Scott A. Berman

Scott A. Berman

PALO ALTO - Scott A. Berman founded Berman North LLP in 2019 with law partner Stacy Y. North to practice employment and business litigation in a new way.

“We’d both worked together for years at another firm, and we were ready for autonomy,” Berman said. “Stacy had some good ideas about how to modernize legal practice.”

For one thing, the partners and their three associates all work remotely—one is in Portland, Oregon, another in Sonoma County—and they rent an office suite to use as a war room only when a trial or arbitration is imminent.

“That approach is good for attracting attorney talent,” Berman said. “Not having a central office removes limitations on finding good people.” Also, flexible office hours are a must at the firm. “Everyone’s a mom here but me,” Berman said. “It’s hard to raise a family when you’re expected to be in an office 40 or more hours a week.”

Berman and North previously worked at Pierce & Shearer LLP, where Berman worked in the office of firm founder Andrew F. Pierce, who became his mentor. “He’s a phenomenal attorney, and we have remained close, referring clients to each other,” Berman said. Earlier in his career, Berman held law clerkships with U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney of San Francisco (she’s now a senior judge) and Judge Robert Boochever of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (he died in 2011).

“Clerking in the district court was an opportunity to see every different type of case that came through,” Berman said. “And I soon saw that employment law cases were the most interesting because they had the personal element centered around disputes so important to the parties involved.”

Then, working for Boochever “was the best year of my life,” Berman said. “Judge Boochever embodied a reverence for the law and a strength of character that were inspiring.”

Berman is currently preparing for an arbitration on behalf of a high-level IT manager who owned stock options in a startup company that purported to “repurchase” his shares when he left for a value it placed near zero. At the same time, Berman said, the company was reaping record-breaking revenue and preparing to go public. “We allege the company misrepresented the stock value to confiscate our client’s vested shares,” Berman said.

In an earlier case, he represented a software engineer before the National Labor Relations Board over alleged retaliation for advocating on behalf of his peers for the fair application of ratings and bonus rules. The man was fired; the matter is pending.

“I truly enjoy trials,” Berman said. “They are exciting and dynamic. True, the preparation is hard. But once they start, it’s showtime, and it’s fun.”

--John Roemer