Adele Bernhard is an Associate Professor of Law at Pace Law School where she directs the Criminal Defense Clinic and the Post-Conviction Project.

Ms. Bernhard began practicing law as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society in the South Bronx, and has concentrated on criminal law for most of her career. In 1988, she started a grant-funded project providing CLE and support services for private court-appointed counsel assigned to represent the indigent accused of crime. The project convinced NYC to fund the first permanent city-wide CLE and resources unit for court appointed counsel. She designed a method of evaluating members of the court appointed panel. Now she chairs the Appellate Division, First Department, Indigent Defense Organization Oversight Committee that monitors the performance of defender organizations in the Bronx and Manhattan. Recent articles include: "When Justice Fails: Indemnification for Unjust Conviction" which was published in 1999 by the University of Chicago Roundtable, and "Take Courage: What the Courts Can Do to Improve the Delivery of Criminal Defense Services" which will be published in the forthcoming Winter issue of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review.

Adele Bernhard received her B.A. from New York University in 1972, J.D., and from New York University in 1976.

Last updated April 16, 2002