Pro Bono

Berger Singerman is committed to giving back to our community. A big part of that is giving back to the communities in which we practice in the form of pro bono leadership and counsel.

When individuals or not-for-profit corporations become our pro bono clients, they become clients of the firm. Berger Singerman attorneys commit to the same team approach and timely delivery of passionate client service. Some representative examples of the ways we help clients pro bono include:

• Because of changing economics and politics, a well-respected museum had decided to close. The museum wanted help determining the best course for a wind-down and orderly liquidation of its remaining assets. The organization’s leadership approached Berger Singerman based on our experience and knowledge in these areas and our reputation and willingness to handle the matter pro bono. We helped the nonprofit through the statutory wind-down process and negotiated with creditors to maximize the value of its assets.
• Berger Singerman represented a client pro bono in a precedent-setting appeal. The case arose out of In re Scantling, where a creditor objected to a Chapter 13 debtor’s proposed “strip off” of its lien on the grounds that the debtor had filed for Chapter 7 relief and obtained discharge less than four years prior to commencement of the Chapter 13 case, making the debtor ineligible for Chapter 13 discharge. In Scantling, the judge held that a debtor’s eligibility for discharge is not prerequisite to the debtor’s ability to “strip off” a wholly unsecured junior mortgage in a Chapter 13 case and a “strip off” would become permanent only on the debtor’s completion of the plan.
• The Miami City Commission found itself blocked by a potentially costly conflict of interest. The City Attorney could not ethically give the Commission a legal opinion about payment of the Mayor’s legal fees in the Mayor’s defense of a lawsuit filed by a sitting City Commissioner. The city was in the process of negotiating with other law firms on a retainer basis for a third-party legal opinion. Berger Singerman offered our experience on a pro-bono basis in corporate governance and providing the much-needed opinion.
• Berger Singerman represented The Florida Bar in connection with an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Attorneys briefed and argued the homestead exemption issue of the case Osborne v. DuMoulin. The Court concurred, holding that where a debtor in bankruptcy elects not to claim the homestead exemption and the trustee’s administration of the bankruptcy estate is not otherwise obstructed by the existence of the homestead exemption, the debtor does not receive the benefits of the Florida homestead exemption and may claim the personal property exemption of $4,000.00.
• Berger Singerman has represented numerous individuals in individual personal bankruptcy filings, and in various litigation and real estate matters.

Pro Bono Leadership

Our lawyers regularly support universities and other organizations offering pro bono legal assistance. This has included:

• Leading the free monthly Pro Se bankruptcy clinic in Miami,
• Serving on the leadership of the Florida Bar Foundations and other law-related boards and commissions, and
• Participating in the University of Miami pro bono project, where lawyers met pro bono with not-for-profit organizations.

Our lawyers are active members of the Miami Pro Bono Round Table, a group of law firms dedicated to furthering the involvement of private bar attorneys in pro bono legal services. We have also advised the Florida Venture Forum about its involvement with emerging business and capital formations of indigent clients and represented dependent children as guardian ad litem.

In addition to representing a variety of clients on a pro bono basis, our lawyers also serve as directors and officers of various groups dedicated to pro bono legal assistance. These include Dade Legal Aid Pro Bono Committee, Legal Services of Greater Miami, Pro Bono Committee of the Florida Bar Business Law Section, Florida Bar’s Chief Justice’s Advisory Committee for the 2012 Tobias Simon Pro Bono Awards, Legal Services of North Florida, and Broward County Pro Bono Services Committee of the Bankruptcy Bar Association.

Your Strengths + Our Platform = Mutual Success

If you have worked diligently to build your legal knowledge, skills and experience and believe you should be getting greater rewards for all you have toiled to build, then we encourage you to carefully consider how our platform can leverage your strengths.

One of the critical success factors for any professional service firm is the platform the firm provides to its professionals. By platform, we mean the totality of things that provide leverage for a skilled professional. At Berger Singerman, continuous improvement in our platform is a key focus of the firm’s leadership. Key attributes of our platform include our:

Excellent Firm Reputation

We enjoy an excellent reputation throughout Florida and across the country. We are a recipient of the South Florida Business Journal 2011 Best Places to Work Award. Our attorneys are well known nationally, and our firm is a frequent winner of prestigious awards. We routinely have a high percentage of lawyers recognized for excellence by third party evaluators such as The Best Lawyers in America, Florida Legal Elite, The South Florida Legal Guide, Super Lawyers, Chambers USA, plus more.

