Biography
George J. Berger is a partner in our San Diego office who has more than 30 years of experience as a litigator in federal and state courts, including extensive experience in the appellate process. He has successfully prosecuted and defended hundreds of cases throughout California for local and national clients, generating millions of dollars in jury verdicts and settlements for his clients. George also has substantial experience in class action and antitrust matters. In addition to representing companies and private citizens, he has provided special litigation counsel to a number of public entities, often in complex cases. For instance, he represented as lead counsel the City of El Centro in multimillion-dollar construction claims, and he represented a Southern California school district for construction defects at a major high school. He defends real estate developers in a variety of matters, including ones involving large complexes comprising hundreds of housing units. He also has significant experience in water rights issues, and was involved in a number of disputes resulting from the San Diego and Imperial County floods in the 1980s.
As a graduate engineer (dual degree), George brings practical insights to high-tech, biotech and product disputes. He was lead trial counsel in a complex corporate-valuation dispute of a company on the leading edge of biomedicine.
George has extensive experience in business litigation. He was lead counsel for San Diego's largest local bank in a $200 million securities fraud lawsuit. He has also been plaintiff's counsel in national fraud cases and major insurance coverage litigation. George has successfully litigated a range of disputes involving partnerships and other contract entities. He was lead counsel for a Fortune 100 company in a multi-plaintiff litigation in which fraud and breach of fiduciary duty were claimed.
George is a sought-after speaker and instructor on litigation issues. He has taught at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy since 1991, and has recently spoken at Continuing Education of the Bar and Continuing Legal Education seminars. He was featured in the April 2005 issue of San Diego Metropolitan Magazine as one of four San Diego litigators that businesses seek when sued. He was quoted in the June 23, 2008, issue of California Real Estate Journal regarding construction accidents.
Memberships
- Legion Lex American Inn of Court, Past President and Charter Member
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Accolades
- Selected for inclusion in San Diego Super Lawyers magazine in (2007-2011)
- Named to San Diego Transcript's annual list of the best attorneys in San Diego
- Listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
Education
George received his B.S. from the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture and his J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and received the Harbor Bar Association prize for Outstanding 1973 Scholarship Graduate (out of all accredited Los Angeles law schools).
Bar Admissions