Thomas M. Berliner

focuses his practice on water, energy, environmental and governmental/municipal law. He is chair of the firm's Water Resources and Renewable Energy and Sustainability groups. His practice includes advising public entities and private clients on all aspects of water supply, hydropower, energy development, renewable and sustainable energy practices, natural resources and environmental compliance and litigation. He also advises municipalities, special districts, private individuals and companies on municipal affairs and government procurement. Mr. Berliner represents clients before local, state and federal agencies on administrative, regulatory and legislative matters. He is also a member of the firm's Cuba Business Group .

Prior to joining Duane Morris LLP in 1998, Mr. Berliner was the general counsel to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC), where for nearly 20 years he advised the PUC and San Francisco's mayor and board of supervisors on matters pertaining to water and energy utilities and municipal affairs. He is a board member of the Water Education Foundation and a member of the Association of California Water Agencies, the Section of the Environment, Energy and Resources of the American Bar Association and The State Bar of California.

Mr. Berliner is a 1978 graduate of the University of California Hastings College of the Law, where he was a founder of the Hastings International and Comparative Law Journal, and a graduate of the University of California at Davis.

Resume

Experience

•Duane Morris LLP - Partner, 1998-present
•San Francisco City Attorney's Office, San Francisco, California - General Counsel, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 1996-1998; Water Counsel, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 1985-1996; Deputy City Attorney, San Francisco, California, 1979-1998

Honors and Awards

•Honored as an Environmental Law Trailblazer in The National Law Journal, 2016

•Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2007-2020

•Listed in Northern California Super Lawyers, 2004-2019

•Listed in Best Lawyers in Northern California, Wall Street Journal, 2016
•Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, 2005-2012
•AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Civic and Charitable Activities

•Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors
•Congregation Rodef Sholom
•Handicapped Access Appeals Board, City and County of San Francisco
•Independent Living Resource Center
•Jewish Community Federation
•United Jewish Appeal
•San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
- Water Committee

Publications and Speaking Engagements

Selected Publications

•Featured in 2016 Trailblazers Energy & Environmental: Thomas M. Berliner, The National Law Journal, May 23, 2016
•Co-author, Energy, Environment and Resources Update
•Author, Viewpoint: Innovate Toward a Water Solution, The Recorder, May 28, 2015
•Co-author, California Governor Issues Drought Emergency Proclamation for 25-Percent Urban Water Conservation, Duane Morris Alert, April 3, 2015
•Author, California State Water Resources Control Board Issues Drought Regulations Restricting Certain Water Uses and Ordering Curtailments in Several Watersheds, Duane Morris Alert, July 30, 2014
•Co-author, 'Not Unbounded': The Reach of State Authority Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, ABA Water Resources Committee Newsletter, January 2011
•Co-author, California Leads the Way on Cap and Trade - Will the Nation Follow?
•Co-author, New Endorsement of State Authority Under the Clean Water Act: S.D. Warren v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection, Western Water Law & Policy Reporter

Selected Speaking Engagements

•Panelist, State of the Drought, Duane Morris LLP - XL Catlin Event, 2015
•Speaker, Drought: Water Law and Bay Area Development, Santa Clara County Bar Association, 2015
•Speaker, Water in California - Policies and Economics at Play, San Mateo Co. Economic Development Association: SAMCEDA Annual Meeting, 2015
•Speaker, Power Outage Shows We Need To Change Our Grid, Huffpost Live, 2013
•Debate Participant, Proposition F, Should Hetch Hetchy Be Drained? American Society of Civil Engineers
•Speaker, A Groundwater Short Course, Marin Conservation League, 2012
•Panelist, Debating Impacts of Climate change on California Water Rights, California Water Policy Conference, 2012
•Panelist, Hydropower Licensing, 401 Certifications, Associate of California Water Agencies ( ACWA ), 2011
•Panelist, Water/Energy Nexus, LSI, 2011, San Francisco
•Program Co-Chair, The Water/Energy Nexus, LSI, San Diego, 2011
•Speaker, It's Raining, So What's to Worry? Episcopal Homes, 2011
•Speaker, California's Water System, California County Counsel Association, 2010
•Speaker, Investing In Water, CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund, 2010
•Panelist, Reasonable Use of Water, Hasting College of the Law - Water Law Symposium
•Panelist, Dam Decommissioning, American Bar Association, San Diego, California
•Panelist, The Role of Hydropower and Implications for Global Climate Change, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
•Panelist, Vulnerability Assessments Under the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, Association of California Water Agencies
• FERC Hydro Relicensing, PG&E Bankruptcy, Southern California Edison Settlement, CPUC Divestiture Proceeding, and EBMUD Freeport Project, Association of California Water Agencies Conference, San Diego, California
• California Bay-Delta: A Microcosm for the Future, Seventh Annual Meeting of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, San Francisco, California, October 8, 1999
•Water Rights and Annual Executive Briefing, Water Education Foundation Annual Legal Conference, San Francisco, California, annual engagement
• Stadiums: The San Francisco Giants, 49'ers, and You, American Bar Association's Annual Conference, San Francisco, California, 1997
•United States Bureau of Reclamation, Innovations Conference, Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Sacramento, California, 1996
• Mediation of Hydropower Licensing Proceedings Before the FERC, American Bar Association's Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Section, Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida, 1995
• Water Rights and Amendments to the Water Code, State Water Resources Control Board's Annual Retreat, Long Beach, California, 1991
•Commonwealth Club of California: Water Rights and Bay-Delta Hearings, San Francisco, California, 1990