Steven H. Berkowitz is founder and principal of the firm and has been representing individuals and businesses for over thirty-eight years, specializing in business counseling and complex, corporate, securities, commercial and general civil litigation.

As one of the few lawyers specializing in securities fraud and unsuitability claims in Bucks County, Mr. Berkowitz has successfully represented dozens of investors in actions against their brokers and brokerage firms for fraud, breach of contract, negligence and violations of New York Stock Exchange and NASD Rules and Regulations before National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) arbitration panels.

Mr. Berkowitz received his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He was awarded his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School in Boston, Massachusetts.

He began his legal career as a trial attorney in the headquarter’s office of the Securities & Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Beginning in the Corporate Reorganization Section, Mr. Berkowitz was involved in all aspects of Chapter X and XI Reorganizations, actively participated in all Bankruptcy proceedings involving publicly-held corporations representing the interests of the shareholders and was responsible for overseeing the Chapter X and XI activities of the Commission’s regional offices and for the administration of the Branch of Reorganization itself.

After joining the Division of Enforcement, Mr. Berkowitz was a member of the special unit designated to investigate Robert Vesco, the New Jersey financier, which resulted in a major fraud action.  He then headed the special unit assigned to investigate the sale of Penn Central’s commercial paper by Goldman, Sachs and Company in the six months preceding Penn Central’s declaration of bankruptcy. This investigation ultimately resulted in a $150,000,000 settlement between Lloyd’s of London and the purchasers of Penn Central commercial paper.

Mr. Berkowitz moved to the Philadelphia area and joined the Complex Litigation Department of a large, center-city law firm, Blank Rome. He obtained successful results in numerous actions including major securities fraud and/or derivative-action lawsuits, products liability, general corporate and commercial actions, federal securities, Uniform Commercial Code, landlord-tenant and mechanics’ lien cases. While at the firm, Mr. Berkowitz was also responsible for initiating one of the preeminent libel cases over the past twenty years.

Soon thereafter, Mr. Berkowitz established his own firm with offices in center-city Philadelphia and Bucks County. He developed a large Medicare Part B practice beginning with his election as General Counsel to the Pennsylvania Ambulance Operators Association and represented numerous Medicare Providers including ambulance companies, doctors, and providers of durable medical equipment.

He successfully blocked a major HCFA and BlueShield proposed regulation that would have eliminated one-third of all previously-covered ambulance transportation in Pennsylvania. He was Lead Counsel for the Plaintiff Class in a highly complex, RICO Class Action involving 5000 timeshare owners of a Pocono resort and 23 Defendants. The action culminated in a successful settlement.

Mr. Berkowitz was Chairman of Hearing Committee II of the PA Supreme Court’s Attorney Disciplinary Board, which includes Bucks and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania. He has been selected as local counsel by several, large New Jersey and New York law firms in complex litigation cases involving products liability and environmental law.

Mr. Berkowitz is an active and vital member of the area’s legal and civic community. He created and taught at the People’s Law School for the Bucks County Bar Association. He is active in the Bar Associations and the Lower Bucks and Central Bucks Chambers of Commerce. He was selected to be Chairman of the Emergency Services Advisory Committee for Abington Township which resulted in major changes and improvements in the existing emergency response system. He is on the Board of Governors of the Rydal-Meadowbrook Civic Association. He is active in politics in Abington Township and an elected committee-person.

Finally, Mr. Berkowitz is an avid jazz and blues fan and is General Counsel for the Bucks County Blues Society, the oldest Blues Society in the world.

Bar Admissions:      Connecticut, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia 
                                    US District Courts for the Eastern District, Middle District and 
                                    Western District of Pennsylvania 
                                    Third Circuit Court of Appeals

Bar Memberships:    American, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Bucks County Bar Associations

                                   __________________________________________
             

                                                  

                                                                        CARRIE BOYLE

Carrie Boyle is an Associate at Steven H. Berkowitz and Associates.  She joined the firm in January, 2009.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Carrie went to work for multi-million dollar commercial real estate developers/owners: Zimmer Development Company in Wilmington, NC in 1999; and then, The Goldenberg Group in Blue Bell, PA, in January, 2002.  While working in the commercial real estate development industry, Carrie gained extensive experience in the acquisition, financing, leasing, and management of the companies' assets.  Specifically, Carrie participated in the financing and leasing processes of projects such as Columbus Commons in South Philadelphia, featuring IKEA and Lowes as the anchor tenants and, Whitman Square on Roosevelt Boulevard, featuring Walmart and Lowes as the anchor tenants.

In 2003, Carrie began law school at Rutgers Camden, in the evenings, while maintaining her full-time job at The Goldenberg Group.  Also while in law school, Carrie was very actively involved in the pro bono Bankruptcy project where she assisted indigent residents of South New Jersey file and complete a Bankruptcy, and she authored a paper concerning the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.

After graduating from law school, Carrie worked a as contract lawyer and gained experience in ERISA law and federal pre-emption issues, and developed additional real estate development experience as counsel to Gloucester Township in the acquisition of real property and development of a senior housing complex.

Since Carrie joined Berkowitz and Associates, she has been instrumental in the successful pleading and negotiation of many contract disputes, real property issues, and landlord and tenant disputes, in addition to completing significant transactional work to facilitate acquisitions and sales of businesses.

Carrie is an accomplished violinist who performed with the symphony orchestra in Wilmington, NC for four years.  Additionally, she is a PADI certified scuba diver and experienced sailor.  Carrie is also licensed to practice law in the state of New Jersey.