Biography
Judge Berman has been a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York since November 1998, taking senior status in 2011. He received a B.S. degree from Cornell University in 1964, a J.D. degree in 1967 from N.Y.U. School of Law, and an M.S.W. in May 1996 from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. He received a Diploma of Comparative Law in 1968 and a Diploma of International Law in 1970 from the University of Stockholm Faculty of Law.
Judge Berman was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell from 1970 to 1974 and served as Executive Assistant to United States Senator Jacob K. Javits from 1974 to 1978. In 1978, he became General Counsel to Warner Cable Corporation (and to MTV Networks Inc. in 1984). In 1986, he became a member of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae and served as managing partner of LeBoeuf Lamb’s Los Angeles office from 1989 to 1991. From May 1995 until October 1998, he served as a New York State Family Court Judge for Queens County.
Judge Berman has developed a unique court-involved supervised release program designed to reduce recidivism/desistance by having the sentencing judge help incarcerated persons reintegrate into the community. See Richard M. Berman, Supervised Release Report (dated Apr. 6, 2021; Sept. 2, 2021; Apr. 20, 2022; Oct. 12, 2022). The court directed supervised release program is described in “Federal Court Involvement in Supervised Release,” The Regulatory Review (University of Pennsylvania Law School), dated June 28, 2021; “Finishing ‘Unfinished Business’” by Tom McParland, N.Y.L.J., dated May 27, 2021; and “U.S. Judges Urge Colleagues to Take More Active Role in Supervised Release” by Tom McParland, N.Y.L.J., dated Oct. 15, 2021.
Judge Berman received the National Association of Social Workers (NYC) Emerald award for 20 years of leadership as a licensed social worker and judge on March 28, 2019.
Judge Berman has lectured on the “Rule of Law” in Istanbul, Turkey (2014) and Tirana, Albania (2013). He is the author of “Special Immigrant Juvenile Status”; “A Team Model to Identify Child Abuse”; “Seven Steps to Protect Children”; and “Community Service for Juvenile Offenders,” published in the New York Law Journal.
Judge Berman is a member (and past Chairman) of the New York State-Federal Council. He is Chairman of the Southern District’s Senior Judges Committee. He has served on the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, and the New York City Mayor's Child Welfare Action Group.