Mr. Bernstein has practiced law in California since 1980
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Mr. Bernstein has practiced law in California since 1980. His practice emphasizes the representation of employees who have been denied overtime pay, expense reimbursements or other compensation that is owed to them as well as the representation of investors and consumers who are victims of fraud, misrepresentation and fiduciary abuse. He also has served as counsel in litigation involving unfair competition, unlawful business practices and false advertising.
Education. Mr. Bernstein studied engineering and economics at UCLA, where he received his bachelor’s degree Magna Cum Laude in 1977 and was an officer of the UCLA chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society. He was a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon (economics honors society) and Phi Beta Kappa as well. He received his Juris Doctor degree at Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, in 1980.
Class Actions. Mr. Bernstein has been co-lead counsel in class actions including Matrix Wage and Hour Cases, California Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding Number 4610; Lee v. Marshalls of CA, LLC, Alameda County Superior Court Case Number RG07337021; Drew v. HCR Manor Care Medical Services of Florida, LLC, et al., San Francisco County Superior Court Case # GCG-09-490181; Ronald Hart and Judy Vezeau v. K Mart Corporation, et al, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case Number BC 347079; Ahmed Ali, et al, v. Morton’s of Chicago/Sacramento, Inc., Sacramento County Superior Court Case Number 04AS04417; Lori Davis, et al v. Apollo Group, Inc., University of Phoenix, Inc., et al, Solano County Superior Court Case Number FCS018663; and Cliver, et al v. Rainbow Apparel Company, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Civil Action Number C 99-4425 PJH. He has served as
co-counsel in other class actions, including U.S. Robotics Cases, California Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding Number 4012; and In Re Microstrategy Inc. Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Civil Action Number 00-473-A.
Employment Arbitration. Mr. Bernstein was co-counsel for the plaintiff in Chester v. iFreedom Communications, Inc., et al, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case Number BC353567, in which judgment was entered for more than $4.1 billion dollars, together with interest of $1,125,159.97 per day, confirming a JAMS arbitration award in favor of the plaintiff.
Reported Cases. Mr. Bernstein has served as co-counsel in successful federal and state appeals: Stop Youth Addiction v. Lucky Stores, 17 Cal.4th 553, 950 P.2d 1086, 71 Cal.Rptr.2d 731 (1998) (attorney for amicus curiae in support of appellant);
Lippitt v. Raymond James Financial Services, et al 340 F.3d 1033 (9th Cir. 09/22/2003) (co-counsel for successful appellant);
Lazarin et al. v. Total Western, Inc. (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1560, 116 Cal.Rptr.3d 596, review denied, Jan. 19, 2011, S188164 (co-counsel for successful appellant).
Securities Arbitration. Mr. Bernstein has represented investors in securities arbitration proceedings for more than seventeen years. During that time, he has handled investor claims before FINRA (formerly known as “NASD”), the New York Stock Exchange, the Pacific Exchange and the American Arbitration Association. He has obtained compensation for his clients from firms large and small, including huge Wall Street firms such as Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Merrill Lynch, PaineWebber and Salomon Smith Barney; “high-payout” firms with large numbers of small offices, including Financial Network Investment Corporation, Sunamerica Securities, Securities America and IFG Network Securities; and “boiler room” firms and their personnel, including the infamous Stratton Oakmont.
Expert Testimony. Mr. Bernstein has testified as an expert witness in matters involving securities law, breach of fiduciary duty and elder abuse.
Bar Association Activities. Mr. Bernstein recently was elected to the board of directors of the California Employment Lawyers Association (“CELA”), an association of nearly one thousand attorneys dedicated to representing employees in employment disputes. He currently co-chairs CELA’s Legislative Committee and serves actively on its Wage and Hour Committee as well. In
2009, Mr. Bernstein completed eleven years as a director of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (“PIABA”), a national association of attorneys dedicated to the representation of investors in disputes with the securities industry. He served three years as PIABA’s treasurer and has served on and chaired and continues to serve on a number of PIABA committees. He has given continuing legal education lectures to CELA, the North American Securities Administrators Association, PIABA and other professional groups on employees’ rights under the wage and hour laws and on investors’ rights and remedies. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”) as well.
Honors and Awards. Mr. Bernstein was selected as a Northern California Superlawyer in 2010 and 2011.
Pro Bono Activities. Mr. Bernstein’s other pro bono activities have included commenting extensively on proposed rule changes published for public comment by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; working directly with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA,” formerly known as the “NASD”) to change practices that have not been the subject of formal rulemaking; authoring a comment letter for the California Employment Lawyers Association (“CELA”) regarding travel expense reimbursement regulations proposed by the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement; participating extensively in CELA’s Legislative Committee efforts, including testifying in numerous Senate and Assembly committee hearings regarding bills that CELA supported or opposed; commenting on federal agencies’ proposed regulations under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act; serving as president of the Sacramento County Bar Association’s Small Law Practice Section; and appearing for more than six years as a regular guest on “Ask a Lawyer,” a live call-in television program in the Sacramento area.
