Office: Hamilton County – Ohio First District Court of Appeals
Age: 44
Residence: Cincinnati, OH
Email: PierreForJudge@gmail.com
Website: www.VotePierre.com; facebook.com/PierreForJudge; twitter:
@PierreHBergeron
Occupation: Attorney
Education: B.A., Centre College; J.D., University of Virginia School of
Law
Work Experience: Former federal appellate clerk; Partner and Global
Chair of Appellate and Supreme Court Practice at Squire Patton Boggs
Family: Married with 2 children
Affiliations: Episcopal
Endorsements: Please check www.VotePierre.com for latest
endorsements
Bar Association Ratings: N/A
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
While I have not previously served as a judge, the American Arbitration
Association (AAA) has appointed me as an arbitrator in several cases.
An arbitrator is essentially a private judge who resolves disputes
between parties to a contract, and who issues binding decisions that
can be enforced in the courts. The AAA is the leading arbitration
organization in the country, and I’ve been honored to be included on its
panel. The AAA only selects a small percentage of lawyers for this
distinction, and they must undergo an involved application process and
training.
As an arbitrator, I have presided over arbitration hearings, made
evidentiary determinations, interpreted contracts, and applied the law
just like a judge would do. In two cases, my co-arbitrators appointed me
chair of the cases involving a three-arbitrator panel, which was a
distinct honor. My arbitration background, experience, and training will
prove very helpful if I’m elected to serve the people of Hamilton County
as an appellate judge.
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a
judge?
My experience as an appellate lawyer handling over 100 appeals in my
career makes me uniquely qualified to both serve on the bench and to
help accomplish the change that is needed to make our Court a shining
light in the State. I come from a background of public service–my father
taught history, my mother was an Episcopal priest, one brother is a
judge in Kentucky, and my other brother is a naval officer serving at the
Pentagon. I am ready to take those lessons I have learned, both growing
up and as a lawyer, to serve the residents of Hamilton County. I
graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, and
subsequently served as a law clerk for Judge David Nelson of the Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. I then joined the law ×rm of
Squire Patton Boggs and became the Chair of the Appellate and
Supreme Court Practice Group.
In that capacity, I have argued appeals in federal and state appellate
courts across the country, including twice at the United States Supreme
Court. As a recognized leader in appellate practice, I was recently named
Cincinnati’s Appellate Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers, as selected
by my peers. Judges have frequently named me to serve on court related
committees, such as rule advisory committees, providing me a
chance to work closely with judges and have a voice on how the court’s
procedures can be improved. Judges have also invited me to speak at
judicial conferences on topics of appellate practice. I have taught at
numerous lawyer-training programs throughout Ohio, generally on
appellate practice, and I have published articles on those topics. I
enjoyed the opportunity to teach at the University of Cincinnati
College of Law, where I founded the Appellate Litigation Clinic to allow
law students the opportunity to assist in representing indigent clients.
Beyond my civil litigation experience, I have won pro bono cases for
indigent criminal defendants at the Ohio Supreme Court, the Kentucky
Supreme Court, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. I have also
worked on several appeals with the Ohio Innocence Project, including
two cases that led to the exoneration of innocent men who collectively
served decades in prison. These experiences have granted me a deep
understanding of the challenges facing our criminal justice system.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I have practiced nearly 20 years in appellate courts across the country,
including Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals. This experience has
shown me what works and what doesn’t in appellate courts. I am
running for this seat because I believe that I can help bring positive
change in the First District, making the court both more transparent
and responsive to the citizens of Hamilton County. Specifically, there
are two changes that will help render the appellate process fairer to the
parties appearing before the Court.
First, the First District has a long-standing rule (not present in any
other Ohio appellate district) that places restrictions on the briefs that
parties submit. Changing this rule will enable the parties to fully
develop the arguments that they wish the Court to consider–in other
words, their voices should be heard. More developed briefings will
assist the judges in reaching the correct decision by allowing a full
consideration of the matter before court. We should therefore bring
the First District’s rules in line with what all of the other appellate
districts in the State do.
Second, a substantial percentage of the Court’s decisions have
historically been rendered with 2-3 page judgment entries. These
entries often do not provide much analysis of the issues on appeal,
often leaving the parties in the dark as to why the Court reached its
decision. Win or lose, a party deserves a complete explanation for the
Court’s decision so that it knows that the Court seriously considered its
case. Providing a more thorough analysis will also help lawyers and
their future clients to understand the law governing this district, and
this increased transparency will help instill a greater confidence in our
judiciary. Nearly all the clients I’ve represented over the years believe
that their case is the most important matter before the Court. And they
are uniformly disappointed if the Court does not show them that
respect. The First District is effectively the Supreme Court for
Hamilton County (because so few cases can be appealed further), and
its rulings greatly affect the lives and businesses of Hamilton County
residents. If elected, I will work to ensure that every case, no matter
how large or small, is treated the way that I would want my own case
treated.