Marilyn J. Berger
Marilyn Berger founded the Films for Justice Institute at the Seattle University School of Law in 1995. As a Professor at the Law School, she produced, wrote and directed educational documentaries with social justice themes. She is now Professor Emeritus.
She directed the three-film series Lessons from Woburn, a documentary chronicling the Anderson v. W.R. Grace lawsuit, which was inspired by the book and film A Civil Action.
She is the Director of the Trial Advocacy Program at the Law School. Professor Berger is the co-author with Professor John Mitchell and Ronald Clark, Distinguished Practioner in Residence at Seattle University of four advocacy textbooks, published by Wolters Kluwer—Trial Advocacy: Planning, Analysis and Strategy, (4th Ed. 2015); Pretrial Advocacy: Planning, Analysis and Strategy, (4th Ed. 2013); Trial Advocacy: Assignments and Case Files (2nd edition, 2011; and Evidence Advocacy: Assignments and Case Files. http://www.aspenadvocacybooks.com Three films on DVD accompany the advocacy books supplementing the texts.
Professor Berger lectures and writes in the areas of gender, film and the law, and advocacy, exploring issues about the relationship of storytelling and its intersection with law. A recent publication, Opening and closing argument, with co-author Ronald Clark, was published by BNA, 2014.
She is the co-director, writer, and executive producer of Out of the Ashes: 9/11. www.outoftheashes911.com a documentary, about 9/11 families and their experiences with the Victim a Compensation Fund and litigation. The Victim Compensation Fund distributed seven billion dollars to over 5,500 families. Out of the Ashes: 9/11 highlights the stories of seven families and provides an unprecedented window into the psychology of harm and justice. The documentary explores key legal and societal issues? Did the Fund undermine our legal system, or did it offer 9-11 families justice by avoiding lawsuits?
Professor Berger has a B.S. from Cornell University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. She was a Visiting Professor of Law at Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri (1995, 1998); Kyoto University, (1988 – 1989); Kyoto Comparative Law Center, Kyoto, Japan (1988-1989); University of London, Kings College (1982).