Sheldon Berns' practice is largely concentrated in zoning and land use, real estate, construction law and eminent domain. In 1978, Mr. Berns successfully initiated the first damage action in Ohio challenging a zoning law on constitutional grounds under the Civil Rights Act of 1871 in Friedman v. Willoughby, Case No. C78-520, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17827 (N.D. Ohio October 1, 1980). He has successfully litigated several zoning and land use cases in the Ohio Supreme Court, including Goldberg Companies, Inc. v. Council of the City of Richmond Heights (1998), 81 Ohio St.3d 207, which returned Ohio to the Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. standard for determining the constitutional validity of zoning ordinances, and State ex rel. Shemo v. Mayfield Heights (2002), 95 Ohio St.3d 59, which established the right in Ohio for the recovery by a property owner from a municipality of the diminution in value of property during the time a municipality has enforced an unconstitutional regulation against the property. Other recent decisions in the Ohio Supreme Court include State ex rel. Commt. for the Referendum of Ord. No. 3844-02 v. Norris (2003), 99 Ohio St.3d 336 (overruling the Court's decision in State ex rel. Crossman Communities of Ohio, Inc. v. Greene Cty. Bd. of Elections (1999), 87 Ohio St.3d 132); State ex rel. Webb v. Bliss (2003), 99 Ohio St.3d 166; State, ex rel. Shemo v. Mayfield Heights (2000), 93 Ohio St.3d 1; Shemo v. Mayfield Heights (2000), 88 Ohio St.3d 7; State, ex rel. Bona v. Orange (1999), 85 Ohio St.3d 18; and Jones v. Chagrin Falls (1997), 77 Ohio St. 456. In 2006, Mr. Berns successfully completed the settlement of one of the largest inverse condemnation claims against an Ohio municipality in City of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, vs. Michael A. Shemo, Co-Trustee, Cuyahoga County Probate Court, Case No. CV 03 500072. He has represented numerous local and national property owners and developers regarding real estate, zoning and land use issues throughout Ohio, and has written and lectured extensively on zoning and land use issues.

Mr. Berns is a life member of the Eighth Judicial Conference of Ohio. He is admitted in Ohio, the U.S. Supreme Court, the 6th and 2nd Circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Claims Court. He has been a member of the Cuyahoga County Republican Executive Committee since 1963 and was a member of the Beachwood City Council (1971-1977).

Mr. Berns belongs to the Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations, where he participates in the litigation, construction, and urban, state and local government law sections.