JJames Bernard’s practice covers a range of complex commercial litigation areas, including general corporate matters, securities fraud, accounting malpractice and related issues, representing clients before the New York State Attorney General's Office, RICO, gender discrimination and other federal litigation matters. He has also worked on derivatives and commodities matters and representing defendants in a variety of white-collar criminal law matters.

His representations have included:

Grant Thornton International in all litigations arising out of the collapse of Parmalat;

Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. in a class action securities litigation;

Delta Financial Corporation in a class action securities litigation;

Grant Thornton LLP in accounting malpractice and securities litigations;

AIG in Enron Corp. bankruptcy litigation;

Sempra Energy Trading Corp., Gerald Metals, Inc. and J. Aron & Company in trading, commodities and contract litigations and arbitrations;

Various European metal trading companies in RICO litigation againist Russian entities and individuals;

World Jewish Congress in a matter before the New York State Attorney General;

Federated Department Stores, Inc. in a matter before the New York State Attorney General;

Priceline.com in matters before the New York State Attorney General;

McKinsey & Company in commerical litigation and general corporate advise;

Tosco Corporation in commercial litigation;

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in breach of contract action;

Kemper and Travelers insurance companies in commercial litigation;

Nomura Securities and UBS in gender discrimination lawsuits;

The Anheuser-Busch Companies in an advisory capacity on various matters;

Individual defendants in securities fraud, bank fraud and other white collar criminal matters;

Various entities and individuals in confidential criminal investigations and related proceedings;

Individual plantiffs in opt-out litigations in Cendant Corp. and Nortel Networks Inc.

Memberships

New York City Bar Association; Federal Bar Council; World Jewish Congress Budget and Finance Committee; Federal Bar Council Pro Bono Committee

Activities

Adjunct Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School; Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law, Professional Responsibility; Former Adjunct Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School, Professional Responsibility; The Hon. Alvin K. Hellerstein, U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D.N.Y., 1998 to 1999; The Hon. Loretta A. Preska, U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D.N.Y., 1997 to 1998; Selected publications include: Co-author, What to do When Your Client Commits Perjury, New York Law Journal, June 25, 2001; Co-author, Limiting a Criminal Adversary’s ‘Posturing’, New York Law Journal, November 15, 2000; Co-author, The Meaning of a Probation Sentence, New York Law Journal, February 7, 2000; Co-author, An Update to a Comprehensive Survey of the Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine by the Hon. Alvin K. Hellerstein, U.S.D.J., S.D.N.Y., ALI-ABA Civil Practice and Litigation Techniques in Federal and State Courts, December 9, 1999; Co-author, The Many Meanings of Willfulness as an Element of a Criminal Offense, New York Law Journal, May 25, 1999; Co-author, Defining the Role of the Judge in Curing a Trial ‘Miscarriage,’ New York Law Journal, September 17, 1998; Co-author, "After Jail, What Else Can They Do To Me," New York Law Journal, October 28, 1996; Co-author, "Expungement: Can a successful Criminal Defendent Ever Gain Complete Closure," New York Law Journal, October 14, 1997; Co-author, "Let Criminal Fines Help the Victims," New York Law Journal, October 12, 2001; Co-author, "The Marbury Ethical Conflicts," Federal Bar Council News, Vol. X, No. 1, February, 2003; Co-author, "E-Mailing Clients Is Under Increasing Scruitiny," New York Law Journal, February 25, 2003; Co-author, "Buying Victim Silence," New York Law Journal, July 28, 2004; Co-author, "Civil Disclosure and Freezing Orders: Recovering Property from Overseas," 13 Dick. J. 479, 1995; Author, "The 2000 Amendment to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," ALI-ABA Civil Practice and Litigatin Techniques in Federal and State Courts, 2000; Note, "Prejudgment Interest and the Copyright act of 1976," 5 Fordham Intell. Prop., Media & Ent. L.J. 427, 1995; Speaking engagements include:Federal Bar Council Winter Bench & Bar Conference, Ethics of Witness Preparation, February 19, 2007; New York City Bar, Ethical Issues In Pro Bono, February 8, 2007; Federal Bar Council Winter Bench & Bar Conference, Electronic Discovery: What to Keep and What to Lose, February 9, 2007; New York Guard CLE Program, Preparing Witnesses: Ethical Limitations and Implications, April 26, 2006; New York Guard CLE Program, Ethics Isn't Boring: Three Interesting Ethics Decisions And Their Ramifications Under New York Law, April 27, 2005; Fordham University School of Law, Should Criminal Defense Lawyers Be Constrained by The Truth? The Limits of Zealous Advocacy, November 25, 2003; ALI-ABA, Civil Practice & Litigation Techniques in Federal & State Courts, August 23-24, 2001

Admitted to Practice

New York, 1996;U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, 1996; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2003; U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, 2003; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2004

Education

J.D., cum laude, Fordham University School of Law, 1995; Order of the Coif; Peter J. O' Connor Prize (highest combined grade in New York Practice and Evidence); Fordham Law Alumni Association Medal in Constitutional Law

A.B., magna cum laude, Bowdoin College, 1989