Joel Berger

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360 Lexington Avenue, 16th Floor New York, NY 10017-6502 Voice:(212)687-4911 Fax: (212) 687-1406 E-mail: jberger1955@aol.com Major cases since entering private practice in 1996 have included (i) a legal malpractice action against nationally prominent civil rights lawyers for missing a filing deadline in the New York State Court of Claims while representing a former inmate who had been declared innocent in state post-conviction proceedings (settled for $900,000 after arguing and winning related issues in the New York Court of Appeals, Long v. State of New York, 7 NY3d 269, 819 NYS2d 679 (2006)) (the City paid Mr. Long an additional $50,000 in a related case); (ii) a civil rights action on behalf of a former New York State inmate convicted on the basis of police perjury (settled for $650,000); (iii) a wrongful death action alleging that a woman inmate on Rikers Island had died due to inadequate medical care and inattention by correction officers (settled for $400,000); (iv) a sexual harassment case on behalf of three female New York City police officers, settled for $650,000; and (v) a lawsuit on behalf of St. Vincent’s Medical Center against the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, alleging that a prison health care contract had been awarded to an unqualified hospital on the basis of an illegal bidding process, thereby endangering the lives of the City’s prison inmates (settled for $500,000; the lawsuit also exposed the grossly deficient medical care being provided by the hospital that had won the contract, St. Barnabas, and influenced that hospital to withdraw from consideration for its renewal.) General litigation matters in private practice have included a civil RICO action by a large publishing corporation challenging the fraudulent sale of internet rights by an unauthorized executive, negotiation of a termination and severance agreement for the Vice President and Medical Director of a major hospital, an appeal to compel arbitration of a dispute over computer software royalties, litigation over the profits of a defunct family partnership, defense of a state’s suspension of trainers of thoroughbred racehorses, defense of a real estate firm in a proceeding before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, defense of community college-related enterprises in two personal injury actions and two employment discrimination actions (see Baskett v. Hostos Children’s Center, Inc., 03 CV 7330 (SCR)(MDF) (SDNY), Magistrate’s Report of 5/3/05 recommending granting of summary judgment, District Court’s Opinion of 9/9/05 adopting Magistrate’s Report), and representation of a physician in investigations by the State Office of Professional Medical Conduct and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. I also represented Ronald S. Lauder and New Yorkers for Term Limits in proceedings before the New York City Council in 2001, resulting in the defeat of a proposal to repeal term limits for City Council Members. Additionally, since entering private practice I have won approximately $7.

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