Ms. Bernstein’s public service includes appointments as director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), general counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency and general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In her role at HHS, she supervised the legal divisions of the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the Health Care Finance Administration.
During her tenure at the FTC, Ms. Bernstein expanded the Bureau’s prosecution of unfair and deceptive marketing practices, and the FTC became the leading enforcer of federal privacy laws. She targeted issues including Internet privacy and identity theft; she developed the Commission’s privacy enforcement policies; and she directed the FTC’s implementation and enforcement of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
In private practice Ms. Bernstein has handled a wide variety of cases and projects, including such unique challenges as helping the food industry develop the Children’s Food and Beverage Initiative, a program of self-regulation designed to shift the mix of advertising messaging to children to encourage healthier dietary choices and healthy lifestyles.
In October 2009, Ms. Bernstein received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Lawyer. She is also a recipient of the Miles W. Kirkpatrick Award for Lifetime Federal Trade Commission Achievement, which is presented to an individual whose contributions to the agency are reflected in all facets of the honoree’s work, inside and outside the agency.
Memberships & Associations
Administrative Conference of the United States, Public MemberEPA Alumni Association
Honors & Awards
Recommended in US Legal 500 for her work in the Advertising and Marketing, 2011, and Data Protection and Privacy areas, 2010 and 2011.
The American Lawyer, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2009
Better Business Bureau, International Torch Award for Consumer Leadership, 2008
National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, Constitutional Rights Award, 2008
Federal Trade Commission, Miles W. Kirkpatrick Lifetime Achievement Award, 2003
