Kirk Bernard is a law practitioner in the States of Washington and California, and he is the owner and manager of law offices in Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1979, he attended UC Santa Barbara Law School where he earned his law degree in 1980. Since passing the bar exam in 1981, Mr. Bernard has spent the majority of his career helping and representing clients in civil litigation cases that have resulted in millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients, including:
- A record $27 million jury award in a case involving a City of San Francisco truck that struck and killed a 4-year-old girl and injured her mother, a friend and her friend’s grandmother
- $7,900,000 settlement where a driver fell asleep at the wheel of his car and hit another person causing quadriplegia
- $4,400,000.00 settlement inclusive of a life of lifetime annuity. Automobile accident involving a defective seatbelt. The plaintiff child was a passenger in an automobile operated by his parents. The vehicle was involved in a head-on collision, causing traumatic brain injury to the child.
- $1,004,000.00 settlement for an explosion of a boat/barge due to faulty construction causing leg fractures and other injuries to two children.
Kirk Bernard’s birthplace is Chicago. He is the son of an attorney who instilled a very strong work ethic and sense of responsibility in his son. Following in his father’s footsteps, Mr. Bernard regards his decision to practice law and defend the rights of his clients as much more than a career—he sees it as a personal mission. When his father began his law practice in the 1930s, he felt that it was his responsibility to serve the needs of his clients, regardless of social standing. His only criterion for handling a case was if his help would right a wrong. The objective of his career was to make a difference.
Today his son, Kirk Bernard, steadfastly upholds these principles, building his own legal career on the same foundation that served his father so well during his 40 years of practicing law. Mr. Bernard flies back and forth between his two west coast law offices, serving the needs of his clients and ensuring that his staff works as hard as he does defending the rights of his clients at all times. Mr. Bernard is an eagle member of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association and an active member of several other professional legal organizations including the American Association for Justice and the Consumer Attorney’s Association.
