Practicing attorney in Chicago from 1959 in a broad based general practice with a special emphasis on taxation, closely held businesses, real estate, estate planning and preparation of wills and trusts, private placements, franchising, trials and appeals and computer law. Became a partner in the law firm joined fresh out of law school in four years and left his first firm 13 years after first being employed to start own law firm. From 1973 to 1985, headed his own law firm. In 1985, went solo until going into law office automation consulting full time from June 1992 to March, 1994.

Starting in March, 1994, now practicing law as a solo practitioner and doing law office automation consulting. Clients in the computer arena have ranged from data processing and word processing service bureaus to software publishers and programmers to video-games and cable television software programmers. Serviced a broad based general practice from closely held corporations to corporations doing in excess of $100,000,000 in gross income. Other areas of practice include but are not limited to: corporations; real estate and syndication's; fire loss plaintiff and defense; personal injury and workers compensation; trials; appeals; estate planning and probate; arbitration's; collections; mergers and acquisitions; major financing documentation and much, much more. Has appeared and argued cases in the Illinois Appellate Court and the Illinois and United States Supreme Courts. Was lead counsel in the case of Miner vs. Gillette which established for the first time in Illinois (if not nationally) that a Plaintiff in a class action filed in a state court could properly represent class members in all states of the United States.

A "power user" of computers, is recognized as a national authority on law office automation and technology. An interest in computers goes back to the 1960s when at his urging, his law firm experimented with the IBM Mag-tape and then the IBM Mag-card machines. In the mid-1970s, now heading up his own law firm, purchased two dedicated word processors, each costing about $18,000. As a result of these interests and the advantages realized by the use of these machines, was profiled as a technology Guru in the June, 1984 ABA Journal. Among personal computer-related accomplishments are the following:

1. Started and runs the first PC-based Electronic Bulletin Board System (BBS) run by an attorney in 1983. Also ran the "Electronic Bar Association Legal Information Network" on the BT North America and international network.

2. Started the first Microcomputer Users Group for Lawyers, knows as LAW MUG (the Lawyers Microcomputer Users Group). LAW MUG was a special interest Group (LAW SIG) of Chicago Computer Society (CCS). also the past President of CCS. He was also a director of the first Chicagoland based micro-computer users group,CACHE.

3. Pioneered and started the first Lexis/Nexis Membership Group, thereby, for the first time, bringing affordable on-line legal research to every attorney.

4. Authored in 1980 the first floppy-disk based legal forms program known as "Automated Legal Forms" (ALF), published by Callaghan & Company, then of Wilmette, IL. That product is still the basic model for all computerized document assembly software since ALF's introduction.

5. Created and acted as chairman of the COMPUTER LAW COMMITTEE of the Chicago Bar Association. Chaired the Science, Technology and the Law Committee (twice) and the Economics of the Legal Profession Committees of the CBA. Also headed a special task force at the CBA on the bar associations role in helping its members to automate their law firms. The report, submitted in 1984, was the blue print for subsequent efforts at the CBA.

6. Orchestrated and helps to run monthly meetings on law office technology at the Illinois State Bar Association.

7. In October, 1988, started the Law Office Technology column for Trial Magazine, the monthly publication of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). ATLA has over 55,000 law firm members.

8. Occasional contributor of law office automation columns to Law Office Computing Magazine.

9. Started one of the first monthly publications on law office automation and technology, the "Lawyers Micro Users Group Newsletter" which was published on NewsNet (an online service) and the LAW MUG BBS. One article per month from each electronic newsletter is in syndication.

10. Formerly the monthly columnist on law office technology for Illinois Legal Times.

11. Speaker at every annual meeting of ATLA on law office technology and a consultant to ATLA on technology requirements and automation needs of members.

12. Author of the monthly newsletter.

13. Beta tester and reviewer of various software and CD-ROM products, including those from Matthew Bender and West Publishing.

14. Speaker at many high-tech presentations including those focusing on on-line services and the legal liability and responsibility of System Operators (SYSOPS) of on-line systems.

15. From June, 1992 to March, 1994, headed, as Director, the Law Office Automation activities of the CPA firm of Friedman, Eisenstein, Raemer & Schwartz.

16. AV rated by Martindale-Hubble, the national service rating attorneys on both ability and integrity. The"AV" rating is the highest rating Martindale-Hubble offers.

17. In the mid-1980s, served on the computer-and-automation-related advisory committees of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) and for the Kent Law School.

18. Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

19. Arbitrator for Cook County Court Annexed Arbitration's.

20. Co-Chair of ATLA's "Communications, Computers & Law Office Technology" Committee for the 1993-1994, and 1997-1998 term.

21. Co-Chair of ATLA's "Small Practitioners" Section , 1993-1998 terms.

22. Member of the Illinois State Bar Associations Law Office Economics Council and the Law Office Technology Committee, 1993-1998 and Chair of the Technology Committee for the 1995-1996 year.

23. Past-President of Chicago Computer Society, the fifth or sixth largest PC Users Group in the country, 1993-1994.

24. Law office automation and technology consultant to a rapidly growing number of many of the top personal injury and other small to mid-sized law firms in the Chicagoland area.

25. Served as Co-Sysop of the Law SIGs on CompuServe and The Source and an online member now or in the past of: Prodigy; America online; CompuServe; Genie; Delphi; MCI Mail, Applelink, eWorld and; many Bulletin Board Systems.

26. Co-Chair, ATLA ExchangePLUS Committee (1995-1996).

Education

Graduated with High Honors, University of Illinois.
Bronze Tablet, the equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa
in the School of Commerce at the U of I) 1957.

CPA Certificate in Illinois 1957.

J.D., DePaul Law School 1959.

Licensed attorney in the State of Illinois 1959.

Practice and Employment History

Associate: Freeman, Libeling, Adelman and Watson 1959.

Partner: Libeling, Adelman, Watson and Bernstein 1963.

Libeling, Adelman and Bernstein.

Libeling and Bernstein.

Partner: Bernstein and Waller 1973.

Partner: Bernstein, Schiff and Kroning 1982.

Solo: Paul Bernstein and Associates 1985.

Associate: CPA firm of Friedman, Eisenstein, Raemer & Schwartz 1992.

Solo: Paul Bernstein 1994.

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