In 1960, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, where in 1958 he won the Academy of American Poets Prize.

[3] He went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois in 1965 and was admitted to the Nebraska State Bar in 1965.

Berry wrote on his first-hand experiences as a lawyer fighting in a combat zone in Those Gallant Men: On Trial in Vietnam,[5] published May 1, 1984.

His work in the field was also featured in the book Judge Advocates in Combat: Army Lawyers in Military Operations from Vietnam to Haiti by Fred Borch.

He has been invited to lecture on issues regarding criminal defense in the military at the Judge Advocate General's School at the University of Virginia, and has conducted seminars in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri for practicing lawyers.

[8] Berry is a member of the Melvin Belli Society,[9] and a fellow on the American Board of Criminal Defense Lawyers [10] and of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.