Ms.
Bernstein concentrates her practice in the areas of
criminal defense and civil litigation, including employment
and domestic relations law. She has been selected by
Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law,
recognized as among the top 50 Women "Super Lawyers"
in Massachusetts and as a Criminal Defense "Super
Lawyer" in Boston Magazine. She was honored as
one of five "Up and Coming Lawyers" in 2003
in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
Ms. Bernstein handles cases in both state and federal
courts and before administrative agencies, including
the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
She also counsels clients before litigation, both civil
and criminal, is instituted. She has been lead counsel
in a number of major employment cases and lead counsel
or co-counsel in several first degree murder trials,
as well as in extortion, racketeering, bank fraud, armed
robbery, and drug conspiracy cases.
In October 2005, Inga Bernstein, Monica Pastorok and
Rachel Stroup (then a law student) won a 2.2 million
dollar verdict in federal court in a discrimination
and retaliation case on behalf of a former female police
officer who sued her union. This was among the top jury
verdicts of the year in Massachusetts. In September
2007, Ms. Bernstein, Ms. Pastorok and Ms. Stroup had
this verdict affirmed by the First Circuit Court of
Appeals. This case settled in 2008 for $2.85 million.
With Norman Zalkind, she won a $7.6 million verdict
in a retaliation case, which was, at the time, the largest
employment discrimination jury verdict in Massachusetts'
history.
In
2005, Ms. Bernstein won preliminary recognition that
a long term disability policy that limits benefits for
persons with mental disabilities might violate the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
In
December 2007, Ms. Bernstein won a motion to suppress
drug evidence in a criminal case that resulted in the
dismissal of all charges against her client.
Her appellate work includes representing the plaintiff,
with John Ward, in Doe III, in which a portion of the
Massachusetts sexual offender registration law was declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Judicial Court. She
has also drafted an amicus brief and successfully petitioned
for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Bernstein worked in civil
rights enforcement, non-profit housing, and as a mediator.
