Berger & Montague Partner, and Brilliant Legal Thinker, Peter Nordberg Dies at 54

Printer-friendly versionPDF version

4/19/10

We are deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden death of our colleague Peter Nordberg, who passed away on April 17, 2010.  Peter was only 54 years old.  He leaves behind his wife, Mykaila, and four children.
 
Peter's passing is not just a tragic loss for his family and for Berger & Montague, where he worked for more than two decades as an associate and then shareholder, but also for the national legal community.  His unique blend of brilliance and talent that he brought to every case and project earned him enormous respect from lawyers, judges, and clients throughout the United States.  Many of us have benefited over the years from his wisdom, counsel, and friendship.  We will suffer greatly from this loss – personally and professionally.
 
Peter was not "merely" a legal giant with unparalleled skill in legal writing, analysis, and advocacy, but he combined these attributes with uncommon good sense, decency, and creative thinking in representing our clients consistent with the highest ethical standards.   He was an indefatigable fighter for our clients and for the dispossessed in our society, including in particular, those victimized by exposure to radiation due to malfeasance on the part of government contractors during and after the Cold War.
 
For twenty years, since the day he joined this firm, Peter was a mainstay of the firm's team inCook v. Rockwell Int'l Corp.(D. Col.), where claims for trespass and nuisance against two former operators of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant were tried to verdict on behalf of a class of Colorado property owners, resulting in a jury award of over $550 million and a judgment of $926 million.  No member of our Rocky Flats trial team contributed more to the verdict and judgment that we obtained, and the Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year award that was bestowed on our firm in 2009 as a result of our these efforts.  Peter led the expert briefing team that prevailed in the face of two decades of vigorous opposition from top-flight defense counsel.
 
Peter also served throughout his tenure here as a member of the plaintiffs' trial team in Washington State for the inaugural bellwether trial in the Hanford Nuclear Reservation Litigation, helping to win what is believed to be the first verdict in history in favor of personal injury plaintiffs suffering from cancer caused by offsite exposures to radiation released by operators of a nuclear weapons facility.   Peter was also the founder and author of the web site "Daubert on the Web," a nationally recognized resource on the law of expert evidence.
 
We will always remember our friend and colleague Peter Nordberg, and we will miss him greatly.

News Source : Berger & Montague Partner, and Brilliant Legal Thinker, Peter Nordberg Dies at 54