Whitney Z. Bernstein  

Whitney Z. Bernstein, a veteran of public defender offices in Brooklyn, N.Y., and San Diego, joined Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP in 2018 to practice white collar criminal defense and investigations alongside civil litigation cases.

She comes from a family of lawyers. "My mother won a murder trial in Colorado this summer," she said proudly of her state public defender mom. "I've always been motivated by a dual sense of wanting to hold the government accountable and a belief that the accused need a strong advocate to push back for them."

In a crossover case in which she led the successful defense in a civil matter, Bernstein represented the widow of adult entertainment publisher Larry Flynt in her defense of a long-running effort by Flynt's estranged brother to obtain half of his estate. Flynt died in 2021, leaving an empire of publications, casinos and retail stores. The Jimmy R. Flynt v. Elizabeth A. Flynt et al., 2:22-cv-00851 (C.D. Cal., filed Feb. 7, 2022).

"We were relentless, and this was a stunning outcome," Bernstein said. Her earlier motions substantially narrowed the plaintiff's claims. Then, on the day when the court was about to grant sanctions motions against him for discovery violation, Jimmy Flynt agreed to dismiss all claims with prejudice.

"My client wasn't going to be shaken down," Bernstein said. "His litigation was motivated by emotion, and our summary judgment motion was teed up. But for him to do a complete walkaway was amazing. I was so hungry to get that trial win, but in a way, this was even better."

In a criminal matter, Bernstein leads the BKLW team representing a defendant in a complex wire fraud and money laundering prosecution over claims by Qualcomm Inc. involving a microchip startup it acquired. U.S. v. Karim Arabi et al., 3:22-cr-01152 (S.D. Cal., filed May 24, 2022).

Qualcomm alleges that the defendants committed a $150 million fraud by concealing Arabi's role as an inventor of the chips in question, Bernstein said. To her, the case represents questions of policy and fairness.

"This is a civil dispute that was litigated in state court for three years before we got involved. "There was a full settlement and release of claims. But Qualcomm has been aggressive in pursuing criminal claims."

She described no-holds-barred litigation in which the government sought to keep her client in custody and to put in place a highly restrictive protective order, both of which she successfully resisted. A hearing on her dismissal motion and other issues is set for November.

"They're trying to criminalize a contract dispute," Bernstein said.

-John Roemer