Joe Berman

Joseph S. Berman is the general counsel of the Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court, having been appointed by the justices of Court in 2017. As general counsel, Mr. Berman oversees the enforcement of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, the code of ethics for Massachusetts lawyers. He writes and speaks frequently on legal ethics. Prior to holding this position, Mr. Berman practiced commercial litigation for more than twenty-five years and worked exclusively as a mediator and arbitrator for two years. In connection with his position at the BBO, Mr. Berman serves on the board of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, an agency funded by the legal profession to assist lawyers in need of mental health services. He is the President of the National Council of Lawyer Disciplinary Boards and serves on the editorial board of the Massachusetts Law Review.

In addition to his legal work, Joe is involved in several philanthropic endeavors. Long active in the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), he currently serves as the Chair of the ADL’s New England Regional Board. The ADL’s mission is to, “Stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure just and fair treatment to all.” He also serves on a national level as chair of the ADL’s Legal Affairs Committee. In that position, he oversees the League’s litigation activity, including the filing of amicus curiae briefs in state and federal appeals courts. Joe recently completed two terms on the board of the Associates of the Boston Public Library, which works to preserve the library’s extensive collection of rare books, prints, and manuscripts. He is the Chair of the Conservation Commission in his hometown of Weston, Massachusetts.

Joe has received numerous awards for his legal and civic work. In 2007, he was one of several recipients of the Boston Bar Association’s President’s Award for his work on behalf of a client detained by the United States military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The ADL has bestowed on him its Young Leadership Award and the David A. Rose Civil Rights Award.

Joe graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1986 and cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 1990. Immediately after law school, he clerked for the Honorable Richard Matsch of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.