Admissions

Mr Bernard is admitted to practice before all Texas and Maryland courts.

Mr. Bernard is a trained Settlement Conference Facilitator and volunteered to assist the Howard County District Court resolve civil cases in it's Alternative Dispute Resolution program; he often performed the same function at the request of the Howard County Circuit Court.

At the federal level, Mr. Bernard is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and the Internal Revenue Service.

Education

Mr. Bernard received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Quantitative Emphasis, from the University of Minnesota, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree fromIndiana University Maurer School of Law and a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Indiana University - Bloomington.

Professional Associations

Mr. Bernard is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Houston Bar Association. He is active in the Probate, Trusts & Estate Section of the Houston Bar Association. He is a member of the distinguished international legal fraternity Phi Delta Phi, and of the St. Thomas More Society of Galveston - Houston. Mr. Bernard has published articles and regularly lectures to community groups on estate planning, guardianship and probate issues.

Mr. Bernard is a recent member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association. He was a member of the Estates and Trust Law and the Elder Law Sections of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Estate and Gift Tax Study Group of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Estates, Trusts and Elder Law Section of the Howard County (Maryland) Bar Association, and served as a past Chairman of the Howard County Bar Association's Library Committee. Mr. Bernard volunteered to assist the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) and the Income Tax Preparation Clinic of the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS), which helps low income taxpayers prepare tax returns and resolve disputes with the IRS. He is a past president of the St. Thomas More Society of Maryland.

Personal & Community Associations

Mr. Bernard serves as Treasurer of the Houston Chapter, American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). He is a licensed pilot and an active member of the Civil Air Patrol. He is also a member of St. Michael the Archangel Council and Msgr. George A. Wilhelm Assembly, Knights of Columbus. When he can find time, Mr. Bernard enjoys sailing, fishing, skeet shooting and sporting clays. He is a member of the Texas State Rifle Association.

Mr. Bernard has served as Treasurer of Resurrection Council, Knights of Columbus, on the Board of Directors of the Potomac-Patuxent Chapter, Trout Unlimited, and on the Board of Directors of the Village of Owen Brown. He is a past member of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Texas and a veteran of the United States Air Force.