Bernice K. Leber

Practice Areas

Bernice K. Leber's practice concentrates on the prosecution and defense of complex civil business disputes, with an emphasis on those involving commercial disputes (real property, securities, financial and intellectual property). She also handles professional liability cases and disciplinary matters involving lawyers and accountants.

Client Work

In her 30 years as a lawyer, Bernice has developed representing clients in the construction, real estate, real estate development, accounting, securities and financial services industries. Notably, she litigated successfully the cancellation of a 99 year sale-leaseback and related financing and construction contracts for a developer, performed workouts of real estate financings for many real estate developers with banks – both with and without litigation and in and out of bankruptcy, represented developers, banks and financing companies in disputes over construction, zoning, environmental and financing issues, litigated successfully in the Second Circuit and Appellate Divisions bidding disputes on behalf of the Empire State Development Corporation and NYS Dormitory Authority, provided tax planning advice involving a closely held portfolio of $1B, and handled federal tax treaty cases before IRS and the federal courts. She also has litigated intellectual property actions in the advertising, sports, publishing, computer, fragrance, food, liquor and fashion industries.  In the Second Circuit, Ms. Leber has represented domestic foreign public and closely-held companies (e.g., The Hillman Corporation, Amarex, AMI, Princeton Economics), banks, investment advisors and pension fund advisers under the securities, commodities exchange, ERISA and various state and tax laws as well as the New York State Bar Association in a lawsuit concerning ethical standards of lawyer advertising.

In the past several years, Bernice succeeded in representing a wide variety of companies involved in intellectual property disputes, including: affirmance of a jury verdict finding willful infringement by a trademark distributor/licensee and affirmance of an order compelling the infringer to assign an uncontestable trademark to the rightful owner of a leading advertising journal, the first case of its kind in the Second Circuit (Lurzer's Archive v. American Showcase and One Magazine, 77 F.Supp.2d 370 (S.D.N.Y.1997); successfully obtaining a permanent injunction requiring an infringer to cease business and disgorge profits to a national ice cream manufacturer (case filed under seal); successfully obtaining a permanent injunction requiring a prominent water industry business to cease unfairly competing with a leading water company (Puro Corp. of America v. Aqua Pure Company); and successfully obtaining an injunction preventing an infringer from using the name of a leading hotel chain and offering services related to the use of the hotel mark (case filed under seal). She has also represented trademark owners and licensees during bankruptcy proceedings, notably in In re Schrafft's, In re J-L Bankruptcies (on behalf of trademark owner Haagen-Dazs), In re K-Mart bankruptcy (ELK Investors), In re Gitano.

Bernice has also successfully represented several corporations (and certain of their officers) in securities fraud actions and financial litigation involving securities, Commodities Futures, secured transactions, accounting laws and state laws, including the following: SEC v. Armstrong, 2004 W.L. 362318 (2d Cir. 2004) and Commodities Futures Trading v. Armstrong, 284 F.2d 404 (2d Cir. 2002, representing Armstrong's Japanese foreign investment advisor); In Re Amarex Securities Litigation (representing the Hillman Company and outside directors); and In re AMI Securities Litigation (representing the outside directors). She has also represented lawyers and accountants and their clients in matters involving professional liability.

Professional Activities

Bernice just completed a term as the 111th President of the New York State Bar Association, the largest voluntary bar association in the US (80,000 members). She also served three terms as a director of the New York Bar Foundation; three terms (ongoing) as a member of the Corporate Board Selection Committee of the Financial Women’s Association; a member of the State Bar and ABA House of Delegates; member of the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property Section of the New York State Bar Association; is a member of the Finance Committee of the State Bar Association. She chairs the Strategic Financial Planning Committee of the State Bar. She is also past First Vice-President from the 1st Judicial District to the State Bar, former chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section (1997-1998) and Past Chair-Elect of the Section; past Chair of the Subcommittees on Discovery, Appellate Practice, Federal Judiciary; and past member of the Courts of Superior Jurisdiction (1995-1998), Committee on Judicial Administration, and the Civil Courts Committee for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Publications, Presentations and Recognitions

Awards

2009   Awardee, National Executive Service Corp., whose mission is to assist corporate boards with administration and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
2009, 2008    Member, American Law Institute Board
2009, 2008, 2007, 2006   Super Lawyers
      Who’s Who in American Law
      Who’s Who of American Women
      Who’s Who in America
1999 - present   Mediator to the United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Arbitrator to the United States District Court of the Eastern District of New York
2009, 2008   Delegate to ABA House of Delegates
2008-present  Member, ABA Commission on Fair and Impartial Courts
     Member, ABA Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession
     Advisor to U.S. Trade Representative on Business of Practicing Law (ethical rules and regulation of lawyers) 