Support of New Business and Professional Development Efforts

We are proactive in providing the tools for our lawyers to be successful in their new business development efforts. We provide ongoing marketing, training and sales coaching. We regularly provide sales training sessions for all attorney team members and as well as on an individual basis. We support professional development in providing CLE classes and other classes such as writing, mock jury trials, training in professionalism as well as substantive in house seminars.

Talented Collaborative Colleagues and Team Culture

Our collaborative firm culture reduces organizational tension and assures attorneys of having colleagues ready to help develop business and serve our clients. Given the complexity of the legal and business worlds in which attorneys must operate today, it is critical that one be surrounded by smart colleagues who truly enjoy collaborating. We have worked hard to instill this team atmosphere among the entire firm. While each of our team members has a high level of professional accomplishment, we believe that when we collaborate as a team we are better able to serve our clients. We therefore evaluate one’s orientation to collaboration in connection with admission to the firm. Our team members’ commitment to collaboration is a factor considered by the firm in connection with team member compensation. As a result, we hire team members who generally enjoy practicing together and believe that this has a positive impact on client service.

General Attorney 

Berger Singerman seeks to expand its Tallahassee office with the addition of one or more highly qualified and motivated attorneys with at least 5 years of experience and portable book of business in one or more of the following practice areas: administrative law (state and federal); environmental law; health care law; bid protests; commercial real estate transactional work; or governmental relations. We seek a candidate with strong academic credentials, significant prior work experience, and a commitment to excellent client service. Florida Bar admission is required.

Governmental Relations 

Tallahassee office seeks lateral attorneys or governmental relations consultants with substantial legislative experience and a portable book of business representing healthcare, insurance, energy or other regulated industries.  The candidate must have a demonstrated track record of advancing public policy interests and budget appropriations on behalf of clients, be self-motivated and growth-oriented, with a strong work ethic, and excellent communication and organizational skills.

We are looking for enthusiastic candidates who thrive working in a close-knit, collaborative team environment and are willing to work hard while having fun and who consistently strive to deliver exceptional client service and work product of the highest quality. 

We are proud of the platform our firm provides to its attorneys and non-attorney team members. We invite you to learn how it can leverage your strengths and enhance your practice and professional happiness.

For attorney opportunities, please submit your resume to:
Sarah Lappin, Director of Talent Acquisition
slappin@bergersingerman.com
 

For non-attorney opportunities, please submit your resume to:
Mario Rumasuglia, Director of Administration
mrumasuglia@bergersingerman.com

During each school year, Berger Singerman hires a select group of law students who have completed their second year of law school to participate in the firm’s Summer Associate Program. Our Summer Associate Program is administered by the associates of the firm who interview and select potential candidates, manage the workload of the summer associates, and provide mentorship, training and feedback.

Our Summer Associate Program is ten weeks in length and is designed to offer summer associates a hands-on, meaningful experience to provide a thorough understanding of the work we do and the clients we serve. Through immersion into our practice, summer associates are exposed to the firm’s enduring cultural values that shape our delivery of the highest quality service to our clients through creative and effective business solutions and counsel. Our Summer Associate Program balances challenging work assignments with constructive feedback, work-related activities outside the office and enjoyable social events.

Starting in August of each year, the firm conducts interviews with rising second-year students on several law school campuses and also welcomes applications from exceptional students attending schools at which we do not conduct campus interviews. Applicants are requested to provide a cover letter, current resume, and a law school transcript. As a firm that emphasizes teamwork and collegiality, we value the differences in experience and outlook that each potential candidate may bring to the firm. We look not only for academic excellence, but also for work experience, motivation, leadership experience and the ability to work in collaborative teams.

Work Assignments

We strive to give our summer associates a realistic view of practicing law at Berger Singerman and to help them bridge the gap between academia and practice. In order to introduce summer associates to the breadth of our practice, each summer associate works on matters in many practice areas of the firm. Our summer associates are not assigned to a particular practice group – they receive a variety of substantive and challenging work assignments from different practice areas. However, we do encourage our summer associates to request assignments in the practice area of particular interest to them.

