News
Bob Bernstein Named President of American Board of Certification
Pittsburgh, PA (December 2005) -Robert S. Bernstein has a very full plate for 2006. In addition to his duties as managing partner of Bernstein-Burkley, P.C., the lauded attorney has just become president of the American Board of Certification (ABC). The kicker? Recent changes in bankruptcy law make his new position more “high profile” than ever.
The ABC is the premier American Bar Association-approved certifier of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights lawyers.
Bernstein has served as president-elect of this organization for the past year. He previously spent two years as treasurer, and before that served as the chair of the Standards Committee, which reviews attorneys’ applications to become certified.
He is eager to get his new responsibilities underway.
“One provision of the new bankruptcy law states that board certification is a factor the court can take into account when awarding fees to counsel,” explains Bernstein. “The law change also requires that we start testing under the new law in 2006. These two developments resulted in a significant spike in the number of applications for certification.
“Assuming many of these applicants complete the requirements, the ABC will have over 1,000 certified attorneys,” he adds. “That is an accomplishment that shows the acceptance and importance of certification.”
Bernstein reports that the ABC has significantly expanded the budget for marketing the importance of board certification to the public and to lawyers in the bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice.
Furthermore, a new executive director will take office on January 1.
“My goal for the year is to help the organization assimilate and certify the unusually large number of applications and to assist the executive director in taking the organization to greater heights in respectability and market penetration,” says Bernstein.
In recent years, Bernstein served as chair of the Professional Responsibility Committees of both the Allegheny County Bar Association and the Commercial Law League of America. Bernstein has been certified as both a business bankruptcy and creditors’ rights attorney since 1993.
Bernstein-Burkley, P.C. is a family-owned and managed law firm in Pittsburgh , PA , with a thirty-six-year history of providing expert counsel to clients throughout the country in the areas of creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, retail and commercial collections, lease enforcement, and mortgage foreclosure.
The firm is deeply committed to taking a leadership role in the legal field. Bernstein’s new ABC presidency is just one more example of that commitment.
“With every decision I make, I consider how it affects the companies and individuals represented by Bernstein-Burkley, P.C.,” he asserts. ” ABC is instrumental in upholding high standards and uncompromising ethics throughout our industry. I am pleased to play a role in keeping our entire industry strong, professional, and ethical-and I am confident our clients will approve. ”