In 2008-2009, Bernice implemented legislative policy before the New York State Legislature, and Governor Paterson’s Office and Office of Court Administration on legislation to address:  climate change, wrongful convictions, funding for indigent/middle-class, e-filing, compact for long-term care for the sick and elderly, same-sex marriage proposals, title agents, ethics standards, Commission to Review Qualification of New York State Court of Appeals’ candidates, lawyer advertising, campaign finance reform, cy pres awards.

In 2008- 2009, U.S. Congress on:  Guantanamo Bay status, destruction of documents by Executive Office, review of qualifications of candidates to the Second Circuit Federal Judiciary, federal shield law, attorney-client privilege presentation, media.

In 2007-2008, Bernice lectured to the Southern and Eastern District of New York and the Commercial Division Justices of the State Of New York on the use of cy pres awards in class action settlements to fund civil legal services.

In 2007, Bernice served as a panelist on the New York State Bar Association’s program “Committee on Professional Discipline presents Current Issues in Ethics and Discipline.”

In 2006, Bernice lectured on Lawyer Advertising to the NYS Association of Disciplinary Attorneys, the Brooklyn, Queens and City Bar Associations, and the Masters Institute Program at Stonybrook and 2009, argued in the Second Circuit on behalf of the State Bar concerning the constitutionality of lawyer advertising with respect to 30 day ban on solicitation of accident victims and their families.

In 2005, Bernice chaired the Task Force for The State Bar on Lawyer Advertising that proposed changes to the disciplinary rules and procedures concerning lawyer ads.

In 2001 and 2002, Bernice lectured to 300 New York State Supreme Court judges at the New York State Judicial Conference. She was also a speaker at the New York State Bar Association Conference on Federal Civil Practice.

She has also lectured on a variety of subjects to bar groups and PLI, including: federal civil practice, arbitration, loan workout litigation, the commercial courts of the Supreme Court and case management techniques.

Articles and Publications

• “Women in the Law – Taking the Lead,” New York Law Journal; February 2009
• “The Time for Civil Gideon is Now,” Touro Law Review (Vol. 25 – No. 1); 2009
• “State Bar Association Calls for End to Stalemate on Judicial Pay” press conference, New York State Bar Association news release; March 31, 2008
• “What Do Women Lawyers Really Want?” questionnaire, The Complete Lawyer; March/April 2008
• Drafted and argued brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit urging that the current judicial selection system in New York State be struck down (Alexander v. Cahill, 2d Cir.); July 16, 2007
• “How Do You Define a Blog?,” Law Firm Inc., Vol. 4, No. 6I; November/December 2006
• “Consumer Surveys in Trademark Cases: Are They in Evidence or Out?,” New York Law Journal; April 25, 2005
• Federal Civil Practice Handbook (NYSBA 1999) and Updates (2001, 2006)
• “Joinder, Severance and Consolidation,” Commercial Litigation In New York State Courts (West 1996) and Update (2002)

Publications Where Quoted

• “Taking Stand on Guantánamo,” New York Law Journal; February 18, 2009
• “New Efforts Focus on Exonerating Prisoners in Cases Without DNA Evidence,” The New York Times; February 8, 2009
• “Examining Human Error in Wrongful Convictions,” The New York Times; February 1, 2009
• “State Bar groups want share of ‘cy pres’ awards,” National Law Journal; September 1, 2008
• Best of the Law Blog:  “Order to Release YouTube Data Sparks Backlash – On YouTube,” Wall Street Journal; August 13, 2008
• “NY Bar to Target Misleading Advertisements,” Long Island Business News; November 18, 2005

Appearances

In 2008, Bernice was interviewed on CUNY TV’s “One to One with Sheryl McCarthy” which highlighted her priorities as President of the New York State Bar Association.

Bar and Court Admissions

New York Bar
Supreme Court of the United States
US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
US District Court, Central District of California
US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
US District Court, Southern District of New York
US District Court, Eastern District of New York

Education

Columbia University School of Law, JD, 1978
Mount Holyoke, AB (with distinction), 1975

Life Beyond the Law

Bernice is the former Parliamentarian to the New York State Senate (1975 session).