says Bernick. “But giving the jury the story and having
them understand the story and the theme, everything
should relate to that.”
Gould School of Law, still teaches the
storytelling technique to associates. It
pleases him that Bernick is also passing
the lesson on to young lawyers.
Bernick’s own story begins in Falls
Church, Va., just outside of Washington,
D.C., where she was the third and youngest
child of a military father and a mother who
had worked in the U.S. Foreign Service
before marriage. After two years in a public
high school, Bernick entered a private
girls school, where she says the stern
headmistress made her feel inadequate
because of her family’s lack of wealth and
social status.
But during spring break in Bernick’s
senior year, The Madeira School
headmistress’ own social status changed
abruptly. Jean Harris went to jail after
shooting her lover, Herman Tarnower,
known as the Scarsdale Diet Doctor, in a
high-profile murder case.
Bernick’s last few months at Madeira
School were “a circus,” she recalls, and she
was more than ready for a break. “I was
done with school and was afraid college
would be like Madeira.” So she took a year
off, working as a secretary in Washington,
D.C. Then she entered Roanoke College, a
liberal arts school in Salem, Va.
“It turned out to be the best experience
for me,” she says. “It was small and very
nurturing. It was the first time I had
confidence in my own abilities. It was sort
of the anti-Madeira.”
One of her history professors recognized
Bernick’s courtroom potential and
steered her from library science toward
a law career. “I think he thought I had
the research ability, the mind to think
on my feet, and I think he saw me as
being confident,” she says. “So I applied
to a bunch of schools and got in at the
University of Virginia School of Law. He
said, ‘You have to go there. It’s the best
choice for you.’”
Fast-forward to the tail end of law
school, after Bernick had spent two
summers working in New York City, both
for a firm and for a nonprofit, the National
Coalition for the Homeless. Although
rewarding in many respects, her New York
experience had her looking for a place
where she could enjoy a slower pace. An
invitation from a friend in Seattle brought
her cross-country for a visit, but the city
didn’t feel like the right fit.
