Steven C. Weiss, Attorney with Berger, Newmark & Fenchel

Steve grew up in Chicago. He attended Illinois Institute of Technology where he received his Bachelor of Science degree, graduating with Honors in 1976. Steve then attained his Juris Doctor, with Honors in 1979 from Chicago-Kent College of Law. In June, 2005 while working full time, Steve received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University majoring in Operations, Management and Strategy.

Steve has provided senior-level, business and legal counsel to Fortune 1000 and mid-market companies on international law, contract negotiation, insurance coverage issues, business transactions, distribution, operations, international sales, shipping and transport, commercial and industrial leases, warehousing and employment law. He is a skilled negotiator of transactional agreements, employment agreements, purchasing contracts, shipping and distribution agreements and seasoned advocate before administrative and judicial panels.

Steve opened and grew a law firm concentrating its practice in transport and trade matters and managed a diverse general law practice with legal and support personnel before coming to Berger, Newmark & Fenchel P.C. in 2006.

Steve has consistently achieved Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating for Legal Ability and Ethical Standards, and has been listed in its “Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers”™. Steve was honored as an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, having been chosen from among the top five percent of attorneys in Illinois. Illinois Super Lawyers magazine®, 2005-2008, Chicago® magazine, May, 2005, February, 2006. In September, 2006, Steve was honored by being nominated to become a member of the Northwestern University Transportation Center-Business Advisory Committee, which includes senior-level executives from shipper and carrier firms, freight forwarders, trade associations, financial institutions, and consulting firms.

Steve has published and presented over 30 articles on transport, distribution, logistics and trade; served as Legal Editor of the journal Intermodal Age International; lectured and led workshops for numerous business groups on transport and distribution matters; lectured on a live nationwide broadcast from New York for the Continuing Legal Education Satellite Network on shipping and wrote text materials for the course. Steve has also co-authored text materials for Continuing Legal Education courses, materials on Antitrust and Unfair Competition as well as lectured at conferences of manufacturer and retail executives in the U.S. and Canada.

He served as Transportation Counsel for the 3000 member National Retail Merchants Association (NRMA); and served as a featured speaker at numerous NRMA meetings.

Steve spends his spare time with his wife Roni and their three boys. Roni is a Registered Nurse and is the Clinic Coordinator for a health center opened by the Lake County Health Department in Highland Park, Illinois.