Legal Experience
• 2015 to date, Maine Lawyer Services, arbitrator/mediator and confidential litigation consultant
• 1979 to 2014, Berman & Simmons, owner and partner
• 35 years’ trial experience in state and federal courts: Criminal and Civil: Torts, Professional Malpractice (legal, medical and accounting), Personal Injury, Complex Litigation including Business Torts, Anti-Trust, Class Actions, Fraud and Unfair Competition.
• Over 200 jury trials, and numerous other hearings in Federal and State courts, and before administrative bodies.
Member, MSBA, Maine Association of Mediators, MTLA.
Rostered Mediator, CADRES
2013 President, Maine State Bar Association
2014 President, New England Bar Association
2017-2018 President, Maine Justice Foundation
Education
• Boston University School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts, J.D., 1979
• Editor, Boston University Law Review
• Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, B.A., 1974
Honors and Awards:
2015-2018 New England Superlawyers, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Best Lawyers In America, Categories: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs (1995-2018)
Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star, (2009 – 2014)
Chambers USA, Key Individuals, Band I (2003- 2014)
Super Lawyers, Personal Injury Plaintiff, General Litigation (2007-2014)
Martindale Hubbell – AV® Rated
Selected Presentations
October 2018: panelist for CADRES presentation on bullying issues in mediation.
Spring 2018: Litigation Lunch and Learn Series, Lincoln County Bar Association.
June 24, 2015: "Anatomy of a Damage Claim" presented at the MSBA Summer Bar Meeting, Bar Harbor, Maine.
January 25, 2013: Presented opening remarks to attorneys at the MSBA Winter Bar Conference in South Portland, Maine.
November 29, 2012: Co-presented the CLE seminar entitled “Discovery and Motion Practice” at the annual “Bridging the Gap” program in Freeport, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
November 15, 2012: Presented the CLE seminar entitled “Civil Procedure and Evidence” at the annual Legal Year in Review meeting in Augusta, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
April 28, 2012: Co-chaired and presented opening remarks to newly graduated law students at a seminar entitled “How to Build a Solo/Small Firm Law Practice in Maine” at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
November 30, 2011: Co-presented the CLE seminar entitled “Depositions” at the annual “Bridging the Gap” program in Freeport, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
November 17, 2011: Presented the CLE seminar entitled “Civil Procedure and Evidence” at the annual Legal Year in Review meeting in Augusta, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
September 1, 2011: Co-chaired the biennial Superior Court Bench Bar Conference held in Freeport, Maine. Delivered the welcome address and introduced the panel of justices. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
August 25, 2011: Co-presented at CLE seminar entitled “Direct and Cross Examination” held in Augusta, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
November 18, 2010: Presented the CLE seminar entitled “Civil Procedure and Evidence” at the annual Legal Year in Review meeting in Augusta, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
June 18, 2010: Panelist at a CLE seminar on summary judgment practice and presented a paper entitled “Thoughts on Summary Judgment and a Suggestion” at the Summer Bar Meeting in Bar Harbor, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
January 21, 2010: Presented “Red Flags and Green Lights in Personal Injury Intake” at the Annual Bar Meeting in South Portland, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
September 29, 2010: Co-presented the CLE seminar entitled “Evidentiary Motions” in Freeport, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
December 1, 2009: Co-presented the CLE seminar entitled “Depositions” at the annual “Bridging the Gap” program in Freeport, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
November 19, 2009: Presented the CLE seminar entitled “Civil Procedure and Evidence” at the annual Legal Year in Review meeting in Augusta, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
April 23, 2009: Co-chaired the biennial Superior Court Bench Bar Conference held in Freeport, Maine. Delivered the welcome address and introduced the panel of justices. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
November 7, 2008: Co-presented the CLE seminar entitled “Depositions” at the annual “Bridging the Gap” program in Freeport, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
September 26, 2008 to September 27, 2008: Co-chaired and presented “Controlling Expert Witnesses” at the Litigation Institute in Augusta, Maine. This CLE seminar was co-sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330; and the Maine Trial Lawyers Association, P.O. Box 438, Augusta, Maine 04332.
