Editor’s note: Full confession; this may take you longer than six minutes to read. But when you have a story like Bernard’s, you have to let him tell it! So, we did. And it’s worth every second.
1. How do you define your legal practice and typical clients?
My practice is based on cross functional collaboration to achieve strategic business objectives. Many lawyers are comfortable with the well-defined role of identifying and addressing issues squarely within their legal expertise and have no interest in going beyond that boundary. I do more because I am comfortable offering more.
So, you’re a lawyer with a brain for business?
My clients deserve the benefit of my experience and informed perspective developed in both legal and business roles during nearly 30 years. I thrive within cross functional teams and embrace the opportunity to be involved when an idea is conceived, and objectives and milestones are defined. Many clients approach their lawyers with questions without context to manage fees and avoid the tendency of lawyers to simply identify risks and give limiting, unimaginative recommendations. My goal is to partner with my clients to understand the landscape of their markets and the opportunities for, and threats to, their success. The goal of my practice is to be a value-add resource in every conversation.
And your typical clients?
My client base is diverse. Typically, clients who opt to retain me are proactive, solution-oriented, and value doing the right thing for the right reasons. They value integrity and tend to be data driven decision makers. During my career, I have represented some of the largest and best-known companies in global markets and across numerous business segments. However, at this point in my career, I genuinely appreciate early-stage companies with ambition and vision as well.
2. Tell us about your legal career journey. What made you become a lawyer and how did you land at Practus?
I have had an incredible journey in the law. I began my career in New York with Anderson Kill. A significant portion of my first year was dedicated to supporting Larry Kill as he prepared for an oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. We prevailed. In contrast, my second year was highlighted by representing my first client, an independent film producer, who was looking to acquire what today would be referred to as a content portfolio. Ultimately, I would be their legal counsel for a film featuring a young actor named Angelina Jolie called “Love is All There Is.” Within months, I found my way to the New York office of LeBouef Lamb and was the lead regulatory associate on a $2 Billion merger in the insurance industry. So, in my first three years, I checked all the major boxes.
That’s a pretty impressive first three years – how do you top that?
That was only the beginning. My life took me to the Boston office of Mintz Levin where I was trained to be a deal lawyer. During my time at Mintz, I made lifelong friends and established myself as a transactional specialist with more than $7 Billion of transactions to my credit. In 1999, I left law firm practice to join the Office of General Counsel at Ford Motor Company. In the following years, I travelled Africa, Asia and Australia extensively. As a kid from Detroit who only dreamed of travelling to Asia, the opportunity was well beyond what I aspired to do. As a reward for long stints in conference rooms and many late nights, I saw everything that I had studied and made friends along the way. Most importantly, I learned to respect the diversity of thought and creativity involved in solving a common problem across multiple legal regimes and cultural contexts. Often, people have a common point of view, honed by their culture and environment. The result is a common objective being approached that same way by everyone who encounters it. During my days in Asia Pacific, I learned to bring common objectives to fruition using many different points of view and legal tools.
OK, but what made you choose to be a lawyer?
I am a lawyer due to the persistence of my father. He was born in Detroit in 1942 and raised in the foster care system by a minister’s family that I came to know as my paternal grandparents. He had a tough upbringing with very limited choices. Life instilled in him that “every man needs a trade.” However, he believed in education and saw my potential. He wanted me to attend the schools he couldn’t and have choices he did not. My dad aspired to be a mortician but couldn’t attend college so he enlisted in the military. During my youth, he worked at Rouge Steel, then a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. When I attended high school, he returned to college. And while I was at Princeton University, he became a mortician. My parents strongly encouraged me to become a lawyer and recruited my entire family to support their efforts. It was as if they collectively left a trail of breadcrumbs to the front door of law school.
You didn’t consider becoming a mortician?
Well, everyone knew I was very reluctant to become a lawyer and wanted to become a history professor. One evening just before my senior year, my father invited me to visit the funeral home. It was eye opening. He said, “Every man needs a trade. You can become a mortician or lawyer.” He offered me choices that he did not have. I chose law.
You literally saw dead people and then chose law.
Yes. I had no doubts.
3. What about the Practus model serves you as a legal professional, and as a person?
Practus is a genuine disruptor in the market for legal services. Practus focuses on the value of quality legal representation without the administrative overhead of the traditional brick and mortar law firm model. A client wants a cost-effective, optimal solution to legal challenges. Big law has been an early adopter of technology for my entire career but has used it to perpetuate the traditional model. To be honest, I have been working “virtually” with my clients via conference calls since my first day. We did not have a word for that kind of service delivery. We simply did our work. It was the common method of client discussions and negotiations. As a business-minded, well-trained economist, I consider the allocation and use of resources critically and ask how does allocating resources to the trappings of fine offices and conference rooms in an expensive zip code benefit my client’s business? Unlike “Big Law”, Practus recognizes that one’s location and a congregate setting does not drive professional excellence. Character and expertise drive professional excellence. The Practus model recognizes that proximity is not a proxy for relationship and focuses on collaboration and outcomes. For me, I am a team player. I love a good, supportive team that shares success. I believe that client service means being responsive, agile, and thorough. If I have a welcoming, experienced team with whom I can consult along with top-notch research technology, I will deliver an excellent outcome. So, Practus is optimal for me.
4. What is your definition of professional success?
For me, professional success is being able to appreciate how the outcomes I achieve through my efforts benefit my clients and society. I believe strongly in integrity and social responsibility. So, I push for the best outcomes for my clients with the understanding that situations are complex and that optimal solutions do not require an ethical compromise. If I can proudly look back at what I have done for my clients and the benefits derived from my work, I will have achieved professional success.
5. When you’re not working at Practus, what’s keeping you busy? Any cool hobbies or hidden talents we don’t know about?
When I am not working at Practus, I am building or refinishing furniture. I consider myself to be a novice, but I learn more about woodworking every day. I am also engaged in community service in many ways. It seems as if I would rather volunteer than get paid. I serve on a community commission, volunteer at food and clothing drives, and engage with many not-for-profit organizations.
I love playing fantasy sports and attending high school and college sporting events. My best friend and I are season ticket holders for both the University of Michigan football and basketball teams.
6. What would your colleagues be totally shocked (or mildly surprised) to find out about you? Do you kill at karaoke? Write political thrillers? Watch Star Trek (original) reruns?
I think they would be surprised to know that my daughter and I are big Kpop fans. In June, we traveled from Michigan to Washington DC to attend a Stray Kids concert. We are planning a trip to Korea for summer 2026. Most evenings, my daughter says, “Good night and don’t watch Kpop without me!”
In addition, I have seen every episode of “Golden Girls”, “Friends”, and “The Big Bang Theory”, but I can’t stand “Young Sheldon”.
Bonus Question: What fictional lawyer do you most relate to? Who is your alter ego?
I most relate to Woo Young-woo from the “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, a South Korean legal drama series about the first autistic lawyer in the country. She is clearly not accepted and underestimated in every setting. Her innocence, charm, and sincerity are disarming and endearing. Most of all, she is an intuitive problem solver and never quits.
We were going to ask you what you would do if you weren’t an attorney, but we’re pretty sure you’d be a history professor.
You’re right – except I’d be living in Asia.
