Whitney Bernstein

Practice Areas

Whitney Z. Bernstein has spent her career successfully defending high-stakes felony and misdemeanor criminal offenses, leading companies in internal investigations, and representing companies and individuals in complex contract and business tort claims and class actions.

Her practice areas include white-collar criminal defense, complex civil litigation, internal investigations, government investigations, and appeals.

Career

Whitney Z. Bernstein is an aggressive litigator and accomplished trial attorney with a track record for achieving success for her clients when the odds are against them. She is a credible, tireless, and respected advocate with considerable courtroom and trial experience. She’s tried numerous high-stakes and complex criminal and civil cases in both federal and state court, has led effective internal investigations to prevent litigation, and has successfully argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Whitney has drafted and argued countless substantive and dispositive motions, negotiated positive outcomes for her clients, and obtained numerous dismissals of charges and favorable settlements. Whitney takes a very hands-on approach by involving herself in all aspects of case management, investigation, discovery, depositions, interviews, negotiations, and trial preparation.

Prior to joining Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP, Whitney was a trial lawyers for the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. Before that, she was a trial lawyer for the Brooklyn Defender Services. As an undergraduate, Whitney was a volunteer firefighter and teacher inside prisons.

Professional Memberships

Whitney Z. Bernstein proudly serves as a Lawyer Representative for the Southern District of California. She is on the executive board of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association’s Los Angeles Chapter, co-chair of the San Diego Cornell Alumni Admission Ambassador Network, and previously served on the inaugural Advisory Board to the San Diego County Probation Department Chief.

Work Highlights

• Represent individuals and companies in matters being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Defend prominent private company in class action lawsuit.

• Represent high net worth individual in civil lawsuit arising out of an estate dispute.

• Argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the Double Jeopardy Clause should prevent retrial of a high-profile case in which a mistrial was achieved based on prosecutorial misconduct.

• Secured a single misdemeanor and no jail time resolution for a client facing felony wire fraud charges in one of the first federal prosecutions under the CAN-SPAM Act. Negotiated an ultimate loss amount of $9,700 for the client, a marked departure from the initial claimed loss of more than $70 million.

• Achieved a mistrial in the federal trial of an executive of a prominent website charged in a 100-count indictment including conspiracy, violations of the Travel Act, and money laundering.

• Represent individuals in aggressive asset seizure forfeiture actions.

• Obtained reversal of client’s conviction from Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in which the Circuit recognized the theory that an unlawful removal of a legal permanent resident in absentia infected his subsequent removal from the United Sates and could not serve as the basis for future criminal prosecutions.

• Achieved jury acquittal for client facing 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence stemming from accusations of importing methamphetamine.

• Obtained dismissals of all charges for multiple clients charged with federal drug offenses after litigating discovery, constitutional, and suppression issues.

• Secured pre-trial dismissal of all charges for client accused of assaulting a federal officer.

• Litigated motions to dismiss alleging a due process violation of an administrative misapplication of criminal law and thereby negotiated favorable dispositions for clients.

• Identified and secured citizenship for client facing deportation.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Supreme Court of the Unites States

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States District Court

• Southern District of California

• Central District of California

• Eastern District of California

• Northern District of California

California

New York

Education

Awards