Nicole Berner
Other namesNicole Berner-Kadish
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (B.A., J.D., MPP)
OccupationLawyer
Employers
Known forBerner-Kadish v. Minister of Interior

Nicole G. Berner is an American-Israeli lawyer. She is general counsel for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and a partner at the law firm of James & Hoffman.[1] In November 2023, she was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a United States Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Early life and education

Berner was born in England[2] and moved to Oakland, California, during her childhood.[3] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in women's studies from the University of California, Berkeley.[1] After completing her degree, she moved to Israel.[3]

Berner returned to the United States in 1992 to attend Berkeley School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.[3] She completed a Juris Doctor from Berkeley School of Law and a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.[4]

Berner-Kadish v. Minister of Interior

In 2000, as a dual American-Israeli citizen, represented by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Berner and her then-wife Ruti Kadish prevailed in a landmark civil rights case before the Israeli Supreme Court.[5][4][6] Berner had legally adopted their son in California, but when the family moved to Israel, attempts to register their son with two mothers were refused by the Ministry of Interior in Israel.[5][7][8][9] The subsequent legal case, Berner-Kadish v. Minister of Interior, challenged the refusal to register Kadish and Berner's second parent adoption of their son. The Israel Supreme Court ruled that the Ministry of Interior must register the adoption decree, accepting legally that the child has two mothers.[5][10][11]

Career

From 1996 to 1997, Berner worked as a clerk for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and from 1997 to 1998, she worked as a law clerk for Chief Judge Thelton Henderson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.[4][12] She was a visiting attorney at Yigal Arnon & Co. in Israel from 1999 until 2000, and was a litigation associate at Jenner & Block from 2000 through 2004.[12]

From 2004 to 2006, Berner worked as a staff attorney at Planned Parenthood.[13]

Berner joined the SEIU's legal department as in-house counsel in 2006 and was named general counsel in 2017.[12][14] Her work with the SEIU has included legal efforts to support the Affordable Care Act, to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act, and to oppose an effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during the Trump administration.[4][15] She was the lead attorney on the amicus curiae filed on behalf of the SEIU in California v. Texas.[6][16] She was also involved with the Fight for $15 movement.[6]

In 2019, liberal group Demand Justice included Berner on their list of suggested Supreme Court nominees for any future Democratic president.[17] In 2023, Berner was named an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School.[18]

Berner is an elected member of the American Law Institute[19][20] She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation[19] and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.[21]

Court of appeals nomination

On November 15, 2023, President Biden named Berner as a nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.[12][4] If confirmed, she would be the first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on that court.[22] Biden nominated Berner to the seat vacated by Judge Diana Gribbon Motz in September 2022.[4]

Personal life

Berner is a resident of Montgomery County, residing in Takoma Park, Maryland, where she and her former wife raised their three sons.[23][24] She is married to civil rights attorney Debra Katz.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 "Nicole G. Berner". James & Hoffman, P.C. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Meet the Berner-Kadish Family". New Israel Fund. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Goldsmith, Aleza (2 June 2000). "Top court in Israel rules ex-Berkeley lesbians are moms". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Weiner, Rachel (18 November 2023). "Biden nominates labor lawyer Nicole Berner to 4th Circuit". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Sontag, Deborah (4 June 2000). "Matan Has Two Mommies, and Israel Is Talking". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Kullgren, Ian (November 16, 2023). "Biden's Planned Fourth Circuit Pick Is Steadfast Union Ally". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Segal, Naomi (1 June 2000). "Court lets lesbian couple be co-moms". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Agigian, Amy (2004). Baby steps : how lesbian alternative insemination is changing the world. Internet Archive. Middletown, Conn. : Wesleyan University Press. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-8195-6629-4.
  9. ↑ Minot, Leslie Ann; Long, Scott; International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (2000). Conceiving parenthood : parenting and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their children. San Francisco, Calif. : International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. pp. 164–165.
  10. ↑ Izenberg, Dan (9 December 2007). "High Court: Recognize lesbian parents". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Israels lesbian mothers contributing to the gaybe boom". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. 14 September 2001. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "President Biden Names Forty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. 15 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Biden's Latest Picks Include Top Labor Atty For 4th Circ. - Law360". www.law360.com. LexisNexis.
  14. ↑ "SEIU Appoints New General Counsel". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "BRIEF OF SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES, AND UNITED FARM WORKERS OF AMERICA AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS" (PDF). cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov. March 20, 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, MARILYN RALAT-ABERNAS, R.N., MARCUS SANDLING, M.D., ET AL., IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS IN NO. 19-840 AND CROSS-RESPONDENTS IN NO. 19-1019" (PDF). www.supremecourt.gov. May 13, 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  17. ↑ Kim, Seung Min (2019-10-15). "Democratic presidential candidates come under pressure to release Supreme Court picks". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  18. ↑ "Biography". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  19. 1 2 "Ten Fellows Named New Members of American Law Institute". American Bar Foundation. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  20. ↑ "Members Elected July 2023". American Law Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "CURRENT FELLOWS – CLEL". theclel.org. The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  22. ↑ Weissert, Bill (15 November 2023). "Biden announces 5 federal judicial nominees and stresses their varied professional backgrounds". AP News. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  23. ↑ "Cardin, Van Hollen Praise Biden Nominee Nicole Berner for U.S. Court of Appeals for 4th Circuit Maryland Seat". U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ Raymond, Nate (15 November 2023). "Biden nominates union lawyer, Muslim American to U.S. appeals courts". Reuters. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.