Bernice Bird Wants To Be a Civil Rights Attorney

Personal Life

Bernice Bird is an LL.M. student at American University Washington College of Law. She is enrolled in an LL.M. program in Law and Government and anticipates on earning her dual LL.M. in Gender and Law and Law, Politics, and Legislation under the concentration of Civil and Constitutional Rights. The student plans on becoming a civil rights attorney, but expressed that she will keep an open mind to other areas of law since she is interested in learning different aspects of the law.


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Bernice was born in Hawaii, but has moved to different areas throughout the United States and has lived overseas because her father served in the Army as a doctor. She grew up with her parents and has one sister, who is five years younger than Bernice. The law student has lived in San Francisco, CA, De Ridder, L.A., Houston, TX, Miami, FL, Orlando, Fl, Stuttgart and Baumholder, Germany. She has traveled to New York, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Spain. The student stated, “I found Spain to be the most influential because my family's descendants are from Spain and it was inspiring to be in the country of the origin of my family roots.”

In 2004, Bernice graduated with a B.S. in Psychology, cum laude from Rollins College, in Winter Park, FL. The bright student attended Florida International University and earned a Master's in Counseling Psychology, graduated summa cum laude in 2008. She earned her J.D. in 2012, graduating cum laude, from Barry University School of Law. You would think Bernice would be exhausted from her academic accomplishments, but the gifted student will hold her LL.M. by May 2013.

While studying at FIU, Bernice interned at Academy for Community Education (ACE), an alternative Miami high school, counseling students with anger management and substance abuse disorders. She also devoted her time by interning at Miami Dade College, where she counseled college students with depressive and anxiety disorders. After graduating from FIU, Bernice moved to Orlando,FL, and worked as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern, licensed by the State of Florida, and counseled individuals charged with crimes, such as sexual battery. Moreover, she assisted in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with depressive and anxiety disorders. Bernice continued working as a Registered Mental Health Intern while studying as a part time law student at Barry University School of Law.

At Barry University School of Law, Bernice participated in law review, was Vice President of the American Constitution Society and she was a Dean's Study Fellow and Dean's Writing Fellow. She was also a research assistant to her constitutional law professor, Eang Ngov, for almost two years. The dedicated student is a member of the legal academic society, Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Society.

The law student admitted she graded onto the Barry Law Review as an associate editor in her second year. Bernice was asked to serve as a Note and Comment editor in her third year by her peers as a result of her service to the Law Review.

Bernice has received several awards, which includes the Book Awards in Family Law, Legal Research and Writing I, Contracts II, and Civil Procedure I. Perhaps her greatest accomplishment as a student came when she had two of her articles published. The first article was published at University of Memphis in the Mental Health and Policy Journal. The article was entitled: Online Investigations and the Americans with Disabilities Act: the Resurgence of Overbroad and Ineffectual Mental Health Inquiries in Character and Fitness Evaluations. The second article that was published was entitled Preventing Employer Misclassification of Student Interns and Trainees, and it was published in the Cornell HR Review at Cornell University.

The law student plans on publishing more articles in her year as an LL.M. student at American University Washington College of Law.

When Bernice isn't studying or working, she enjoys yoga, meditation, punching a bag (at LA boxing), and drawing with charcoal. Although she acknowledged she did not consider herself a religious person, Bernice stated she enjoys reading philosophy, religion and spirituality books.

Bernice's Academic Law Career and Future Aspirations

Bernice was asked why she went into the law. The law student replied, “In my last year of college (at Rollins College), I was involved in a group project in a communications class where we were required to attend a public hearing at City Hall. At the time, in 2004, Orlando did not have an ordinance protecting the LGBT community from discrimination. Thus, there were many incidents where gay individuals were denied housing from landlords or terminated from their employment, simply because their sexual orientation was discovered.”

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She continued to say “However, the offending party was allowed to discriminate at the time because there was no law on the books to protect the LGBT community. So, a grassroots organization lobbied the County commissioners to amend the ordinance. The commissioners held a public hearing at City Hall to hear the public's take on this new amendment. I was ‘elected' by my group to make a speech in front of the commissioners. After hearing numerous advocates in favor of preserving ‘good Christian values' and disavowing equal protection to the LGBT community, I wrote up a speech arguing the opposite. I presented it the commissioners and felt incredibly fulfilled to have participated in the process. I knew that day that I wanted to eventually become involved in the area of civil rights.”

The student shared her goals and aspirations. She claimed, “I would like to work, hopefully, as a civil rights attorney, drafting legislation or lobbying towards legislation that assists disenfranchised populations. I would also like to litigate on behalf of populations that are affected by laws that currently underrepresent them.”

Bernice discussed her externship program on the Committee of the House Judiciary for the Minority Office. The committed student declared, “I am currently serving as a legislative extern on the Committee of the House Judiciary for the Minority Office. I will be interning there until December. I absolutely love going to work there, as I find participating in the legislative process incredibly fulfilling.”

She described her duties as assisting lawyers on the Subcommittee on the Constitution for matters affecting civil and constitutional rights by drafting memoranda and researching timely issues. Bernice explained, “In general, I usually research legislative history on current legislation so that the attorneys can determine whether current matters and relevant parties are in compliance with the intent of the statute in question. I find it very relevant to my current LL.M. program of interest, as I will be graduating in May 2013 with a dual LL.M. in Gender & Law and Law, Politics and Legislation.” She pointed out that the work she provides helps alleviate the lawyers' workload.