Our summer associates work on real projects for real clients and can expect substantive assignments, as well as numerous opportunities to observe depositions, hearings, trials, client meetings, negotiating sessions, closings and client development activities. A sampling of work experiences of former summer associates includes conducting substantive research and preparing legal memos, pleadings, and motions; assisting with and observing depositions, arbitration and mediation proceedings, trials, and courtroom and administrative hearings; attending negotiations and corporate and real estate closings; and preparing, reviewing and commenting on various transactional documents. Summer associates actively work on current matters, thereby learning how our lawyers collaborate to address client concerns and how their own work product contributes to the representation.

Mentoring and Training

Each summer associate is assigned a mentor who serves as a general resource to the summer associate throughout the program, coordinates the summer associate’s assignments, advises when work challenges and questions arise, and provides general guidance on any matter whether or not related to particular work assignments. Mentors help summer associates understand the nuances and challenges of our practice and firm, the transition from law school to practice, and offer advice on how to take advantage of the resources and opportunities Berger Singerman has to offer. They also ensure that the summer associates interact with virtually all lawyers in the firm, as well as organize a variety of events throughout the summer that allow our summer associates to get to know our team members on a more informal basis. Several of the associate-level team members who have been through Berger Singerman’s Summer Associate Program have served as mentors to our summer associates.

We provide our summer associates with interactive training through workshops, seminars, presentations, formal introductions to our various practice areas, and general professional development programs. Our summer associates are encouraged to attend all meetings and sessions available to team members, including team and practice group meetings and firm-wide and practice group specific trainings.

Feedback

In furthering our commitment to enhance each summer associate’s legal skill set, we recognize the value of constructive feedback. Summer associates are evaluated on each assignment by receiving informal feedback from the assigning attorneys. In addition, our summer associates meet with their mentors on a weekly basis both to receive and to provide meaningful feedback on their assignments and the program. Summer associates also receive formal evaluations at the end of the program that are discussed during an exit interview.

For more information on our Summer Associate Program, please contact Elizabeth Calderin at recruiting@bergersingerman.com.

“Successful execution of diversity initiatives always involves a true commitment by leadership and strong collaboration among team members.”  Frank Scruggs, Diversity Chair

Berger Singerman recognizes the importance of fostering a collaborative culture that attracts, engages, rewards and retains a diverse team of highly talented attorneys. We are dedicated to achieving professional excellence by providing every team member with the necessary tools and support through training, mentorship and development.

Berger Singerman understands that professional success involves far more than financial success, though that surely is important; it involves a sincere and unrelenting dedication to the growth of every team member, including support staff. Our commitment to the inclusion and advancement of women, people of color, and other diverse individuals reflects our culture and our commitment to serving our clients and community.

In addition, we recognize that many of our clients value and require the need for a diverse team on their matters. Berger Singerman endeavors to staff each client matter with the best team possible, which may result in a diverse group of attorneys, including women, people of color and other historically underrepresented members of society that are also members of our firm with the skills and background necessary to deliver the highest level of legal services expected by our clients.

Below is a sampling of our initiatives and honors received by our team members:

• Iryna Ivashchuk is currently an officer of the Ukrainian American Bar Association. She was previously a Fellow for the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar’s 2015 Diversity Fellowship Program.
• For many years, the firm has been a major sponsor of the Kozyak Minority Mentoring Picnic in Miami where minority law students are invited to network with judges and lawyers at major firms and companies in South Florida. Berger Singerman also hosts an annual reception for minority law students and judges in Broward County leading up to the Mentoring Picnic.
• In October 2014, Frank Scruggs received the “Heritage and Community Service” award from the Friends of the Broward County African-American Research Library and Cultural Center.
• In October 2014, Berger Singerman was named “Law Firm of the Year” by the Latin Builder’s Association (LBA). The firm was recognized for its work in helping to shape the real estate and construction sector in Florida, its robust inbound and outbound Latin American and Caribbean practice, and its commitment to giving back to the community. Katherine Amador is currently on the board of the LBA. Javier Vazquez was a former board member. The LBA is the largest Hispanic construction association in the U.S., representing the interests of builders, developers, contractors, architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians and tradesmen in South Florida.
• In 2013, Frank Scruggs was selected for inclusion in ICABA’s (Identify Connect Activate the Black Accomplished) Icon in Law.
• Frank Scruggs received The Florida Bar’s “President’s Award of Merit” in June, 2014. At the General Assembly of the convention of The Florida Bar in Orlando, outgoing bar president Eugene Pettis presented Frank Scruggs with the award, generously praising his work as task force chairman for the President’s Special Task Force to Study Enhancement of Diversity in the Judiciary and the Judicial Nominating Commissions.
• Sha'Ron James was selected to serve on the Board of Governors of Leadership Tallahassee.

