MARTIN BERN has been a partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP since 1998. He received his B.A. degree from Tufts University in 1984, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1986, he earned an M.A. degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Bern received his J.D. degree from University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) in 1990, where he graduated Order of the Coif and published an article in the Ecology Law Quarterly on environmental ethics. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1962.
Following graduation from law school, Mr. Bern served as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles A. Legge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (1990-91) and to the Honorable J. Clifford Wallace, United States Court of Appeals (1991-92).
Mr. Bern has been engaged in commercial litigation and regulatory proceedings in both the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP since 1993. As part of his litigation practice, Mr. Bern has counseled clients, litigated, and negotiated settlements in the following subject areas: tobacco, product liability, environmental torts, insurance coverage, contracts, employment and libel. His regulatory practice has focused principally on electric generation.
In 1994, Mr. Bern successfully defended a legal publication in a three-day court trial and subsequent appeal involving allegations of libel in Los Angeles. The client obtained and collected upon a judgment against the plaintiff for costs and expert witness fees. In 1995, Mr. Bern participated in a two-week bad faith insurance coverage jury trial in federal District Court in Orange County, in which the client obtained a judgment for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees, in excess of $2.6 million. He also successfully defended the judgment before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2002, Mr. Bern successfully arbitrated a claim for more than $100 million in damages brought by the State of California against an electric utility. In 2005 Mr. Bern also arbitrated a large contract dispute arising out of California's energy crisis. After hearing, the dispute was settled favorably.
Since moving to Munger, Tolles’ San Francisco office, Mr. Bern has represented a corporation in a toxic tort litigation involving 56 plaintiffs whose domestic water sources allegedly had been contaminated with TCE. Mr. Bern also has represented an electric utility in numerous litigation and regulatory matters, principally in the area of electric power purchase agreements. Since 1999, Mr. Bern has represented a major cigarette manufacturer in a series of coordinated class action cases brought under California Business and Professions Code Section 17200. Over the years, Mr. Bern has represented numerous other corporate clients. Mr. Bern also provides pro bono representation to impoverished individuals in the San Francisco area.
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (J.D., 1990); Order of the Coif
- University of California at Berkeley (M.A., Political Science, 1986)
- Tufts University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1984); Phi Beta Kappa
Clerkships
- Clerk to Judge J. Clifford Wallace, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1991-1992
- Clerk to Judge Charles A. Legge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1990-1991
