Hon. Mark I. Bernstein Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District, Philadelphia Judge Bernstein has served as a judge of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania since April 1987, and holds the post of secretary of the Court of Common Pleas Board of Judges. He currently serves on the Civil Jury Instruction Subcommittee of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which drafts the Suggested Standard Civil Jury Instructions (published by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute). Judge Bernstein also served on the Supreme Court Medical Malpractice Mediation Task Force, encouraging alternatives to litigation in malpractice claims. He established precedent and procedures for the timely resolution of mass tort and all class action litigation in Philadelphia County and presently serves on the Commerce Court of the First Judicial District. In recognition of his many activities in the area of judicial management and reform, he was named one of the 500 leading judges in America by Lawdragon magazine. Judge Bernstein is the author of Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence with Comments and Annotations by Honorable Mark I. Bernstein, published by Gann Law Books. He is on the editorial board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Public Health Law Benchbook Committee and was chairman of the board of editors for “The Bill of Rights: A Bicentennial View,” and contributed two essays, “Judicial Decision Making” and “A Meditation on Judicial Morality,” to The Judge’s Book published by the American Bar Association and the National Judicial College. His comprehensive analysis of “Expert Testimony in Pennsylvania” was published by the Temple Law Review in 1995. Articles authored by Judge Bernstein have appeared in Judicature, Court Review, The Responsive Community, The Philadelphia Lawyer, and Trial magazine. Judge Bernstein has addressed judges and lawyers nationwide on the law and courtroom procedure. He has served on the faculty of the National Judicial College and Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and before taking the bench in 1987, Judge Bernstein was in the private practice of law specializing in litigation.