Continuing Legal Education Speaking Engagements and Published Chapters of Course Materials. Mr. Bernstein’s speaking engagements and published chapters and sections of continuing legal education materials include the following:
Broker Promissory Notes: Economics, Policy, and Offsets under the Wage-and-Hour Laws, PIABA Nineteenth Annual Meeting (October 2010)
Avoiding the Uncollectible Judgment: Clues at the Case Intake Stage, California Employment Lawyers Association Advanced Wage and Hour Seminar (May 2009)
Stacking the Deck in Arbitrator List Selection: A Study in Regulatory Failure and A Practical Look at the Consequences, PLI Securities Arbitration 2007 (August 2007)
Broker Liability Insurance from the Claimant’s Perspective, PLI Securities Arbitration 2003 (August 2003)
Unpaid Awards and Investor Protection: Identifying the Continuing Problem and Collecting What Is Due, PIABA Fifteenth Annual Meeting (October 2006) (co-authored with C. Thomas Mason III)
Arbitrating at the AAA: Differences from SRO Arbitration and Other Points of Interest, PIABA Fourth Annual California Mid-Year Meeting (March 2006)
Maximizing Investor Recoveries: Errors & Omissions Insurance and Net Capital, PIABA California Third Annual Mid-Year Meeting: Securities Arbitration Update (March 2005) (co- authored with C. Thomas Mason III)
Broker Liability Insurance in Securities Arbitration, PIABA California Second Annual Mid- Year Meeting: Securities Arbitration Update (February 2004)
Your Clients’ Right to a Hearing, PIABA Twelfth Annual Meeting (October 2003)
Your Clients’ Right to a Hearing, PIABA California Mid-Year Meeting: Securities Arbitration Update (February 2003)
Understanding NLSS or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love List Selection, PIABA Ninth Annual Meeting (October 2000)
Making, Combating and Replying to Dispositive Motions, PIABA Seventh Annual Meeting (October 1998)
Published Articles. Mr. Bernstein’s published articles include the following:
Tampering with List Selection by Enhancing the Appointment Frequency of “Chair-Qualified” Arbitrators, 13 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 2, pp. 13-28 (Summer 2006)
View from the West: Unpaid Securities Arbitration Awards: Proposed Solutions to the Problem, 11 PIABA Bar Journal , no. 1, pp. 35-50 (Spring 2004)
View from the West: Things Every Arbitrator Should Know, 10 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 2, pp. 21-35 (Summer 2003)
View from the West: Should You Challenge an Arbitrator for Cause or Make a Motion or Request for Recusal?, 10 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 1, pp. 71-78 (Spring 2003) (co-authored with Tracy Pride Stoneman)
View from the West: The California Situation: More Questions than Answers (concerning the battle over California’s arbitrator ethics standards), 9 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 4, pp. 47-56 (Winter 2002)
View from the West: Causal Challenges and the Chinese Wall, 9 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 3, pp. 11-13 (Fall 2002)
Brief Spotlight: The Inapplicability of Statutes of Limitation on Actions to Private Contractual Arbitration Proceedings, 9 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 2, pp. 79-85 (Summer 2002)
View from the West: Getting Paid – Parts 1 & 2 (concerning securities brokers’ liability insurance), 9 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 1, pp. 37-39 (Spring 2002) and no. 2, pp. 55-60 (Summer 2002)
Brief Spotlight: Your Clients’ Right to a Hearing, 9 PIABA Bar Journal, no. 1, pp. 42-47 (Spring 2002)
NASD Intake Staff Harassment of Public Customers, 6 The PIABA Quarterly, no. 1, pp. 8-10 (March 1999)
NASD Lists of Arbitrators’ Closed Cases Exclude Cases Resolved by Granting ‘Dismissal Motions’, 5 The PIABA Quarterly, no. 4, p. 8 (December 1998)
NASD Policy of Granting Certain Causal Challenges by Securities Industry Respondents, 5 The PIABA Quarterly, no. 4, p. 11 (December 1998)
NASD ‘Streamlining’ of the Arbitrator Pool, 5 The PIABA Quarterly, no. 4, p. 17 (December 1998)
Bad Investments and the Medical Profession – Parts 1 and 2, 43 Sacramento Medicine 24-26 (March 1992) and 23-24 (April 1992)
Choosing a Form of Business Entity, 4 Weekly Bulletin, no. 14, pp. 6-7 (1990)
Selected Comment Letters to Government Agencies. Mr. Bernstein’s comment letters to government agencies on behalf of bar associations or on his own behalf include the following:
Comment Letter regarding California Labor Commissioner’s Proposed Employee Travel Reimbursement Regulations, Written by Mr. Bernstein on behalf of the California Employment Lawyers Association., February 6, 2007
Public Comment Letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regarding Dispositive Motions (Motions to Dismiss) in NASD Securities Arbitration, September 24, 2006
Public Comment Letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regarding Tampering with NASD Arbitrator List Selection by Enhancing the Appointment Frequency of “Chair Qualified” Arbitrators, May 26, 2006
Public Comment Letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Response to and Commenting on NASD’s Partial Amendment No. 7, Amendments to the NASD Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes, File No. SR-NASD-2003-158, October 20, 2006
Public Comment Letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regarding Reform of Public Reporting of Misconduct of Associated Persons, April 17, 2009
Public Comment Letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regarding BrokerCheck and the CRD: The Broader Picture, September 24, 2009