Weston County attorney joins Powell law firm

Posted 9/22/20

Alex Berger keeps plenty busy, serving as the county attorney in Newcastle, helping investigate complaints for state licensing boards, sitting on the boards of multiple organizations and …

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Weston County attorney joins Powell law firm

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Alex Berger keeps plenty busy, serving as the county attorney in Newcastle, helping investigate complaints for state licensing boards, sitting on the boards of multiple organizations and occasionally helping at the Gillette law firm he founded.

But starting this month, Berger added another role, becoming an associate at the Powell firm of Copenhaver, Kath, Kitchen & Kolpitcke.

“I think I can manage it; I don’t sleep a lot,” he said with a laugh. “I’m kind of used to having a lot of things going on.”

A graduate of the Indiana University School of Law, Berger has been an attorney for the past eight years, picking up “considerable experience” in oil and gas law, real estate, general litigation, contract disputes, estate planning, government representation, business formation and disputes and criminal law.

Berger said he was drawn to the type of law practiced by Tracy Copenhaver, Scott Kath, Sandra Kitchen and Scott Kolpitcke, which includes educational law, insurance defense and representing local governments; the firm represents the cities of Powell and Cody, among other clients.

“They just have a really great client base of different governmental and municipal entities and I like that work,” Berger said.

Further, “my wife and I really like Park County and we wanted to move out that way, so I jumped on the opportunity to talk to them,” he said.

Berger is remaining in Gillette for the time being. However, he’s no longer actively involved in the firm he helped found there, having ramped down his presence at Berger and Brown (now Stulken and Brown) over the past half-year.

“My private practice is focused on the Powell firm,” he said.

As his work in Powell ramps up, Berger said he expects to spend 30 hours a week on the job, and be in town “a couple times a month at the minimum.”

He’ll also continue to serve as the Weston County and prosecuting attorney. Although Berger lives in neighboring Campbell County, the Republican overcame a challenge to his eligibility for the office and handily won the 2018 election in Weston County. He oversees criminal prosecutions and advises county officials, among other duties, mostly telecommuting for the job.

Berger has picked up additional remote experience amid the COVID-19 pandemic that’s forced most court proceedings and legal work to virtual formats.

“It afforded me an opportunity to really perfect kind of working remotely and getting a lot of things done and interacting with clients and that sort of thing,” he said.

However, Berger said Copenhaver, Kath, Kitchen and Kolpitcke would like him to eventually move to Powell — and he thinks the area is both beautiful and a good place to put down new roots.

“If that works out, I think my family would be very happy about it,” he said of a move.

Berger and his wife, Kyouhee, have two children.

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