Eric Alan Berg was born in Indiana, PA, in 1960. He was an Eagle Scout at the age of 15. He graduated from New College of the University of South Florida in 1982 with a B.A. in Humanities. He got his Doctorate in Juris Prudence from University of Santa Clara in 1985.In 1984, Berg worked for the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office interviewing jail inmates and preparing their defenses for their lawyers.Upon graduation from law school, he was hired by the Shasta County Public Defender's Office and for three years helped defend poor folks charged with crimes.

In 1988, he moved to San Diego and worked with the Imperial County Public Defender's Office and, later, the San Diego County Public Defender's Office.He joined Professor Paul Persons of Chico State University and Dick Stevens of the Prisoner's Rights Union in a Class Action lawsuit against the Sheriff over over-crowding and other civil rights violations in the Shasta County Jail. He served for a time as director of the Prisoner's Rights Union and brought several civil rights law suits related to jail injuries and civil rights violations. He has continued to represent poor people in civil right's actions concerning their illegal incarceration, arrest and torture and death for the next 20 years.In 1990, he returned to Redding and founded the private law firm now known as Berg & Associates, with offices in Redding and Chico. During the ensuing years, he has represented defendants in a wide variety of criminal law cases, such as marijuana cultivation and possession for sale, child molestation, rape, grand theft, fraud, drunk driving, spousal abuse, and murder. He has also been active in civil matters, such as divorce and child-custody proceedings, as well as civil rights cases against the Shasta County Sheriff and several school districts. Berg is a member of both the California Attorney for Criminal Justice and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

In addition, he has met the exacting standards of the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization to be named a Certified Criminal Law Specialist.He has been in private practice since 1990, for the last 28 years.