What are Bernice's key achievements? She asserted, “The publications are key achievements; consistent excellent grades; accomplishing projects under stress and deadlines; acquiring an internship on Capitol Hill (House Judiciary committee).”

So what are Bernice's key strengths and skills that she would like to leverage upon to advance her career goals? She answered, “I consider my research skills as a strength that would improve upon a workplace environment. Moreover, I am strong in interpersonal communication skills, due to my past as a mental health counselor.”

The future civil rights attorney spoke about her weaknesses. She said, “I would like to be more confident with public speaking, as I would like to litigate in court during my career.”

Many readers are probably wondering how Bernice handles new assignments. The straightforward student shared her process. She started, “I dive into new assignments and multi-task effectively. I am currently writing 3 scholarly legal papers while continuing a 20-hour a week congressional internship, while maintaining the ‘life-work balance.'”

With all of Bernice's hard work, dedication, extracurricular activities and externship experience, she must be a very positive individual. Where does she derive her confidence? She admitted, “My mother. Growing up a woman born of Puerto Rican parents, my mother always told me to be strong and confident. She explained to my sister and I that there may be people who I would encounter who would treat me as though I were a ‘second class citizen' simply because I am a woman. Moreover, she explained that, as an individual with a bicultural identity of Puerto Rican and American values, it may be that much more difficult to find a niche in society where I would feel as though I fit in.” The future civil rights attorney concluded, “Thus, I learned to embrace my upbringing, my unique heritage, the fact that I am Hispanic, but born in the United States, and that I do not need to be masculine to be respected as a female professional.”

Three Whishes to Live By, Priority Outside of Work, Stress Management Tactics, and Conquering Obstacles

If Bernice had three wishes, she would ask for happiness, to be healthy and “to be actualized in my work so that I could take care of myself and others without fear of depletion of income.”

The law student expressed her top priority outside of work, which she said is “family and health—in all respects (emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual). Prior to going to law school, I earned a M.S. in Counseling Psychology and worked as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern. I never obtained the full license to practice as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, however I have always valued health over work in my life.”

Since health is a major concern for Bernice, she probably avoids certain types of people for a healthier life. She said, “I like to avoid negative people who are ambitious, shallow, greedy, petty, and narrow-minded. These sorts of people, I find, create work environments that are toxic without room to voice different opinions or collaborate on projects for fear of backstabbing, idea-stealing, or ‘one-upping' in front of the boss. I avoid situations that require or ask me to compromise my convictions and values.”

She acknowledged she “valued professional people, who respect other people's different ideologies without vocal judgment. I also appreciate people, whether employers or colleagues, who work together as a team.”

When Bernice is overwhelmed or is looking to ease her stress she likes to do yoga and meditation primarily to ground herself when she feels stress overwhelms her. The active woman announced, “Yoga, meditation and whenever I can, I like to punch a punching bag to release tension. I find, however, that mediation is the best thing to do to lower the blood pressure.”

How has Bernice conquered her obstacles? She revealed, “I face them head on. Whenever I have had an obstacle that seems insurmountable, I have spoken to myself, like Mickey pumps Rocky up in the feel-good movie, ‘Rocky.' I tell myself that nothing is as bad as it seems, and that, more importantly, it could always be worse. And really, what always helps me scale my obstacles is my will power.”

The student reflected on a serious condition that could have prevented her from taking the Florida Bar. She stated, “While I was studying this past summer for the Florida Bar, I needed to study for 2 months with a study schedule of 12 hour days. Due to the stress, I suffered a migraine cycle that didn't stop for about a week. However, as anyone knows who has studied for the bar, you cannot take a break for fear of missing significant material. After about 2 days of excruciating pain that wouldn't go away with medication, I started to panic that I wouldn't be able to retain any information due to the pain, fatigue, stress, nausea, light sensitivity, etc.” Bernice added, “Thus, I told myself (in my best Mickey voice—in my head, of course) to stop whining, focus, and do the best I could. With that, the migraine went away and I survived bar prep.”

Legal Role Model, Volunteer Experience, Favorite Quote

Bernice mentioned one legal role model she respects greatly. The student admires Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for various reasons. She said, “For one, because she has a previous background of civil rights advocacy as an attorney for the ACLU. When reading her decisions it is noteworthy how Justice Ginsburg considers how the rulings will affect, not big corporations, but the public. Moreover, I admire Justice Ginsburg's pointed opinions into how the law affects women and men. Though she and I differ slightly in our feminist theories, I respect that she even goes so far as to address the fact that law and gender interact, as noted in her opinion in U.S. v. Virginia.”

Bernice volunteered at the Oviedo YMCA during her last year at Barry University School of Law, assisting the staff at daycare, overseeing the children, and filing paperwork for the front desk on her spare time.

She also has clinic experience. Bernice proclaimed, “I served at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County Bar Association for 2 months in Orlando, Florida for the Guardian Ad Litem program. It was a rewarding experience to assist children in dependency cases, though at times very troubling to see how children suffer in while awaiting the pendency of case outcome.”

The student's favorite quote is by Michelangelo: “I am still learning.” She said, “It feels relevant to note that I am still, in fact, learning the law, politics, current events, and in effect, I am still learning about myself and the role I play in the law community.”

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