Steven Berenson
Professor Berenson is a Commissioner with the San Diego Superior Court. Before beginning this position, Berenson worked as a full-time law professor at several law schools, including 17 years at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Berenson also founded and directed Thomas Jefferson’s Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic. He has published three law school textbooks and approximately 30 full-length law review articles and shorter pieces on subjects relating to legal ethics, family law and the legal profession. Before entering academia, Berenson worked as an Assistant Attorney General with the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. There, Berenson focused on administrative and constitutional litigation and consumer protection enforcement.
Courses: Family Law, Professional Responsibility
Books:
Family Law: Doctrine and Practice (2d. Ed. 2023, Carolina Academic Press).
Judicial Ethics and Conduct (2019, The Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI)).
Family Law Litigation (2017, Carolina Academic Press) (second edition
pending).
Articles:
The Real Social Security Disability Fraud(s), 9 DePaul Journal for Social
Justice 93 (2016).
A Legal Conversation with Professor Steven Berenson, 9 Univ. of Mass. L. Rev. 444 (2014).
From the Ashes of the Lawyer-Statesman Rises the Lawyer-Democrat:
Practical Wisdom from the Ground Up, 2014 J. of the Prof. Law. 17
Economic Windfalls and Child Support: How Should Gifts, Inheritances, and Prizes be Counted?, 47 Suffolk L. Rev. 701 (2014).
Preparing Law Students for Advocacy in Poor People’s Courts, 43 New Mexico L. Rev. 363 (2013).
The Elkins Legislation: Will California Change Family Law Again?, 15 Chapman L. Rev. 443 (2012).
Homeless Veterans and Child Support, 45 Family L.Q. 173 (2011).
Should Cohabitation Matter in Family Law?, 13 J. L. & Fam. Studies 289
(2011).
Home Court Advantage Revisited: Interstate Modification of Child Support Orders Under UIFSA and FFCCSOA, 45 Gonzaga L. Rev. 479 (2009/10)(reprinted in Minnesota Family Law Journal).
Empowerment, Innovation, and Service: Law School Programs Provide Access to Justice and Instill a Commitment to Serve, 48 Fam. Ct. Rev. 672 (2010) (co-authored piece).
Legal Services for Struggling Veterans: Then and Now, 30 Hamline J. Public L. & Pol’y 101 (2009).
Government Lawyer as Cause Lawyer: A Study of Three High Profile Government Lawsuits, 86 Denver L. Rev. 457 (2009).
Passion Is No Ordinary Word, 71 Alb. L. Rev. 165 (2008) (reviewing Russell G. Pearce, Brian Danitz, & Romelia S. Leach, Revitalizing the Lawyer-Poet: What Lawyers Can Learn from Rock and Roll (2006)).
Educating Millennial Law Students for Public Obligation, 1 Charlotte L. Rev. 51 (2008).
A Primer for New Civil Law Clinic Students: The History and Development of Legal Aid and Clinical Legal Education in America and Common Issues That Have Arisen, 38 McGeorge L. Rev. 603 (2007) (reprinted in Legal Education: New Horizons (P.L. Jayanthi Reddy, ed. 2008)).
Institutional Professionalism for Lawyers: Realizing the Virtues of CivicProfessionalism, 109 W. Va. L. Rev. 67 (2006) (reviewing William M. Sullivan, Work and Integrity (2d ed. 2005)).
Hard Bargaining on Behalf of the Government Tortfeasor: A Study in Government Lawyer Ethics, 56 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 345 (2005).
A Cloak for the Bare: In Support of Allowing Prospective Malpractice Liability Waivers in Certain Pro Bono Cases, 29 J. Legal Prof. 1 (2004-05).
What Should Law School Conduct Codes Do?, 38 Akron L. Rev. 803 (2005).
The Duty Defined: Specific Obligations that Follow from Civil Government Lawyers General Duty to Serve the Public Interest, 42 Brandeis L. J. 13 (2003).
Is it Time for Lawyer Profiles?, 70 Fordham L. Rev. 645 (2001).
A Family Law Residency Program?: A Modest Proposal in Response to the Challenge Presented by Self -Represented Litigants in Family Court, 33 Rutgers L. J. 105 (2001) (reprinted in Resolving Family Conflicts (Jana B. Singer & Jane C. Murphy, eds. 2008).
Public Lawyers, Private Values: Can, Should, and Will Government Attorneys Serve the Public Interest?, 41 B. C. L. Rev. 789 (2000).
Politics and Plurality in a Lawyer’s Choice of Clients: The Case of Stropnicky v. Nathanson, 35 San Diego L. Rev.1 (1998).
Can We Talk?: Impediments to Intergenerational Dialogue and Practice in Law School Elder Law Clinics, 6 Elder L. J. 185 (1998).
Book Reviews:
Book Review of Raymond F. Gregory, Age Discrimination in the American Workplace: Old at a Young Age, 27 The Legal Studies Forum 479 (2003).
Book Review of John C. Anderson, Why Lawyers Derail Justice, 23 The Legal Studies Forum 585 (1999).
Book Review of We Dissent (Michael Avery Ed.), 50 Am. J. Legal History 101 (2008-10).
Other Publications:
Whither the Spousal Privilege, California Lawyers Association, Family Law News, Volume 42, No. 3, 2020.
“Settle and Sue” Legal Malpractice Cases Have New Clarity in California, law360.com, July 1, 2020.
California Should Adopt the Uniform Bar Exam and the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, The Daily Journal, May 13, 2015, at 1.
Family Law Chapter, Servicemember and Veterans Rights (LexisNexis 2011) (with Lindsey Olson).
Not All Political Lies are Crimes, The Daily Journal, June 14, 2011, at 1.
The Movement Toward Veterans Courts, 44 Clearinghouse Rev. 37 (May/June 2010).
Issues Raised by Military Service in the Context of Family Law Cases, 43
Clearinghouse Rev. 220 (Sept.-Oct. 2009) (with Angela Anderson).
Lawyers Club of San Diego, Report of the Balance Campaign: Creating Workplace Solutions for Women Attorneys, 28 Thomas Jeff. L. Rev. 449 (2006).
AALS Annual Meeting, Joint Program of the Clinical and Aging and the Law Sections: Interviewing and Counseling in Context: Older Clients, 8 T.M. 6 Cooley J. Prac. & Clinical L. 179 (2005) (transcript of proceedings).
Hiding Behind Attorney Neutrality, San Diego Union Tribune, July 22, 2005, at B9.
Remarks on Behalf of the New Inductees to the Florida Bar, Fourth District Court of Appeal, October 4, 1999, 24 Nova L. Rev. xi (1999).
Retroactivity in Habeas Corpus Cases Since Teage v. Lane (National Association of Attorneys General 1993).