Top best General Lawyers in Fresno | 76 available

Ms. Bernhardt has focused her practice since 1991 in the litigation field. She has a solid background in defense litigation of actions involving personal injury, product liability, slip and fall, premises liability, automobile accidents, trucking accidents, property damage, construction defect, wrongful death, brain injury, dog bite cases, uninsured and under-insured motorist cases, public entity cases, and crop damage cases, as well as contract disputes, indemnity, subrogation cases, and special investigation unit cases. She has taken and defended hundreds of depositions of every type of witness, from plaintiffs and defendants to expert doctors, economists, engineers and accident reconstructionists. Ms. Bernhardt has been successful in numerous civil jury trials in California’s Superior and Municipal Courts.

I grew up on a ranch in rural Nebraska. I attended grade school in a one-room country school. My brothers and I rode motorcycles to school every day, unless it was snowing. I have bailed hay, cultivated fields, harvested corn, and delivered a baby calf. Growing up, I learned the values of hard work and simplicity. I carry these values with me still today.. After graduating from high school, I attended college at the University of Nebraska where I competed nationally in speech and debate. During my four years of college, I was a national finalist and ranked among the top speakers in the nation. I obtained my B.S. in 1995 and then went to law school where I excelled in trial advocacy courses. I graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1998. In 1999, I moved to Fresno to start my legal career. In 2000, I became licensed to practice law in California.. I started my legal career at a statewide law firm that specialized in defending public entities. During my tenure there, I acquired valuable experience in employment law. The next step in my career was an exciting position as an associate attorney with what was then known as Oren & Paboojian. Eric Oren and Warren Paboojian opened up a new world to me. They taught me how to take depositions, interpret medical records, evaluate cases, manage discovery, draft pleadings and, above all, they taught me civility. From there, I moved on to what was known as Emerson, Corey & Barsotti. I found myself craving jury trial experience, which is what led me to join Nationwide Insurance Company as a staff counsel lawyer in 2005.. Kevin Piekut was the managing attorney of Nationwide’s Fresno office. As with Eric and Warren, Kevin opened up another new world for me, that of trial lawyer, and I loved it!  Kevin taught me how to pick a jury, conduct effective direct/cross examinations, present evidence, opening statements, closing arguments and, in general, the simple—yet ever elusive—art of trying a case. I had found my passion and became an experienced trial lawyer.. The final stop before I opened my own practice came in 2011. I decided I needed experience managing a law office. I left Nationwide and accepted a position to open and manage a new staff counsel office in Fresno for GEICO Insurance. During my 18-month tenure at GEICO, I opened a law office from scratch, hired lawyers and staff, and successfully grew the practice.  Along the way, I also acquired additional trial experience.  However, my dream was to have my own law firm.. In 2013, my dream came true and I opened the doors of Hitchcock Law Inc. Our approach, regardless of what side of the table we are on, is four-fold: passionate advocacy, personal attention, respect and compassion, and aggressive trial representation.. Welcome, to Hitchcock Law Inc.

Experienced General attorney serving clients in Fresno and surrounding areas.