Biography
Matthew Bergman has spent the past 25 years engaged in complex, multi-party litigation. After graduating magna cum laud from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1989, Bergman spend two years clerking on the Tenth Circuit for Judge Bobby R. Balcock. In 1991, he joined Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe in Seattle as a litigation associate in the 500 attorney multi-city law firm. At Heller Ehrman, Bergman defended companies charged with environmental violations and prosecuted insurance coverage litigation on behalf of companies facing environmental liabilities. He also represented Indian tribes in fishing rights litigation and farmworkers in pro bono employment litigation. Bergman gained experience in discovery tactics, motions practice, trial and appellate work including the successful trial defense of a major seafood company charged with violating federal asbestos regulations.
After four years as a defense attorney, Bergman transitioned to the plaintiff’s side and began representing asbestos victims in product liability litigation against manufacturers and distributors of asbestos products. Bergman formed his own law firm in 2001–now Bergman Draper Oslund–which is currently the largest plaintiffs asbestos law firm in the Pacific Northwest. He has represented over 750 mesothelioma victims in Washington and Oregon, had over 20 jury trials and maintained an active appellate practice arguing repeatedly before the Washington Court of Appeals and Washington Supreme Court. Bergman was appointed to the creditors committee on numerous asbestos bankruptcies in the early 2000s, including Owns Corning and Haliburton and was active in legislative issues on the state and federal levels. His firm has recovered over $700 million on behalf of Pacific Northwest asbestos victims and is a national authority on asbestos litigation and asbestos bankruptcy issues.
Bergman has remained active in community service and legal advocacy. He serves as a Trustee of Reed College and a member of the Board of Visitors of Lewis & Clark Law School. He serves on the board of the Mississippi Center for Justice, which prosecutes civil rights and consumer protection action cases in Mississippi. He also serves on the board of the American Security Project, a bi-partisan foreign and defense policy organization focused on security issues involving global warming and international development and military security.
Previous Courses:
Litigation Strategies and the Art of War - Spring 2019; Fall 2020, 2022
Specialty Areas and Course Descriptions
Litigation Strategies and the Art of War - Fall 2023