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Nicole G. Berner is a labor and employment, civil rights, and reproductive rights attorney. Berner is currently General Counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and a partner at the law firm James & Hoffman.^[1] In November 2023, she was nominated to serve as a United States Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.^[2]

Early life and education

Berner was born on April 3, 1965, in Woking, United Kingdom, and attended Skyline High School in Oakland, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She then concurrently completed a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1996, earning Order of the Coif. During this time, she served as an articles editor for the Berkeley Women’s Law Journal.^[3] ^[4]

Career

Berner served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Thelton E. Henderson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She then worked as a litigation associate at Jenner & Block where she participated in trial and appellate court civil litigation. While at Jenner & Block, she served as part of the appellate team that won the landmark victory in Lawrence v. Texas before the U.S. Supreme Court.^[5] She also did pro bono work representing children in abuse and neglect proceedings in D.C. Superior Court.

From 2004 to 2006, Berner served as a staff attorney at Planned Parenthood Association of America, where she worked to protect and expand women’s access to reproductive health care, especially for low-income patients in rural communities.^[6]

Berner joined SEIU’s legal department in 2006 and was named General Counsel of the organization in 2017.^[7] ^[8] She is widely respected for her leadership at SEIU where she represents the union in dozens of cases across the country on behalf of low-wage service and care workers.^[9] She represented SEIU and its affiliates in a range of cases in state and federal courts advocating for the rights of working Americans across the country who otherwise may not have access to legal representation. This included supporting the Affordable Care Act, leading legal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act – which the U.S. Supreme Court eventually struck down – and demonstrating the ways in which marriage discrimination impacts working people, successfully challenging laws that restricted the right to vote, and bringing cases on behalf of union workers illegally targeted or discriminated against by their employers.^[10] In 2023, Berner was also named an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School.^[11]

Berner is currently barred in California, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, and is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, as well as several U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit Courts and U.S. District Courts.^[12]

Court of appeals nomination

On November 15, 2023, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Berner to serve as United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit. If confirmed, she would be the first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on that court.^[13] Biden nominated Berner to the seat vacated by Judge Diana Gribbon Motz in September 2022.^[14]

Affiliations

Berner is a member of the American Bar Association, Section of Labor and Employment Law; American Law Institute^[15]; and the National Employment Lawyers Association. Berner holds fellowships with the American Law Institute^[16], the American Bar Foundation, and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Personal life

Berner is a longtime resident of Montgomery County, residing in Takoma Park, Maryland, where she raised her three sons.^[17]^[18]

In 2000, as a dual American-Israeli citizen, Berner prevailed in a landmark civil rights case before the Israeli Supreme Court. The case, Berner-Kadish v. Minister of Interior, challenged the Israeli Minister of Interior’s refusal to register Berner’s second parent adoption of her son. The Israel Supreme Court ruled that the Minister of Interior must register the adoption decree, accepting legally that the child has two mothers.^[19]^[20]

References

^ "Nicole G. Berner". James & Hoffman, P.C. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "President Biden Names Forty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. 15 November 2023.
^ "Volume 9, 1994". Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "Volume 10, 1995". Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "Nicole Berner" (PDF). Vanderbilt University.
^ "Biden's Latest Picks Include Top Labor Atty For 4th Circ. - Law360". www.law360.com. LexisNexis.
^ "SEIU Appoints New General Counsel". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "SEIU announces new General Counsel". SEIU - Service Employees International Union. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "Labor Unions issue joint statement in support of the nomination of Nicole Berner to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals". SEIU - Service Employees International Union.
^ "Nicole G. Berner". American Constitution Society. 12 February 2018.
^ "Biography". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "Nicole G. Berner Profile | Washington, DC Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ Weissert, Bill (15 November 2023). "Biden announces 5 federal judicial nominees and stresses their varied professional backgrounds". AP News. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
^ Weiner, Rachel (15 November 2023). "Biden nominates labor lawyer Nicole Berner to 4th Circuit". Washington Post.
^ "Members". The American Law Institute. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "Ten Fellows Named New Members of American Law Institute". American Bar Foundation. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "Cardin, Van Hollen Praise Biden Nominee Nicole Berner for U.S. Court of Appeals for 4th Circuit Maryland Seat". U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.
^ Barker, Jeff (15 November 2023). "Biden nominates Marylander to 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, would be first openly LGBTQ member on that court". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
^ Sontag, Deborah. "Matan Has Two Mommies, and Israel Is Talking". New York Yimes. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ Izenberg, Dan (9 December 2007). "High Court: Recognize lesbian parents". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[1] "Nicole G. Berner". James & Hoffman, P.C. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[2] "President Biden Names Forty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. 15 November 2023.

