Berg and Duffy represents the combination, in 1972, of the practices of Alfred S. Berg and James P. Duffy, III.  Mr. Berg was then in his early 60's and was a corporate lawyer of considerable reputation on Long Island, New York.  He was the senior name partner of Berg Becker Moinster & Dillon.  Mr. Duffy was then in his early 30's and had recently distinguished himself as Minority Counsel and Staff Director of the United States Senate Small Business Committee and as an associate at Cravath Swain & Moore, a Wall Street law firm of significant reputation.  Both Mr. Berg and Mr. Duffy had relatively extensive practices, and the new firm had a strong beginning as a result.

The Firm's initial offices were at 150 Great Neck Road in Great Neck, New York. The Firm quickly out grew these quarters with the addition of another partner.  Thus, in 1973, the Firm moved to 3000 Marcus Avenue in Lake Success, New York, directly across the street from the original meeting place of the United Nations General Assembly.  This location was very suitable because of the international emphasis of the Firm's practice.  The Firm remained at this location for more than seventeen years until 1989.  During this time, the Firm's domestic and international practice expanded considerably.

Due to the needs of some German clients, in the mid-to-late 1970's, Mr. Duffy had to pursue a long term transaction in the Principality of Monaco.  Recognizing the need for competent international corporate and commercial legal services in the Principality, the Firm opened an office there in late 1985 and formally commenced operations of that office in early 1986.  In the process, Mr. Duffy became a conseil juridique, or legal counselor, in Monaco.  The Firm's Monaco office quickly became known as a highly reliable source of corporate and commercial international legal services.  During this same period, Mr. Duffy became one of the founding members of the International Law and Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association, which, today, numbers about 2500 lawyers who devote a significant part of their practice to international legal matters. 

In 1989, the Firm had reached a size that it was either going to have to grow considerably or restrict the new work it accepted.  A merger with the then 100+ year-old law firm of Cullen and Dykman looked as if it could be a solution to these needs.  Cullen and Dykman said it wanted to develop a more diverse corporate practice as well as an international practice, both of which the Firm brought.  The Firm thought Cullen and Dykman could provide the additional personnel resources, an office in Washington, D.C., and the administrative resources it needed to handle its increasing business.  Unfortunately, the culture of the two firms did not blend well, and the Firm felt Cullen and Dykman did not understand the needs of an international practice that often functioned twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, because it spanned numerous time zones.  Accordingly, the Firm undid the merger the following year.  However, in the merger process, the Firm lost a number of long term personnel who opted out of joining Cullen and Dykman.  This necessitated a difficult rebuilding process.

The Firm resumed its separate identity in 1991 and decided to locate its main New York office in Mineola, New York, the county seat of Nassau County, a large semi-urban county on Long Island that adjoins New York City.  Throughout all this, the Firm's Monaco office remained largely unaffected by the unfortunate merger with Cullen and Dykman.  Although the Firm's domestic practice had suffered greatly from this most unfortunate merger, the Firm considered the rebuilding process a challenge and an opportunity that it gladly undertook.  Today, the Firm's Monaco office is regarded by many international rating services as one of the dominant firms in the banking and commercial areas in Monaco.  The Firm is usually involved in a significant number of the important transactions that frequently take place in Monaco, and the Firm includes among its clients some of the largest and best known banks and brokerage firms in the world.  The Firm also assists various agencies of the United States Government when they have need for civil representation in Monaco.  In addition, with the closing of the US Consulate in Nice, in 1989, an attorney in the Firm's Monaco office became US Consular Agent to help fill the needs once filled by the Consulate. As testimony of the prominence of the Firm's Monaco Office, Lex Mundi and TAGLaw have invited the Firm to join those organizations. 

In the 1980's, Mr. Duffy became involved with the legal services aspects of the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement, and these experiences later involved him in similar work with the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, where he served as one of the official negotiators for the United States of the legal services provisions of NAFTA.  Mr. Duffy chaired the New York State Bar Association International Law and Practice Section Meeting on NAFTA in Mexico City in the Fall of 1992, the first important bar conference on this historic agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.  These involvements with NAFTA and Mexico ultimately led the Firm to establish a formal presence in Mexico City.  

Today, the Firm has three well staffed, well functioning offices with a growing practice in Latin America that is leading the Firm to focus more strongly on that region.  Over the years, Mr. Duffy's focus has remained strongly in the international area, and he has guided the Firm's practice in that direction.  In that regard, in the late 1990's Mr. Duffy was instrumental in having the firm join Lex Mundi as the Lex Mundi member firm in Monaco.  He was also responsible for the Firm becoming the Monaco member of the TAGLaw legal network.  Although the Firm is small by international standards, Mr. Duffy has kept the Firm in the forefront of the international legal community through its membership in two important legal networks, an important international business services network, his active participation in the International Law and Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association where he serves as Chair of the Section for 2003, and his frequent lecturing on important international legal topics.  

B&D actively participates in Lex Mundi and TAGLaw and sees these relationships as being integral to its continued growth and development in the international arena.  Lex Mundi brings the Firm the strength of 160 member law firms with more than 20,000 attorneys in 560 offices in 99 countries around the world.  Lex Mundi firms are usually recognized as being one of the dominant firms in their respective jurisdictions.  TAGLaw adds an additional 150 law firms with more than 7,500 lawyers in 300 offices in over 100 countries around the world.  TAGLaw firms tend to be the innovative, up-and-coming, mid-sized firms in their respective jurisdictions.  B&D clients know they can confidently select B&D for whatever their legal needs may be anywhere around the world and that B&D has the access to the highly skilled and competent attorneys needed to serve their needs world-wide.  

Following the undoing of the merger with Cullen & Dykman, the Firm decided to remain in the Garden City area, which it did for nearly 13 years.  In the Fall of 2004, the Firm decided to return to 3000 Marcus Avenue in Lake Success, the address where it was at the time of the Cullen & Dykman merger.  The Firm took occupancy of its new premises on October 29, 2004.