January 31, 2008: Presented the CLE seminar entitled “Direct and Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses” at the MSBA Annual Meeting in Rockport, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
December 12, 2007: Presented a telephone seminar to Maine attorneys entitled “Evidence: Legal Year in Review” as part of a 12-month CLE series regarding the Rules of Evidence. Co-sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330; and the Maine Trial Lawyers Association, P.O. Box 438, Augusta, Maine 04332.
June 8, 2006: Chaired the CLE seminar entitled “Litigation Essentials: Neck and Back Injuries” held in Augusta, Maine. Responsibilities included organizing and moderating the seminar and providing the welcome address. The seminar was sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
May 11, 2006: Moderated CLE seminar, “Litigation Essentials: Forensic Accounting and Economics” in Portland, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
April, 2006: Presented “Jury Instructions: Why They Matter and how to Advocate for Them” at the Effective Trial Advocacy Seminar. Sponsored by the Maine Trial Lawyers Association, P.O. Box 438, Augusta, Maine 04332.
January 30, 2004: Presented a CLE seminar entitled “Developing Damages in a Loss of Consortium Claim” in Rockport, Maine. The seminar was part of the Annual Meeting sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
June 28, 2003: Presented the CLE Seminar entitled “The Catastrophic Injury Case: Dealing with Disaster” at the Maine State Bar Association Summer Meeting in Bar Harbor, Maine. Sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.
March 14, 2003 to March 15, 2003: Presented “Direct and Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses” at the Litigation Institute in Augusta, Maine. This CLE session was co-sponsored by the Maine State Bar Association, 124 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04330; and the Maine Trial Lawyers Association, P.O. Box 438, Augusta, Maine 04332.
Publications
• A Practical Guide to Superior Court Practice in Maine, (William Robitzek & Thomas Humphrey, J. Eds., 2018)
• Advising Clients about Wrongful Death, 24 Me. Bar J. 238 (2009)
• Moose Collisions: Impact on Uninsured Motorist Coverage, 24 Me. Bar J. 148 (2009).
• Proving damages: The Plaintiff’s Perspective, 14 Me. Bar J. 242 (1999)(cited in C. Barry Montgomery & Bradley C. Nahrstadt, Putting a Number or Value on the Non-Economic Loss, DRI J., July 2004)
• Effective Discovery in Suits against Controlling Parties, 10 Me. Bar J. 46 (1995).
• Final Offer Arbitration and the Labor-Management Posse: Heading Off Municipal Disputes at the Impasse, Boston U. Law J. (January 1979)
Notable Cases
• Glenwood Farms v. Ivey, et al. (D. Me. Civil No. 03-CV-217-P-S)
• Legal malpractice claim on behalf of Maine spring water bottlers resulting in $7.8 million compensatory damages verdict.
• Peasev. Cherryfield Foods et al., Knox County Superior Court
• Price-fixing antitrust class action on behalf of 600 Maine blueberry growers resulting in a $54 million judgment
• Breesman v. Martin, Oxford County Superior Court
• Interference with business claim on behalf of a doctor resulting in a $3.5 million verdict, reduced to $2.5 million
• Fitzpatrick Dairy v. Oakhurst Dairy, Kennebec County Superior Court
• Unfair competition anti-trust claim on behalf of a Maine dairy farm resulting in a $1.8 million verdict
• Tardif v. Knox County, (D. Me. Civil No. 02-251-P-C).
• Claim on behalf of a woman illegally strip searched, resulting in summary judgment on liability and a favorable settlement
• Ridlon v C.N.Brown, Kennebec County Superior Court
• Price-fixing claim on behalf of a Maine retailer of gasoline resulting in a multi-hundred thousand dollar verdict