[3] "Volume 9, 1994". Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[4] "Volume 10, 1995". Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[5] "Nicole Berner" (PDF). Vanderbilt University.

[6] "Biden's Latest Picks Include Top Labor Atty For 4th Circ. - Law360". www.law360.com. LexisNexis.

[7] "SEIU Appoints New General Counsel". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[8] "SEIU announces new General Counsel". SEIU - Service Employees International Union. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[9] "Labor Unions issue joint statement in support of the nomination of Nicole Berner to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals". SEIU - Service Employees International Union.

[10] "Nicole G. Berner". American Constitution Society. 12 February 2018.

[11] "Biography". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[12] "Nicole G. Berner Profile | Washington, DC Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[13] Weissert, Bill (15 November 2023). "Biden announces 5 federal judicial nominees and stresses their varied professional backgrounds". AP News. Retrieved 15 November 2023.

[14] Weiner, Rachel (15 November 2023). "Biden nominates labor lawyer Nicole Berner to 4th Circuit". Washington Post.

[15] "Members". The American Law Institute. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[16] "Ten Fellows Named New Members of American Law Institute". American Bar Foundation. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[17] "Cardin, Van Hollen Praise Biden Nominee Nicole Berner for U.S. Court of Appeals for 4th Circuit Maryland Seat". U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.

[18] Barker, Jeff (15 November 2023). "Biden nominates Marylander to 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, would be first openly LGBTQ member on that court". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 15 November 2023.

[19] Sontag, Deborah. "Matan Has Two Mommies, and Israel Is Talking". New York Yimes. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[20] Izenberg, Dan (9 December 2007). "High Court: Recognize lesbian parents". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

