John V. Berry

Overview | Education | Bar Admissions | Court Admissions | Memberships and Affiliations | Recent Seminars and Lectures | Publications | Cases of Interest

Mr. Berry is the founding partner of the Firm and represents employers, federal and state employees, law enforcement officers, firefighters, private employees and labor unions in various labor and employment law matters.

Mr. Berry has served as General Counsel to the United States Park Police and United States Capitol Police Federal Labor Unions representing law enforcement officers, and to employers involving issues related to wage and hour guidelines, Human Resources Policy development and employment legal defense. Mr. Berry has also served as counsel to nonprofit entities in wage and hour defense matters.

Mr. Berry has worked on hundreds of Federal, State, District of Columbia and private employee retirement matters. He has represented federal employees in matters such as those involving federal employee disability retirement under CSRS and FERS, federal agency retirement errors in connection with FERCCA, litigation with OPM over federal survivors benefits due to OPM errors and erroneous advice, federal law enforcement officer (LEO) and firefighter (FF) eligibility for special federal retirement benefits and a number of other specific federal employment retirement based issues.

Mr. Berry has also represented District of Columbia police supervisors and officers in disability retirement matters before the D.C. Police and Firefighters' Retirement and Relief Board (and/or before the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department). He has also represented and advised private sector employees in their individual retirement matters.

Mr. Berry has written several published legal articles on various topics regarding employment and labor law as well as law enforcement officer defense. In addition, Mr. Berry was Editor-in-Chief of the District of Columbia Bar Labor and Employment Law Newsletter and Guest Speaker for Continuing Legal Education courses on administrative, employment and labor law issues. Mr. Berry frequently provides legal guidance and training to Human Resources personnel of companies, nonprofit entities and labor union representatives.

In 2009, Mr. Berry was elected by his peers to the D.C. Bar Labor and Employment Law Section's Steering Committee. The Committee works to advance the professional development and competence of its members by offering educational programs and publications in the substantive law fields of labor and employment law, as well as areas of practice and procedure. The Committee's membership consists of employee- and management-side attorneys, federal and D.C. agency counsel, corporate and trade association counsel, members of the judiciary and quasi-judicial agencies, counsel to labor organizations, counsel to employment and labor related public interest organizations, law professors, and other members and subscribers to the D.C. Bar.

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Education

B.A., Political Science, 1993, University of Michigan

J.D., 1997, University of Detroit School of Law - Executive Editor of the Law Review

LL.M., Litigation and Dispute Resolution, 2000, George Washington University School of Law

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Bar Admissions

Michigan, 1997
District of Columbia, 1998
Maryland, 2005
New York, 2006
Virginia, 2010

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Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, District of Maryland

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Federal Agency Practice

D.C. Office of Employee Appeals
Federal Labor Relation Authority
Merit Systems Protection Board
National Labor Relations Board
Office of Special Counsel

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Memberships and Affiliations

American Bar Association
D.C. Bar Labor and Employment Law Section's Steering Committee - Member
Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association
National Employment Lawyers Association

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Recent Seminars and Lectures

• Council on Education & Management, Employment Laws and How they Impact Human Resources Management (2006)
• Shop Steward Training, an Introduction to Federal Labor Concepts (2006)

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Publications

• Disability Retirement: An Overview of the Disability Retirement Process for Federal Employees (2006)
• Internal Affairs Interviews for Law Enforcement Employees - What to Think About When Contacted
• Defending Yourself Against Excessive Department Discipline Before State and Federal Agencies - The Douglas Factors (2005)
• MSPB and Arbitration - Issues Affecting Federal Employee Rights (2003)
• Wage and Hour Laws in the District of Columbia, D.C. Employment Practice Manual, 9th and 10th Editions
• NLRB Adds Weapon to Employee Arsenal: The Witness, Vol. 2, 2, D.C. Bar Empl. News (2000)
• Union Member Privilege Well-Protected in Employer-Employee Context, Vol. 1, 4, D.C. Bar Empl. News (2000)
• The Diminution of the Merchant Marine: A National Security Risk, 74 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 465 (1997)
• Lame Ducks “Quack” and Pass Voter Identification Provisions, 74 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 291 (1997)
• Casenote, 73 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 633 (1996) (application of the Exclusionary Rule to civil tax proceedings)

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Cases of Interest

• Wood v. Department of Defense, 100 M.S.P.R. 133 (2005) (lead counsel in successful Whistleblower appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board)
• FOP/BEP Labor Committee v. U.S. BEP Police, FMCS No. 02-50241 (2005) (lead counsel in prevailing removal and unfair labor practice arbitration for significant Weingarten violation)
• FOP/USPP Labor Committee v. U.S. Park Police, FMCS No. 03-51405 (2005) (lead counsel in successful reversal of removals for 2 federal law enforcement officers, with full reinstatement, back pay and benefits)
• Young v. Scales, 873 A.2d 337 (2005) (co-counsel in successful civil action appeal reversing personal liability for law enforcement officer)
• White v. D.C. Department of Corrections, OEA Case No. DC-0752-03-0044-I-1 (2005) (successful reversal of termination of correctional officer)
• FOP/USCP Labor Committee v. U.S. Capitol Police Board, OOC Case No. 01-ARB-01 (2002) (lead counsel in first prevailing Fair Labor Standards Act case under the Congressional Accountability Act in arbitration and before the Board of Directors of the Congressional Office of Compliance on appeal)

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View Mr. Berry's Martindale-Hubbell listing.

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