Michael J. Berkowitz ’91, a Partner at the Philadelphia based Intellectual Property law firm of Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein, Cohen & Pokotilow, Ltd., was recently elected to the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Michael’s three year term began in January of 2008, and he expressed his excitement, saying, “I am looking forward to the opportunity to network with lawyers and do good work for the legal community. He has already been asked to co-chair a committee on intellectual property law and the committee is working on recommendations for programming.
The Philadelphia Bar Association boasts 13,000 members and represents the largest local bar association in the state. Michael felt that being elected to a position on the Philadelphia Bar Association Board of Governors would allow him to utilize the leadership skills he developed after serving for two years as Chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society. While seeking the nomination, Michael received endorsements from the Trial Lawyers Association and the Justinian Society. In addition to co-chairing the Intellectual Property Committee, Michael serves on the Israel Exchange Committee.
Before he went to law school, Michael worked as an engineer for General Electric in Valley Forge, but he was interested in becoming a patent lawyer. Widener Law offered Michael important networking opportunities in addition to a quality legal education, and those opportunities eventually led to his position at Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein, Cohen & Pokotilow, Ltd. While at Widener, Michael felt that the hands on experience he gained from a
tax law clinic prepared him for his professional future. “I got to work directly with real clients who had real problems. I had a chance to work with a client who was being audited by the IRS,” he says. He also fondly recalls some of his professors and the classes they taught, noting Alan Garfield’s Copyright Law class as particularly memorable, and he points out that he constantly uses information from courses such as “Civil Procedure, Evidence,
Trial Advocacy, and Intellectual Property,” adding, “issues from those courses come up everyday.”
Asked if he would choose the same career path again, Michael enthusiastically answered, “Oh, I think so. I’m very pleased with how things have turned out. I’m happy with my career. It’s been rewarding and challenging.” He also has a bit of advice to pass on to current and future law students; “Find an area of specialization that you really like. You’re more likely to find an opportunity if you can sell yourself as an expert in a particular area of the law.”