieved the highest possible (“AV”) rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the authoritative resource for information on the world-wide legal profession. This AV rating indicates very high to preeminent legal ability and the highest professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence as established by confidential opinions from both judges and members of the bar.

Harvey has lectured to statewide attorney organizations, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), as well as to businesses throughout the Southern California area on wage & hour issues, sexual harassment, employment law and management issues. He is a Chapter Author of Wage and Hour Laws: A State-by-State Survey, as well as the 2008 Cumulative Supplement and co-author of book on USERRA.

He is an American Arbitration Association (AAA) Arbitrator and Mediator on AAA’s Employment Panel. He is also an arbitrator and Judge Pro Tempore for the San Diego Superior Court, an arbitrator for the San Diego County Bar Association Fee Dispute Committee, and privately arbitrates and mediates cases upon request. He recently taught an advanced seminar on mediation for the ADR Section of the American Bar Association and attended an advanced seminar for mediators titled “Mediating the Litigated Case” at the Straus Institute at Pepperdine University. He was also a Senior Instructor of American Law Arbitration and Mediation Center for the International Legal Studies (CILS) Salzberg, Austria – (taught in Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Austria).

As a result of a practice representing both employees and employers, Harvey is able to anticipate opposing counsel’s strategies and far more effectively represent his clients. He is also able to easily interact with opposing counsel, while known as an aggressive and outstanding advocate for his clients.

Harvey Berger obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974 and a Masters in Management from M.I.T. Sloan School of Management in 1976. After working for several years as a personnel manager and labor relations consultant, Harvey graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1981.

Harvey is active in various bar associations and legal organizations, including the State Bar of California, American Bar Association, San Diego County Bar Association, California Employment Lawyers Association, National Employment Lawyers Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Society for Human Resource Management, San Diego Defense Lawyers Association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego and Lawyers Club of San Diego. He has been co-chair of the San Diego County Bar Association Labor & Employment Committee for 2012 and 2013. He was on the Wage and Hour Committee of CELA and was chair of its Bench-Bar Committee. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS) from 2009-2013, and was its chair from 2012-2013. He is a volunteer for the San Diego County Bar Association Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act committee, for which he appears pro bono on behalf of active duty military service members who are sued in court.

Harvey is Secretary of the Board of Directors, and Chair of the HR Committee, of The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank (2014 – present).

In 2015, he was elected to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

In his spare time, Harvey is an avid Crossfit athlete.