Commissioner Josanna Berkow (Ret.)
Commissioner Josanna Berkow (Ret.)
Josanna Berkow is a retired California Superior Court Commissioner. She presided over a Family Court in the Superior Court of Contra Costa County for 20 years from 1992 through 2012. She has rendered decisions in tens of thousands of cases involving child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, marital property and debt division, paternity, and domestic violence. She moved to New York in 2014 where she is now admitted to the New York bar currently doing pro bono work through the New York State Bar's Attorney Emeritus Program. Commissioner Berkow continues her Bay Area practice reviewing uncontested judgments. Working with Danville paralegal Karen Olson, Commissioner Berkow reviews and Ms. Olson files most judgments in under one week's time for a flat fee of $700.00. Commissioner Berkow also continues on the faculty of JFKU College of Law teaching seminars in family law forensics and other timely topics important to a general practice involving children & families.
Josanna Berkow is a retired California Superior Court Commissioner. She presided over a Family Court in the Superior Court of Contra Costa County for 20 years from 1992 through 2012. She has rendered decisions in tens of thousands of cases involving child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, marital property and debt division, paternity, and domestic violence. She moved to New York in 2014 where she is now admitted to the New York bar currently doing pro bono work through the New York State Bar's Attorney Emeritus Program. Commissioner Berkow continues her Bay Area practice reviewing uncontested judgments. Working with Danville paralegal Karen Olson, Commissioner Berkow reviews and Ms. Olson files most judgments in under one week's time for a flat fee of $700.00. Commissioner Berkow also continues on the faculty of JFKU College of Law teaching seminars in family law forensics and other timely topics important to a general practice involving children & families.
The Commissioner is a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has extensive experience in the formulation of family law policy and education and served on the California Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Family and Juvenile Law, the Family Law Education Committee and has taught extensively through the California Center for Judicial Education & Research (CJER), the B.E. Witkin Judicial College and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
The Commissioner is a Certified Family Law Specialist. She has extensive experience in the formulation of family law policy and education and served on the California Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Family and Juvenile Law, the Family Law Education Committee and has taught extensively through the California Center for Judicial Education & Research (CJER), the B.E. Witkin Judicial College and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Commissioner Berkow is an Adjunct Professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Law in Pleasant Hill, California where she wrote, teaches and serves as faculty advisor for the new Children, Families & the Law Program. Commissioner Berkow co-authored the Rutter Group’s (a Division of West, Thomson Reuters) California Practice Guide on Family Law Forms (2011) and has written law review articles including Special Needs Children in Family Court 43 Family Court Review 4 (2005) and Court-Appointed Attorneys for Children, Volume 1, Journal of the Center for Children and the Courts (1999) as well many timely articles for Contra Costa Lawyer, the official publication of the Contra Costa County Bar Association.
Commissioner Berkow is an Adjunct Professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Law in Pleasant Hill, California where she wrote, teaches and serves as faculty advisor for the new Children, Families & the Law Program. Commissioner Berkow co-authored the Rutter Group’s (a Division of West, Thomson Reuters) California Practice Guide on Family Law Forms (2011) and has written law review articles including Special Needs Children in Family Court 43 Family Court Review 4 (2005) and Court-Appointed Attorneys for Children, Volume 1, Journal of the Center for Children and the Courts (1999) as well many timely articles for Contra Costa Lawyer, the official publication of the Contra Costa County Bar Association.
The Commissioner chaired Contra Costa County’s Domestic violence Advisory Council and has done extensive training on domestic violence for lawyers, judges, law enforcement and mental health providers. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Commissioner Berkow served as a California Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Appeal Division and later as Statewide Coordinator for Child Support and Child Abduction Programs. Prior to that she was a hearing Officer and Staff Attorney for the Federal Labor Relations Authority. She began her legal career in Washington D. C. as Staff Counsel to United States Senator Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland.
The Commissioner chaired Contra Costa County’s Domestic violence Advisory Council and has done extensive training on domestic violence for lawyers, judges, law enforcement and mental health providers. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Commissioner Berkow served as a California Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Appeal Division and later as Statewide Coordinator for Child Support and Child Abduction Programs. Prior to that she was a hearing Officer and Staff Attorney for the Federal Labor Relations Authority. She began her legal career in Washington D. C. as Staff Counsel to United States Senator Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland.