BERGER LAW - Key Persons
Our firm was founded in Wyoming in 2016 by Alex Berger to provide bankruptcy, family law, and criminal defense services to northeast Wyoming. Today, we have offices in Gillette and Newcastle, Wyoming, Belle Fouche, South Dakota, and Marquette, Michigan. Our Marquette office is dedicated to providing top-notch criminal defense and employment law representation in the Upper Peninsula, with an in-house investigator and a case manager in addition to our competent legal team. If you need an attorney to represent you with any criminal or employment matter, read on to learn more about Berger Law and contact us today.
Alex wanted to be a criminal defense attorney since he was in high school. During law school, he focused on criminal law, clerking for defense attorneys and serving as a teaching assistant to a criminal law professor. In 2012, Alex graduated from Indiana University law school with high honors. He attended social work school at the University of Chicago and then took his first law job as a public defender in Iowa.
He moved to Wyoming in 2014 and contracted with the Wyoming Public Defender's Office to represent those accused of a crime that could not afford an attorney. In 2018, Alex was elected as the Weston County Wyoming prosecutor and gained valuable experience working with law enforcement and prosecuting crimes, but his heart was always with the defense and protecting the Constitution. He has done many jury trials, ranging from unlawful possession of marijuana to murder, and has an impressive win rate. Alex routinely files motions that other attorneys may not and his clients have seen the benefits. He is hardworking, dedicated, thoughtful, and knows when to fight and when to compromise.
Gavin is Alex's right hand. He is a lifelong resident of Marquette and received his bachelor's degree in English from NMU. He is finishing up his paralegal certificate. Lawyers sometimes joke that a good paralegal is worth ten attorneys, and that's certainly true with Gavin. He knows the law, he knows the procedure, and he and Alex work closely to make sure every single client gets tremendous and individualized service. Gavin can do the research and analysis to ensure possible defense or fact is thoroughly explored.
Glenn Sarka is a Marquette native. After graduating from the Boston University School of Law in 1995, he returned to Marquette and served as the Marquette County Domestic Violence Community Coordinator, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, and Attorney in private practice where he has focused on criminal defense.
From 2000-2008 he worked in Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iraqi Kurdistan on legal reform and legislative drafting projects for the State Department and Department of Defense.
He has also served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, the Southshore Clubhouse, the Marquette Food Co-op where he served as board president, and the United Way where he was campaign co-chair.
Glenn currently serves on the Marquette Area Public School Board of Education, the Marquette County Community Corrections Board, the Marquette County Offender Success advisory board, and the Marquette County Crisis Intervention Advisory Committee.
He is actively involved in both the 96th District Court Sobriety Court and the Marquette County Probate Juvenile Treatment Court. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Keweenaw Indian Bay Community Bar, West Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit Bar.
As both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, Glenn has done over one hundred trials, ranging all types of criminal allegations. Glenn's resume speaks for itself; if you need someone to diligently defend your case, look no further than Glenn Sarka.
Jana has a passion for standing up for the underdog. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and her law degree from Wayne State University. She began her legal career at plaintiff litigation firms in Detroit, where she represented individuals in civil lawsuits against major insurance companies, large employers, police departments, and other government agencies.
After moving to the Upper Peninsula, she became a law partner at Numinen, DeForge, and Mathieu, PLLC, where she focused primarily on criminal defense work.
During this time, the State of Michigan was spearheading significant reforms to 6th Amendment-mandated right-to-counsel systems throughout the state. Jana was recruited to assist in these efforts and helped plan and secure funding for appointed-counsel systems throughout Northern Michigan.
She then became the Chief Public Defender for Alger County, where she represented clients on charges ranging from misdemeanors to life offenses.
She now focuses her work on post-conviction relief, including direct appeals, motions for post-conviction relief, pardons, commutations, gun rights restoration petitions, driver's license restoration, expungements, civil rights litigation against police departments and prisons, and any other issues with which clients' need legal help after encountering injustices within the criminal legal system.
Jana is also on the Board of Directors for the Criminal Defense Association of Michigan, a member of the National Lawyers Guild, and has taught seminars on topics related to civil and criminal litigation.