David W. Berry
In 2009 and 2010, David W. Berry earned the distinction as one of Northern California's Rising Stars in the legal community,
which no more than 2.5 percent of eligible lawyers achieve. He is one of Sonoma County’s best trial lawyers, with a
client list of individuals, small businesses and large corporations who have disputes ranging from simple to complex.
As personal counsel to many clients, he provides services ranging from negotiation and litigation avoidance during the
early stages of a dispute to all phases of litigation through trial.
Mr. Berry’s practice focuses on business advice, real property claims, and resolving construction defect disputes.
The scope of his business advice includes negotiation and litigation regarding all types of contracts and leases and
other business claims. The real property claims include negotiation and resolution of disputes regarding all types
of property rights including easements, agreed boundaries, lot line adjustments, prescription and adverse possession.
With respect to construction defect claims, he represents homeowners and building owners in residential and commercial
construction defect claims against designers and builders of defective projects.
Mr. Berry consistently obtains outstanding results for clients. He has achieved numerous multi-million dollar settlements
for clients who have suffered damage while defending and settling multi-million dollar claims against clients for cents on the dollar.
In addition to his commitment to clients, Mr. Berry is a leader in the Sonoma County community. In 2008, he was recognized
by the North Bay Business Journal as one of the forty exceptional business leaders under forty years of age in Sonoma, Marin,
and Napa Counties. Recently, he graduated as a member of the twenty-fifth class of Leadership Santa Rosa, which is a year-long
educational program for selected community leaders and is intended to develop and equip class members via exposure to pertinent
issues, broad thinkers and the richness of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.
Mr. Berry has a long and consistent history of community service. He was the President of Legal Aid of Sonoma County and a member
of its Board of Directors from 2001 through 2005. In 2009, he formed the idea for a Real Property Section of the Sonoma County Bar
Association, which he subsequently helped found and is its inaugural chairman. He is on the board of the Sonoma County Bar Association,
is a member of the American Inns of Court, and was a member of the Bench/Bar Committee of the Sonoma County Bar Association and the
Santa Rosa Active 20-30 Club, which helps underprivileged children in our community.
Education
- University of California, Hastings College of the Law (J.D., 1995)
Hastings Law Journal, Member.
- University of California, Berkeley (B.A., 1992;
Recipient of the Student Life Achievement Award, 1992)
Affiliations
- Legal Aid of Sonoma County
(President, 2005; Director, 2001-2005).
- Leadership Santa Rosa, Class 25 Member.
- Sonoma County Bar Association, Real Property Section
(current Chairman).
- Sonoma County Bar Association
(current Board of Directors member).
- American Inns of Court
(Richard M. Sangster Chapter).
- State Bar of California.
- Santa Rosa Active 20-30 Club
(former member)
Admitted
- California (1995)
- United States District Court, Northern District of California (2000)
- United States District Court, Southern District of California (2004)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2000)
Speaking / Teaching Experience
Evidence Code § 1119: What You Don’t Know About It Will Hurt You. Presented with Hon. William Bettinelli on February 26, 2009.
Law of Easements: Legal Issues and Practical Considerations in California. Day-long seminar presented with three other experts in 2007 and 2008.
Real Property Update: Foreclosure. Seminar on March 15, 2010, presented to the Sonoma County Legal Secretary Association.
Real Property Update, Adverse Possession. Seminar on March 26, 2010, presented at the Sonoma County Bar Association.
Publications
When Your Commercial Building Is A Lemon.
Published with W. Barton Weitzenberg and Patrick W. Emery in the Best of the North Bay issue of NorthBay Biz magazine, 2007.
Buying Property Can Pose Substantial Risks. Published in the Business
Section of the Press Democrat, May 14, 2007.
Drawing The Line, an article about property issues and rights published in NorthBay Biz magazine, June 2006.
Asserting Your Rights In A Neighborly Way. Published in the Business Section of the Press Democrat, June 19, 2006.
Honors/Awards
Northern California Rising Star, which identifies Mr. Berry as one of the top trial attorneys in Sonoma County, as selected by Super Lawyers, 2009 and 2010.
Forty under 40 recipient. Selected by North Bay Business Journal
as one of the forty exceptional business leaders under forty years of age in Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties.
Leadership Santa Rosa graduate, 2009. This is a year-long educational program for selected community leaders and is intended to develop and equip class members via
exposure to pertinent issues, broad thinkers and the richness of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.
Who's Who in Law. North Bay Business Journal, published on March 29, 2010.
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