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 achieved, 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. A key focus of our Firm's leadership is the continuous improvement of our platform.

Excellent Firm Reputation

We enjoy an excellent reputation throughout Florida and across the country. Our attorneys are well known nationally, and our firm is frequent winner of prestigious awards, to include numerous "Best Place to Work" 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 and resources for our lawyers to be successful in their new business development efforts. We provide ongoing marketing, training and sales coaching. Our attorney team members learn through a variety of group and individual training modalities and we support professional development by providing Continuing Legal Education (CLE) classes, skill-building sessions, and in-house seminars. 

Talented Collaborative Colleagues and Team Culture

Our collaborative firm culture reduces organizational tension and enables an environment where attorneys support one another in developing business and serving our clients. Given the legal and business complexities in which we operate, we work hard to instill a team atmosphere across the firm. Our attorney team members are accomplished professionals who recognize the power of collaboration because when we know that when we operate as a team we can better serve our clients. Orientation towards collaboration is critical qualification for admission to our Firm and a commitment to teamwork is a key factor in our recognition and compensation system. As a result, we hire team members who enjoy practicing together and know it has a positive impact on the clients we serve. 

We are always interested in exploring the interests of enthusiastic candidates who thrive while working in a close-knit, collaborative, and dynamic team environment, who are willing to work hard while having fun, and who consistently strive to deliver passionate client service and work product of the highest quality. Our firm has a stellar track record of attracting and retaining culturally compatible team members and helping them to grow professionally and is committed to legal innovation and continuous improvement to facilitate professional development, entrepreneurship, and competitiveness.

Corporate Deal Partner
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated partner level attorney with at least eight years working experience in the corporate finance, private equity, venture capital and/or mergers and acquisitions areas. The ideal candidate has served as lead and/or co-lead counsel on complex corporate transactions, including private equity-sponsored M&A transactions, private placement offerings, joint ventures, and commercial debt transactions. In addition, the candidate will have substantial experience in general corporate structuring and governance, incentive equity and employment matters, commercial contracts, and distribution and licensing agreements for both mature and emerging companies.

Real Estate Associate
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated associate level attorney with at least three years working experience in commercial real estate transaction law. 

Land Use Associate or Partner
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated associate or partner level attorney for Broward and/or Palm Beach Counties with at least five years working experience in land use, zoning and development permitting.

Blockchain/Cryptocurrency Attorney
We are looking for an experienced senior associate or partner-level candidate with five plus (5+) years of experience in a sophisticated corporate law practice with a demonstrable focus on blockchain technology, virtual and digital currency, token generation events, and NFTs. Experience with, or affinity for, blockchain technology companies and cryptocurrency is required.  Experience handling blockchain and cryptocurrency regulatory work is preferred. Strong academic credentials and excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills are required.  The ideal partner-level candidate has a portable book of business and/or a desire and affinity for business development.  

Intellectual Property – Dispute Resolution
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated partner level attorney who has extensive experience handling intellectual property disputes.  The ideal candidate is an intellectual property litigator with first chair experience in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation in federal and state courts, as well as in mediation and arbitration settings.  The ability to also handle a variety of technology-related commercial litigation matters is preferred.  Candidates must have a portable book of business evidencing a skill set in and potential for additional business generation.

Intellectual Property – Prosecution and Transactional
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated partner level attorney who has extensive experience in patent and trademark prosecution including application preparation, clearance and patentability opinions, non-infringement, and freedom to operate opinions, and foreign patent and trademark practice.  The ideal candidate will also have experience in intellectual property transactional matters including drafting, negotiating, interpreting, and advising clients on IP related agreements, such as license agreements, software agreements, and IP provisions in commercial agreements.  Experience in data privacy and cybersecurity a plus.  Candidates must have a portable book of business evidencing a skill set in and potential for additional business generation.  Admission to the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Registered Patent Attorney required.

Healthcare Partner
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated partner level attorney with experience in healthcare/life sciences issues.  Experience working with Medicare, CMS, government enforcement agencies or with payers or managed care is also a plus.  Core requirements include strong health care regulatory and transactional experience, compliance with health-related state and federal laws and regulations, private and public third-party reimbursement, corporate practice of medicine, health care operational issues, integrated delivery systems, and purchases/sales and mergers of health care businesses as well as joint ventures.  Past work should encompass a wide range of healthcare entities, such as physician group practices, large group providers, health care systems, skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, clinical laboratories, home health agencies, medical device manufacturers, durable medical equipment suppliers, practice management companies, management service organizations (MSOs) and substance abuse treatment centers. 

Trial Lawyer
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated partner level attorney with jury and non-jury trial experience in State and Federal court. The ideal candidate will have experience in real estate related litigation, business torts, officer and director liability matters, complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy litigation and insurance litigation. Candidates must have a portable book of business evidencing a skill set in and potential for additional business generation.

Trusts and Estates Partner
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated partner level attorney with at least six years of experience in the areas of complex domestic and international estate planning and related income, partnership and tax planning, corporate, and personal planning for high net-worth individuals and multinational families. Tax or Estate Planning LL.M. preferred.

International Tax and Corporate Transactional Partner
We are looking for a highly qualified and motivated partner level attorney concentrating in International taxation and cross-border corporate and transaction work. The candidate must have strong academic credentials and extensive experience in international and domestic transactional tax matters, including organizational structuring and planning, and taxation related to real estate and business combination transactions. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in corporate and commercial matters, including the development and implementation of new business and investment structures, partnerships and joint ventures, employment and other commercial agreements, distribution agreements, purchase, and sale transactions matters. 

West Palm Beach Office Partners
We are looking for highly qualified and motivated partner level attorneys for our core practice areas including Bankruptcy, Commercial Litigation, Corporate M&A, Real Estate, Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation, Probate, Construction, Healthcare, and Land Use/Zoning. 

Applicants must submit a current resume to:
Pam Rogers, Director of Talent Acquisition
progers@bergersingerman.com

Florida Bar admission is preferred; you must be willing to become admitted to The Florida Bar. Preference given to Spanish and/or Portuguese language skills, as well as large law firm experience.

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 us at recruiting@bergersingerman.com.

Diversity and inclusion help to transform our company and our society. At Berger Singerman, we empower our workforce to bring who they are to the table to help shape our firm for the clients we serve. 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, support and development.

We know that diversity of all types—gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion, veteran's status, disability and more—and inclusion enhance our work culture and help deliver stronger business results. Diversity and inclusion enable us to provide innovative and creative solutions, which is central to who we are and what we do at Berger Singerman. We understand that professional success involves far more than financial success; it involves a sincere and unrelenting dedication to the growth of every team member. 

We've created several ongoing efforts to create a work environment where diversity and inclusion are woven into our culture, behaviors, processes and operations with a focus on employee networks, training, recruitment and partnerships, among other initiatives. In addition, we recognize that 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 with the skills and background necessary to deliver the highest level of legal services expected by our clients. 
 

 

 

 

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 committed approximately 25 hours of community service, totaling close to 4000 firm wide. The Firm's financial contribution during the 25th anniversary year was $200,000, in addition to celebrating and donating $150,000 to 10 charities at our anniversary event. 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 enhancing the lives of those in the community.
• United Way/Broward Housing Solutions – Team members 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 organizations' 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.