PARTNER
Ms. Bernhardt has focused her practice since 1991 in the litigation field. Ms. Bernhardt has a solid background in construction defect, wrongful death, brain injury, dog bite cases, uninsured and under-insured motorist cases, public entity cases, and crop damage cases, as well as contract disputes, indemnity, subrogation cases, and special investigation unit cases.
Ms. Bernhardt has focused her practice since 1991 in the litigation field. Ms. Bernhardt has a solid background in construction defect, wrongful death, brain injury, dog bite cases, uninsured and under-insured motorist cases, public entity cases, and crop damage cases, as well as contract disputes, indemnity, subrogation cases, and special investigation unit cases. She has taken and defended hundreds of depositions of every type of witness, from plaintiffs and defendants to expert doctors, economists, engineers and accident reconstructionists. Ms. Bernhardt has been successful in numerous civil jury trials in California’s Superior Courts.
Ms. Bernhardt also has experience representing clients in Family Law matters. She represents clients through divorce, support, custody, visitation, property division and domestic violence matters.
Juris Doctor, 1991
University of San Diego School of Law
Bachelor of Arts, Management Science and Economics, 1987
University of California, San Diego
Concentration in general Civil Litigation in areas of Agricultural Law, Business Law, Class Actions, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Consumer Law, Contracts, Fraud & Deceit, Unfair Competition, Insurance Defense, Negligence, Personal Injury, Premises Liability, Products Liability, Torts and Trucking Law, as well as Family Law matters.
Ms. Bernhardt is a member of the State Bar of California, Association of Defense Counsel, Fresno County Bar Association, California Women Lawyers and Fresno County Women Lawyers. She previously served as Past President (2007) of Fresno County Women Lawyers and currently serves on the Fresno County Bar Association’s Board of Directors.
Ms. Bernhardt is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated with Martindale-Hubbell. She was also selected for inclusion in the Northern California Super Lawyers list (2016-2023) for her primary area of practice in Civil Litigation Defense. In 2013, Ms. Bernhardt was recognized by the Fresno County Bar Association as the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. The following year, Ms. Bernhardt was the recipient of Fresno County Women Lawyers’ prestigious Justice Pauline Davis Hanson Award.
Ms. Bernhardt serves on the Board of Directors (2011-present) for Central California Women’s Conference. She is a past Director and Mentor of R.O.S.E., Fresno (Realizing Options for Student Excellence). Ms. Bernhardt is an active fundraiser for American Cancer Society and volunteers as an attorney advocate for domestic violence victims through Project First Step.
