Berardini, Brian J.

Widely held as one of Southern Nevada’s most admired attorneys, Joseph L. Benson is the president and senior partner of Benson, Bertoldo, Baker & Carter, Chtd. Regardless of his position, Mr. Benson is universally known as "Joe."

Joe, a high school All-American quarterback from Paducah, KY, attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha on a football scholarship. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Joe entered the United States Air Force.

After serving in Vietnam in 1970, Joe was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base as commander of the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) detachment. Joe was later selected to attend law school on a highly competitive Air Force program and attended the California Western School of Law in San Diego, CA. Upon graduation from law school, Joe was assigned to the JAG office at Nellis Air Force Base where he served both as a criminal prosecutor and defense counsel. After serving 12 years in the Air Force, Joe resigned his regular commission in 1978 and began private practice as a civilian attorney in Las Vegas, NV. He remained in the United States Air Force Reserves and ultimately retired after serving eight additional years.

A respected resident of Nevada, Joe served as president of the Nevada Federal Credit Union and was on the Board of Directors for 14 years.

In 1979, Joe founded the law office that eventually evolved into Benson, Bertoldo, Baker & Carter, Chtd. Since 1979, he has practiced law with an emphasis in the areas of personal injury, aviation accidents, medical malpractice and wrongful death. A skilled negotiator, Joe is a certified Eighth Judicial District Court Arbitrator.

Joe is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a prestigious group of attorneys nationwide who have obtained a verdict or settlement in excess of a million dollars. Early in his legal career, he obtained a structured settlement in the amount of nine million dollars for two children who lost their mother and father in a Pan Am crash in New Orleans. Since this time, Joe has amassed settlements in excess of a million dollars on numerous occasions.

Joe maintains active memberships with the American Bar Association, Nevada Bar Association, Clark County Bar Association, Nevada Trial Lawyers Association and the American Trial Lawyers Association.