Community service is an integral part of Berger Singerman’s culture.

We are committed to make a positive impact in our community through leadership roles in various organizations, devoting time to strengthen ties with the community and Pro Bono work.

Leadership

Team members are actively involved in a variety of organizations and, in many cases, in a leadership position to bring resolution or advance various causes.

• Robert Barron, Real Estate and Corporate Partner at Berger Singerman and Board of Governors, Health Professions Division at Nova Southeastern University, was interviewed on the importance of the NSU’s research and its impact on the community.

Community Service

Our team members are actively giving their time and effort to provide assistance to those in need and to improve the communities in which we live and work. These efforts are largely self-directed. Some of the Firm sponsored events include:

30th Anniversary – 30 Years with Gratitude

• For the firm’s 30th anniversary, we decided to do something many companies of our size could likely not pull off.  We wanted to make a positive impact in the Boca, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tallahassee communities where the firm has offices. The firm donated $300,000 to 30 charities in Florida, including one organization chosen by the team members in each of its four offices: Tri-County Animal Rescue, ARC Broward, Children’s Cancer Caring Center and Children’s Home Society. The total amount contributed included donations from a month-long 30th anniversary fundraising initiative which raised $50K from 100 percent firm team member participation. We built an online portal linked to its intranet to help educate the team members on the charities and to encourage the donations. The 30 charities which received contributions from the firm were recognized at Berger Singerman’s 2015 BusinessTalk event in October 2015. An annual event hosted for clients, referral sources and trading partners, the theme of 2015’s BusinessTalk was “The Power of Gratitude: Enhancing Your Professional and Personal Life.” Keynote speaker Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and the world’s leading scholars and authors on gratitude, spoke to the crowd of over 300 business leaders from throughout the state.  In addition, the firm produced a video to showcase the charities at the event. To view the video, click on the following link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgK_s2EUt64

25th Anniversary – Giving Back, Moving Forward

• To celebrate Berger Singerman’s 25th anniversary in 2010, we gave back to the community in 2 ways. Each team member gave back approximately 25 hours of community service totally close to 4000 firm wide. In addition, the Firm’s financial contribution during our anniversary year was approximately $200,000. In honor of our giving back to the community in which we serve, we celebrated 10 charities at our anniversary event giving a total of $150,000 in total to these charities. For Berger Singerman’s 20th Anniversary, Celebrate by Giving, the Firm gave back to the community in which we serve by donating a total of $150,000 to 20 charities. Guests at both of our anniversary events were able to direct some of the Firm’s charitable giving to the selected charities.

Service Days

• Habitat for Humanity – The Firm designates a day where team members participate in building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Building a home for those in need serves as a reminder that the firm is committed to enhance the lives of those in the community.
• United Way/Broward Housing Solutions – Team members have participated in painting the exterior of apartment units for clients served by Broward Housing Solutions. Broward Housing Solutions provides quality housing opportunities to meet the needs of lower income people with mental health issues.

Walks and Stair Climb

• Team members participate in various national organization’s walks and stair climb races:
  • American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
  • American Heart Association Heart Walk, in 2010, Berger Singerman received the “Small Company, 2nd Runner Up Award” for fundraising.
  • American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb, Miami and Fort Lauderdale
  • Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

Jeans Day

• On select Fridays throughout the year, the Firm enjoys “Jeans Day.” Team members have the opportunity to wear jeans to the office in exchange for a donation to support local charities and organizations.

Holiday Charity Giving

• In lieu of holiday cards, the Firm sends an electronic holiday greeting wherein the Firm identifies the year's charitable contribution to selected local charities.