David J. Berney

David is a senior partner with Berney & Sang.  He is a trial lawyer who concentrates his practice in education law, employment discrimination, and civil rights.  His dedication to excellence has helped to achieve numerous verdicts and settlements for clients that have exceeded one million dollars.  He has litigated hundreds of special education cases, and he has worked on cases that have been argued before the United States and Pennsylvania Supreme Courts.  Several of his cases have been written up by the New York Times and other nationally syndicated newspapers, and he has appeared on C-Span as a result of his professional activities.

From 2008 to 2020, Philadelphia Magazine named David a Philadelphia Super Lawyer.  From 2005 to 2007, Philadelphia Magazine named him as one of the best attorneys under the age of 40 in Pennsylvania. In 2007, Philadelphia Magazine featured him on the cover and with an article about him. In his spare time, David enjoys running, biking, story-writing, and cooking with his children.

David (he/him/his) can be reached at djberney@berneylaw.com.

Appellate

Education Law

Employment Law

President Donald Trump, Education and the American Dream, The Legal Intelligencer (December 19, 2018).

Transgender Students: A Unique Frontier for Civil Rights, The Legal Intelligencer (October 24, 2017).

Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools: High Court and the Wonder Blunder, The Legal Intelligencer (March 27, 2017).

Co-author, Students with allergies protected by law from dangerous reactions, bias, The Notebook (February/March 2017).

Co-author, President Obama and His Legacy on Education, The Legal Intelligencer (December 27, 2016).

Co-author, Importance of Comprehensive Transition Plans Under the IDEA, The Legal Intelligencer (March 24, 2016).

Co-author, Student Misconduct and Zero-Tolerance Policies in Schools, The Legal Intelligencer (December 31, 2015).

Co-author, Educational Rights of English Language Learners and Costs of Failing Them, The Legal Intelligencer (June 25, 2015).

Co-author, Textualism, the Supreme Court, and Truant Kindergartners, The Legal Intelligencer (October 23, 2014).

Co-author, Brown v Board of Education: 60 Years Later, The Legal Intelligencer (June 28, 2014).

Co-author, Overrepresentation of Minorities in Special Education, The Legal Intelligencer (February 6, 2014)

Co-author, Litigating Bullying Cases Post-Morrow, The Legal Intelligencer (December 4, 2013).

From the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to the Courthouse:  Does Civil Rights Litigation Remediate Racial Inequality in the Workplace?, Dissertation, The New School (May 2012).

A Journey in Time: Reconnecting with My German Jewish Heritage, The Philadelphia Lawyer: Vol. 69, No. 2 (Summer 2006).

University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA
Juris Doctor, 1992
Honors: Equal Justice Award

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Political Science, 1989

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

State of New York

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit