Rafael Bernardino, Jr., is a partner with the Law Firm of Hobson, Bernardino & Davis, LLP in Los Angeles, California. He is a Member of the State Bar of California and was a former Commissioner on the Board of Police Commissioners for the City of Los Angeles.
Mr. Bernardino graduated from the University of Southern California in 1981 and from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law in 1984, where he was a member of the Law Review. Upon graduation, Mr. Bernardino clerked for The Honorable Manuel L. Real, then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
After completion of his judicial clerkship, Mr. Bernardino joined the well-respected law firm of Adams, Duque & Hazeltine, and later was associated with the Wyman, Bautzer law firm.
After completing several high-profile cases at the Wyman, Bautzer law firm (and its successor), Mr. Bernardino left private practice and became an Attorney Adviser in the United States Department of Justice Office of Intelligence Policy in Washington, D.C. During his tenure there, Mr. Bernardino advised two United States Attorneys General, the Hon. Edwin Meese and the Hon. Richard Thornburgh on matters of national security and intelligence policy.
Thereafter, Mr. Bernardino founded the Los Angeles office of Hornblower, Manning, Ward & Bernardino, P.C. The Hornblower law firm, headquartered in Texas, was a good match for Mr. Bernardino’s burgeoning practice because Hornblower represented large energy companies, such as Koch Industries, Inc., and through his own efforts, Mr. Bernardino had become one of the most significant outside legal counsel to ARCO. Now a Partner with the law firm of Hobson, Bernardino & Davis, LLP, Mr. Bernardino has practiced as a trial lawyer in the areas of criminal law, securities law, professional liability, intellectual property and environmental law. The bulk of Mr. Bernardino’s trial practice was in the area of complex business litigation and environmental law, representing both individuals and entities being investigated for, or charged with, violation of federal, state and local civil and criminal environmental laws. As an attorney in private practice, Mr. Bernardino has represented significant private and public entities, including but not limited to, The Walt Disney Company, J-M Manufacturing Company, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, the Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. and the Presbyterian Synod of California and Hawaii.
Mr. Bernardino is admitted to practice before all Courts in the State of California, including the United States District Courts for Central, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Additionally, in the course of his practice, Mr. Bernardino has been admitted to practice, pro hac vice, in state and federal courts in Texas, Michigan, Nevada and Kansas. Among other experience, Mr. Bernardino, together with co-counsel Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, represented Petitioners in a series of cases in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court styled Independent Living Center of Southern California, et al., v. Michelle Baass Director of Department of Health Care Services of the State of California, Case No. CV 08-3315-CAS (MAN), and related cases (“ILC Litigation.”) Among other things, the ILC Litigation resulted in the delivery of approximately $3 billion in healthcare benefits to 6.7 million poor, sick and disabled Californians. See, Douglas v. Indep. Lvg. Ctr. of S. Cal., 565 U.S. 606 (2012); Independent Living Center of Southern California v. Shewry, 543 F.3d 1047 (9th Cir. 2008); Independent Living Center of Southern California v. Shewry, 543 F.3d 1050 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 557 U.S. 920 (2009); Independent Living Center of Southern California v. Shewry, 590 F.3d 725 (9th Cir. 2009), vacated on other grounds sub. nom. Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California., Inc., 565 U.S. 606 (2012); Independent Living Center of Southern California v. Maxwell-Jolly, 572 F.3d 644 (9th Cir. 2009); and Independent Living Center of Southern California v. Kent, 909 F.3d 272 (9th Cir. 2018).
In addition to practicing law, Mr. Bernardino has been an Adjunct Professor and Guest Lecturer at Loyola Law School, Glendale College of Law, American Intercontinental University and Westwood College. Mr. Bernardino is also active in a variety of civic and local charitable organizations and was previously Commissioner of the Proposition “Q” Citizen Oversight Commission, responsible for the construction of Police, Fire and paramedic facilities in the City of Los Angeles. Additionally, Mr. Bernardino previously served as Commissioner on the Los Angeles Police Commission and as Commissioner to the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Board. Mr. Bernardino is fluent in Spanish; and, is active in a variety of charitable institutions supporting the University of Southern California, the City of Hope, Last Chance for Animals, the Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles and the Humane Society. Mr. Bernardino is a Member of the Federal Bar Association (where he serves on the Civics, Service and Outreach Committee) and the Mexican-American Bar Association. Mr. Bernardino is also a Member of the California Club and a participant in the Renaissance Weekend organization.