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 {{AfC topic|blp}}
-'''Nicole G. Berner''' is a labor and employment, civil rights, and reproductive rights attorney. Berner is currently General Counsel of the [[Service Employees International Union]] (SEIU) and a partner at the law firm James & Hoffman.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicole G. Berner |url=https://www.jamhoff.com/attorneys/nicole-g-berner/ |website=James & Hoffman, P.C. |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
+'''Nicole G. Berner''' is a labor and employment, civil rights, and reproductive rights attorney. Berner is currently General Counsel of the [[Service Employees International Union]] (SEIU) and a partner at the law firm James & Hoffman.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicole G. Berner |url=https://www.jamhoff.com/attorneys/nicole-g-berner/ |website=James & Hoffman, P.C. |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In November 2023, she was nominated to serve as a United States Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.<ref>{{cite web |title=President Biden Names Forty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/11/15/president-biden-names-forty-second-round-of-judicial-nominees/ |website=The White House |date=15 November 2023}}</ref>
 ==Early life and education==
-Berner was born on April 3, 1965, in Woking, United Kingdom, and attended Skyline High School in Oakland, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies from the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. After living and working for several years in Israel, she then concurrently completed a master’s degree in public policy from the [[Goldman School of Public Policy]] at the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from the [[UC Berkeley School of Law]] in 1996, earning Order of the Coif. During this time, she served as an articles editor for the Berkeley Women’s Law Journal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Volume 9, 1994 |url=https://genderlawjustice.org/volume-9-1994 |website=Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |title=Volume 10, 1995 |url=https://genderlawjustice.org/volume-10-1995 |website=Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>
+Berner was born on April 3, 1965, in Woking, United Kingdom, and attended Skyline High School in Oakland, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies from the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. She then concurrently completed a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the [[Goldman School of Public Policy]] at the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from the [[UC Berkeley School of Law]] in 1996, earning Order of the Coif. During this time, she served as an articles editor for the ''Berkeley Women’s Law Journal''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Volume 9, 1994 |url=https://genderlawjustice.org/volume-9-1994 |website=Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |title=Volume 10, 1995 |url=https://genderlawjustice.org/volume-10-1995 |website=Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>
 ==Career==
-Berner served as a law clerk for Judge [[Betty Binns Fletcher]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] and then as a law clerk for Judge [[Thelton Henderson|Thelton E. Henderson]] of the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California|U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California]]. She later worked as a litigation associate at [[Jenner & Block]] where she participated in trial and appellate court civil litigation. Berner then served from 2004 to 2006 as a staff attorney at [[Planned Parenthood]] Association of America. Berner joined SEIU’s legal department in 2006 and was named General Counsel of the organization in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEIU Appoints New General Counsel |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/seiu-appoints-new-general-counsel |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |title=SEIU announces new General Counsel |url=https://www.seiu.org/2017/01/seiu-announces-new-general-counsel |website=SEIU - Service Employees International Union |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In this role, she represented SEIU and its local union affiliates in a range of cases in state and federal courts, including supporting the [[Affordable Care Act]], legal challenges to the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] and marriage discrimination, and in successful voting rights cases. In 2023, Berner was also named an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography |url=https://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/?pid=nicole-berner |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>
+Berner served as a law clerk for Chief Judge [[Thelton Henderson|Thelton E. Henderson]] of the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California|U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California]] and for Judge [[Betty Binns Fletcher]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]]. She then worked as a litigation associate at [[Jenner & Block]] where she participated in trial and appellate court civil litigation. While at Jenner & Block, she served as part of the appellate team that won the landmark victory in ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'' before the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicole Berner |url=https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-web/people-manager/files/people-2175-23NGBCV-20231002095545.pdf |website=Vanderbilt University}}</ref> She also did pro bono work representing children in abuse and neglect proceedings in D.C. Superior Court.
+From 2004 to 2006, Berner served as a staff attorney at [[Planned Parenthood]] Association of America, where she worked to protect and expand women’s access to reproductive health care, especially for low-income patients in rural communities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biden's Latest Picks Include Top Labor Atty For 4th Circ. - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1766853 |website=www.law360.com |publisher=LexisNexis |language=en}}</ref>
