Bobbi Bernstein
Overview
Bobbi spent three decades at the Department of Justice, where she built a reputation as a formidable civil rights prosecutor and an extraordinary teacher. The U.S. Attorney General awarded her the Mary Lawton Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
What sets Bobbi apart is her ability to make even the most complicated concepts clear. She has a rare talent for breaking down complex legal doctrine into language people can understand. That skill makes her a persuasive negotiator, a powerful courtroom advocate, and an exceptional teacher. It also means that her clients — whether an individual whose rights have been violated, or a state Attorney General seeking assistance with a criminal prosecution — can be true partners in their cases, fully informed and actively involved in strategic decisions.
Litigation
- She co-led the trial team in the successful federal hate crime prosecution of three men who chased down and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man who was shot while jogging in a mostly white neighborhood in Georgia.
- She conducted a hate crime murder trial in Los Angeles that led to the conviction of Hispanic gang members who conspired to assault — and on two occasions murder — Black non-gang-members.
- She led a multi-year police misconduct investigation and prosecution that resulted in the conviction of New Orleans police officers who shot six unarmed civilians in the days after Hurricane Katrina, and who then covered up the shooting.
- She led a successful federal prosecution that followed a state acquittal involving the politically motivated murder in Atlanta of the Sheriff-elect of DeKalb County, whose murder had been ordered by the incumbent sheriff and carried out by his deputies.
- She prosecuted a hate-crime murder case against a self-avowed white supremacist who shot several children in a Jewish Community Center and then murdered a Filipino postal worker.
Bobbi and FBI agent walking into court
Bobbi at a crime-scene walk-through
Awards: Bobbi’s courtroom acumen has been recognized by colleagues, opponents, judges, and courtroom observers alike. It has also earned her many of the highest honors bestowed on litigators. Bobbi has been recognized with two Attorney General’s Awards for Exceptional Service (the highest honor given by the Department for litigation); two Attorney General’s Awards for Distinguished Service (the second highest honor given by the Department for litigation); the John Doar Award and the Walter Barnett Award (the two highest honors bestowed by the Civil Rights Division); a Women In Federal Law Enforcement Prosecutor of the Year Award; an International Association of Chiefs of Police Award for Civil Rights; a Postal Service Inspector’s Award; and the Anti-Defamation League’s Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate.
Bobbi in court.
Training & Coaching
As one of the most sought-after trainers at the Department of Justice, Bobbi also instructed and coached investigators, non-attorneys, and members of the public alike. And for several years, she taught a course at Georgetown University Law Center, where she was known for her clear, engaging teaching style.
Bobbi’s trainings have been described as “so good they … rise to the level of performance art.”
Bobbi training state prosecutors at a Prosecutor’s Alliance conference.
Education & Bar Admissions
JD, Stanford Law School, 1995 (Order of the Coif)
BA, Stanford University, 1989 (Phi Beta Kappa, with Honors)
Clerkship
Hon. Patricia Wald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Bar Admissions
Virginia Bar
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Bobbi is licensed to practice law in Virginia.
Personal
Bobbi at play.