President Joe Biden’s planned nomination to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Nicole Berner, is seen as a significant move favoring unions, especially their legal allies who have felt sidelined in recent years. As general counsel to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Berner has dedicated her career to championing organized labor and liberal causes. Her nomination not only strengthens Biden’s ties with unions but also propels the traditionally conservative Fourth Circuit court towards a more leftward inclination.
Jeffrey Hirsch, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law, and a former appellate litigator for the National Labor Relations Board, expressed approval for the nomination, indicating that the legal industry had been waiting for someone with a solid labor perspective in the Fourth Circuit.
Berner is one of five nominees for federal judgeships that Biden announced recently. Notably, the list includes nominee Adeel Mangi for the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, who, if confirmed, would become the first Muslim judge on a federal appellate court. You can review the list of nominees here.
Given Berner’s track record, it’s likely she’ll be an advocate for unions in states within the Fourth Circuit’s jurisdiction, including North and South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. These states have some of the lowest union density in the nation.
During her time at SEIU, Berner played a significant role in the Fight for $15 campaign to raise state and local minimum wages and helped organize childcare and home care workers who weren’t traditionally unionized. She was the lead attorney on a US Supreme Court amicus brief defending the Affordable Care Act that received a favorable ruling from the court in 2021.
Michael Rubin, a partner at the law firm Altshuler Berzon, attests to Berner’s ability to get to the heart of issues and predicts that she will make an extraordinary judge based on nearly two decades of observing her work. Ryan Griffin, a partner with Berner at the law firm James & Hoffman, has also spoken favorably about her “temperament and even-handedness”.
Unions have been a key constituency for Biden since he began his 2020 campaign at a union hall in Pennsylvania. The President’s union-friendly moves, evidenced by his recent walk on a picket line with the United Auto Workers and wearing a union t-shirt during a recent speech to workers in Belvidere, Illinois, points towards his continued commitment towards union workers. However, the number of union attorneys appointed to the bench so far are noticeably few, according to left-leaning labor lawyers.
Earlier in Berner’s career, she served as a staff attorney for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. It is expected that this will fuel opposition among Republican senators. Additionally, Berner’s influence in legal matters isn’t just limited to U.S. soil. Berner and her ex-wife sued the Israeli government in 2000 and subsequently became the country’s first same-sex couple to be recognized as co-mothers. She would make history again as the first openly LGBTQ judge on the Fourth Circuit if confirmed.
Read more about President Joe Biden’s planned nomination in the original article here.