About Us
Massachusetts DUI Attorneys
At The Law Offices of Joseph D. Bernard P.C., our founding attorney has focused his legal practice on helping individuals facing OUI and DUI charges. Our firm focuses primarily on all different types of impaired operation cases. We represent individuals charged with operating under the influence across the Commonwealth, from the Berkshires to Boston. For more than 20 years our founding attorney has practiced DUI defense, which has led him to travel across the country participating in many different advanced educational seminars and conferences. He is the only lawyer in Massachusetts to have successfully completed the Robert Borkenstein courses on both drugs and alcohol. He has also participated in many educational seminars and courses regarding drug recognition experts. All of this to ensure that he is a leading expert in OUI defense. By his example, one of the core principles of the firm is to continue to learn and focus on the science of standardized sobriety tests, blood draws, drug recognition experts, and the physiological impact of drugs on the human body.
Our private practice takes on only a limited number of cases in order to deliver quality legal representation to those who need it most. When you work with us, you can rest easy knowing our firm has your back. Early in his career Attorney Bernard, served as an Assitant District Attorney in Hampden County. Overall, he has tried more than 400 cases, including cases in the Massachusetts District Courts, Superior Courts, and the United States Federal Courts.
Our Attorneys
With more than 20 years' experience in DUI law, Attorney Joseph D. Bernard has a thorough understanding of criminal defense laws pertaining to DUI crimes. Working independently at his own private practice enables Attorney Bernard to better serve his clients and provide personalized, comprehensive legal representation. He has been invited to lecture across the Commonwealth on a variety of different issues including hospital blood draws, standardized field sobriety tests, drug recognition experts, and trial preparation for drunk driving cases.
Attorney Bernard the lead counsel in the statewide litigation against the Office of Alcohol Testing, Commonwealth v. Ananias. This litigation resulted in illuminating breath tests across the Commonwealth from 2011 through 2019. Based upon his hard work and dedication, the Office of Alcohol Testing was forced to provide a higher quality of service, transparency, and providing citizens across the Commonwealth with more information about their breath tests.
He has received the same certification as police officers would in regards to standardized field sobriety tests. He is the only lawyer in the Commonwealth who has completed the esteemed Borkenstein Impaired Operation Courses in both alcohol and drugs. These courses are attended by toxicologists, scientists, drug recognition experts, and other laboratory technicians from around the world. Furthermore, Attorney Bernard has received extensive training in the area of drug recognition, as he has been taught by some of the world's best experts regarding drugs and the physiological impacts that they have on the human body. This extensive education has lead Attorney Bernard to be selected by the National College to lecture on drug recognition experts.
Recently Attorney Bernard has received awards from the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, who named him Lawyer of the Year in 2017. He has also been recognized by the National College of DUI Defense, who named him Lawyer of the Year in 2018. Most recently, he was honored by the Hampden County Bar Association by bestowing the Kent B. Smith award as Lawyer of the Year in 2019.
Attorney Erica M. Bruno is a strongminded, results-driven, and aggressive criminal defense attorney who will do everything in her power to fight for the rights of her clients. She is currently a member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut Bar Associations, which she was admitted to after earning her J.D. from Western New England University School of Law.
Thanks to her extensive experience and education in the field of law, Attorney Bruno is passionate about providing effective and impactful legal advocacy, prioritizing her client’s needs above all. Early in her career, she worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer attorney at Central West Justice Center, which is a subsidiary of Community Legal Aid. It was during this time she cultivated a true sense of advocacy for the disenfranchised, and understood how invaluable her efforts and assets are to our firm, clients, and community.
While working at the Law Offices of Joseph D. Bernard, Attorney Bruno assists Attorney Bernard with his cases while litigating cases of her own as well. Attorney Bruno has argued in front of the Massachusetts Appeals Court in Boston in the case of Commonwealth v. Brian Dennis. The Court ruled in favor of her argument stating that the blood test obtained by the government should have been excluded from evidence. In addition to court, Attorney Bruno assists clients in obtaining their license from the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
To get in touch with our DUI defense lawyer, contact The Law Offices of Joseph D. Bernard P.C. to schedule your free consultation.