+Berner joined SEIU’s legal department in 2006 and was named General Counsel of the organization in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEIU Appoints New General Counsel |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/seiu-appoints-new-general-counsel |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |title=SEIU announces new General Counsel |url=https://www.seiu.org/2017/01/seiu-announces-new-general-counsel |website=SEIU - Service Employees International Union |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> She is widely respected for her leadership at SEIU where she represents the union in dozens of cases across the country on behalf of low-wage service and care workers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Labor Unions issue joint statement in support of the nomination of Nicole Berner to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals |url=https://www.seiu.org/2023/11/labor-unions-issue-joint-statement-in-support-of-the-nomination-of-nicole-berner-to-the-fourth-circuit-court-of-appeals |website=SEIU - Service Employees International Union |language=en}}</ref> She represented SEIU and its affiliates in a range of cases in state and federal courts advocating for the rights of working Americans across the country who otherwise may not have access to legal representation. This included supporting the [[Affordable Care Act]], leading legal challenges to the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] – which the U.S. Supreme Court eventually struck down – and demonstrating the ways in which marriage discrimination impacts working people, successfully challenging laws that restricted the right to vote, and bringing cases on behalf of union workers illegally targeted or discriminated against by their employers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicole G. Berner |url=https://www.acslaw.org/person/nicole-g-berner/ |website=American Constitution Society |date=12 February 2018}}</ref> In 2023, Berner was also named an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography |url=https://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/?pid=nicole-berner |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>
 Berner is currently barred in California, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, and is admitted to practice in the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], as well as several U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit Courts and U.S. District Courts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicole G. Berner Profile {{!}} Washington, DC Lawyer {{!}} Martindale.com |url=https://www.martindale.com/attorney/nicole-g-berner-2180574/ |website=www.martindale.com |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>
+==Court of appeals nomination==
+On November 15, 2023, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Berner to serve as United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit. If confirmed, she would be the first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on that court.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weissert |first1=Bill |title=Biden announces 5 federal judicial nominees and stresses their varied professional backgrounds |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-judicial-nominees-f665f9ba7d1785e2688749d18fdf3f8c |website=AP News |access-date=15 November 2023 |language=en |date=15 November 2023}}</ref> Biden nominated Berner to the seat vacated by Judge [[Diana Gribbon Motz]] in September 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weiner |first1=Rachel |title=Biden nominates labor lawyer Nicole Berner to 4th Circuit |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/11/15/fourth-circuit-judicial-nomination-biden-berner/ |website=Washington Post |date=15 November 2023}}</ref>
 ==Affiliations==
@@ Line 19: / Line 26: @@
 ==Personal life==
+Berner is a longtime resident of Montgomery County, residing in Takoma Park, Maryland, where she raised her three sons.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cardin, Van Hollen Praise Biden Nominee Nicole Berner for U.S. Court of Appeals for 4th Circuit Maryland Seat |url=https://www.cardin.senate.gov/press-releases/cardin-van-hollen-praise-biden-nominee-nicole-berner-for-u-s-court-of-appeals-for-4th-circuit-maryland-seat/ |website=U.S. Senator Ben Cardin}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Barker |first1=Jeff |title=Biden nominates Marylander to 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, would be first openly LGBTQ member on that court |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-biden-judge-maryland-20231115-lr2jui2bxndqdh65njnbuex2i4-story.html |website=Baltimore Sun |access-date=15 November 2023 |date=15 November 2023}}</ref>
-In 1996, Berner was a petitioner in a landmark case that challenged the refusal of the Israeli government to register her eldest son as a child born to two Israeli citizens abroad because he had two mothers. After years of litigation, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a historic decision requiring the Ministry of Interior to record both mothers a parent of their son.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sontag |first1=Deborah |title=Matan Has Two Mommies, and Israel Is Talking |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/04/world/matan-has-two-mommies-and-israel-is-talking.html |website=New York Yimes |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref> The case is widely considered one of the major civil rights rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Izenberg |first1=Dan |title=High Court: Recognize lesbian parents |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel/high-court-recognize-lesbian-parents |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |access-date=14 November 2023 |date=9 December 2007}}</ref>
+In 2000, as a dual American-Israeli citizen, Berner prevailed in a landmark civil rights case before the Israeli Supreme Court. The case, ''Berner-Kadish v. Minister of Interior'', challenged the Israeli Minister of Interior’s refusal to register Berner’s second parent adoption of her son. The Israel Supreme Court ruled that the Minister of Interior must register the adoption decree, accepting legally that the child has two mothers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sontag |first1=Deborah |title=Matan Has Two Mommies, and Israel Is Talking |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/04/world/matan-has-two-mommies-and-israel-is-talking.html |website=New York Yimes |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Izenberg |first1=Dan |title=High Court: Recognize lesbian parents |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel/high-court-recognize-lesbian-parents |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |access-date=14 November 2023 |date=9 December 2007}}</ref>
-Berner lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, where she raised her three sons.
 == References ==