About Joni
Joni Berner built a career that mixes courtroom work, mediation and institutional leadership. She began her professional path after earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and international affairs from Cedar Crest College in 1975. She then attended Villanova University School of Law, receiving her J.D. in 1978.
Her early legal work was hands-on. In 1976 she interned at the Juvenile Law Center. After law school she joined Blank Rome as an associate. By 1980 she was a trial lawyer in the City of Philadelphia Law Department. In the mid-1980s her roles expanded to include public-interest law; she served as a managing lawyer for the Women’s Law Project in 1987 and launched her own practice as the Law Offices of Joni J. Berner that same year. In 1994 she took on the title of managing partner at Berner Klaw & Watson LLP.
Admission to practice includes Pennsylvania and the U.S. Supreme Court. Her background spans litigation, administrative work and alternative dispute resolution. The trial experience from her years at the city law department is part of a broader portfolio that includes arbitration and volunteer mediation. She has served as an arbitrator for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and participates in several local mediation programs, including volunteer work with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Volunteer Mediation Program and the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program. She also serves as a mediator for the Postal Service REDRESS employee mediation program.
Her professional associations reflect long engagement in family law and collaborative practice. She holds multiple roles in the Philadelphia Bar Association, including leadership in the Family Law Section, membership on the Board of Governors and past roles as committee chair and co-chair. She is active in the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Family Law Section and Collaborative Law Committee, and belongs to the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and regional collaborative affiliates. She has also worked on the Villanova University School of Law Alumnae Advisory Board, serving as past president for the 2013–14 term.
Berner’s involvement extends into community boards and non-profits. She is vice chair of the Board of Trustees at Cedar Crest College and holds leadership roles with the Radnor Fire Company. Board service has included the Therapy Center of Philadelphia and the Good Shepherd Mediation Program, and she is a founding member of the Women’s Law Project. Today she practices in family law, mediation and collaborative law.
