MY LEGAL LIFE 27 those who have suffered as a result of their exposures from Ground Zero is certainly a highlight of my career. I have also been in many other cases that have been, personally, very satisfying to me. I was involved in the litigation involving the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that went down in Italy; I represented many of the individuals in the shooting at the Aurora Theater in Colorado, and as I said I was involved in the opioid litigation – something that is very important to me. I am actually on the board of directors of a drug policy initiative where we are trying to make national policy with respect to various types of drugs, including marijuana, fentanyl and several others. What is it that motivates you to excel in your work? I want to help people. I believe that the civil justice system is one of the primary ways where we are able to right wrongs – whether it be by negligence or harm in the environment. As I said regarding the railroad workers that need help, those people that need a voice have always been those I desire to help. Could you tell us a little about your personal journey into law and your career development to date? I originally completed my degree in 1975. I started practice in the State of Wisconsin and eventually moved to New York in 1981, where I have basically practiced continuously since. Throughout those many years I have worked at various law firms, and in 2015 after the dissolution of my law firm that I had been involved in for over 20 years I started my own firm again. I have a primary office in New York City and large functioning offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago, and I practice throughout the United States. My practice is primarily involved in environmental litigation and the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), where we represent railroad workers who have contracted cancers as a result of their exposure to volatile compounds and cancer-causing chemicals in their employment on the railroads. I do a lot of toxic exposure and environmental types of cases, and I was also involved in the national opioid litigation. We also do some medical malpractice and general personal injury throughout the country, but we continue to primarily do various types of mass tort litigation. You have mentioned your work on the chemical fallout of the World Trade Center attacks. Would you say that this is one of your career achievements that you are particularly proud of having accomplished? Absolutely. Representing the workers at Ground Zero as well as being intimately involved in the passage of the Zadroga Act and my continuing work on behalf of Those people that need a voice have always been those I desire to help. Marc Bern is the founding partner of Marc J. Bern & Partners LLP, a law firm headquartered in New York City that handles complex litigation across the United States. Marc’s practice is focused primarily on representing plaintiffs in mass torts, environmental litigation, FELA railroad litigation and personal injury and product liability cases. With more than 35 years’ worth of experience as a litigator and having had a hand in some of the most high-profile cases of his time, Marc has been named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers and has a record of achieving settlements of over $1 million in hundreds of cases. Contact Marc Bern Founder Marc J. Bern & Partners LLP One Grand Central Place, 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 950, New York, NY 10165, USA Tel: +1 212-702-5000 +1 516 361 4909 E: mbern@bernllp.com www.bernllp.com
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