Q&A with Bernie Resser
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Q&A
Q&A with Bernie Resser
A partner at Barton LLP, Bernard (Bernie) M. Resser is a nationally recognized, first-chair litigator. An alumnus of UCLA School of Law, Resser served as a former federal prosecutor and has more than 40 years of litigation experience. His practice encompasses disputes involving business, intellectual property, and real estate matters across a broad range of industries.
Q: Before becoming an attorney, what was your first job?
A: My first real job, besides odd jobs during high school (busboy / dishwasher at deli, delivery boy at pharmacy, odd ranch and construction jobs, camp counselor), I performed materials searches and retrieval for a leading engineering company on campus libraries at UCLA, including government regulatory depositories.
Q: What motivated you to pursue a legal career?
A: My fascination with law began during my ninth-grade government class, taught by Richard Weintraub. Mr. Weintraub went on to be executive director of the Constitutional Rights Foundation that provides civics curricula for high school educators. I also credit my older brother and sister (who are twins) who motivated me to be an effective oral advocate (out of self-preservation).
Q: Who was your chief mentor and how did he or she influence your career?
A: Cliff Fridkis, who unfortunately recently passed. Cliff taught me to focus on “what we really need for trial.”
A member of the exclusive hole-in-one club, Bernie Resser recorded his ace on July 8, 2021.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: To leave a large firm so I could develop my own clients.
Q: What is one thing you would like to learn to do?
A: Me gustaria hablar mejor el español. (I would like to speak better Spanish.)
Q: What is your proudest career achievement?
A: Beating Johnnie Cochran in a civil case with a novel legal strategy.
Bernie Resser
Q: What other career path might you have chosen?
A: High school civics teacher.
Q: What is your most treasured material possession?
A: Espresso machine.
Q: What is your happiest childhood memory?
A: Spending time working and trail blazing on a ranch in Topanga Canyon in 10th grade
Q: What is your favorite movie and book?
A: Movie: “Chinatown.”
Book: “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Q: What is the most awe-inspiring place you have visited?
A: Yosemite.
Q: What are your favorite leisure time pursuits?
A: Golfing. Reading. Biking. Hiking.
Q: What is your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
A: “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” – Abraham Lincoln
Q: Who is on your guest list for the ideal dinner party?
A: For intellectual stimulation: Lincoln, Adam Smith, Freud, Marx, Einstein, Mao, Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein. For fun and reminiscence: “The 27 Club”: Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse.
Q: Name the top three items on your bucket list?
A: Become a grandparent. (No control over that one from here. I had two children. Now it’s up to them.)
Shoot my age in golf. (I’m getting closer. I have gotten within 11 strokes. If I can get older without getting worse, I could achieve that in 10 years. My 97-year-old father-in-law has done it four times!)
Visit Southern Africa (not just for safari). COVID scuttled our plans for that in 2021.