Todd A. Berger

Professor of Law Director, Advocacy Programs (315) 443-9552 taberger@syr.edu Curriculum Vitae [PDF]

Professor Todd A. Berger joined the College of Law faculty in 2012. He is currently a Professor of Law, serving as Director of Advocacy Programs. Berger’s scholarship is concentrated in the areas of criminal law and procedure, as well as the intersection of trial advocacy and attorney ethics.

Under his direction, the College of Law’s Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society competition teams continues an impressive run of results on the regional and national scale. The program is in the top 15 Trial Advocacy program in the nation as ranked by US News & World Report and a top 15 program in the nation as ranked by the Trial Competition Performance Ranking. Professor Berger and students have grown the Advocacy program to create and host the Syracuse National Trial Competition, the National Trial League, the Transatlantic Negotiation Competition, and the National Disability Law Appellate Competition.

Professor Berger is also the Faculty Director of the College’s Philadelphia Externship program, where he has placed externs in the legal departments of top Philadelphia-area companies, legal service organizations, and government agencies as well as in the chambers of leading members of the judiciary. He also served as the director of the College’s Criminal Defense Clinic from 2012-2019.

In recognition of his excellence in teaching, Berger received Syracuse University’s Meredith Teaching Recognition Award in 2017. He also was selected by the graduating classes of 2015, 2020, 2021, and 2022 to receive the College’s Res Ipsa Loquitur Award. This honor is given to an outstanding faculty member for “service, scholarship, and stewardship” to the students. Further, Professor Berger is the author of award-winning scholarship, having received the 2021 Edward D. Ohlbaum Paper in Advocacy for his article, Problematic Problems: The Case Against Mock Trial Problems Involving Racist Speech, 94 Temp. L. Rev. Online 1 (2022). The Ohlbaum Paper in Advocacy is selected based on its originality, and usefulness to advocates and students of advocacy.

Before joining the College, Berger was the founding Managing Attorney of the Federal Prisoner Reentry Project at Rutgers School of Law-Camden. Previously, he worked as an assistant public defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, representing indigent defendants throughout all stages of the criminal justice system, from arraignment through trial and post-verdict motions. He also worked as a supervisor in both the Municipal Court and Felony Waiver Units, assisting new attorneys in trial preparation and courtroom practice, and in the Major Trials Unit representing clients in jury trials involving serious felony charges. He also was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he taught in the Criminal Defense Clinic.

Berger earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, a Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law, and an L.L.M. in Trial Advocacy from Temple University.