Matthew I. Bernstein Assistant Professor of Clinical Practice

Professor Bernstein practices and teaches immigration and nationality law in the Chicago-Kent Law Offices. He focuses his practice on advising corporations, nonprofit organizations and individuals in all areas of immigration law, including professionals; aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts and business; individuals seeking immigration benefits for family members; asylees and individuals threatened with removal from the United States by the government.

Prior to joining Chicago Kent's faculty, Professor Bernstein was a partner with the law firm Mandel, Lipton and Stevenson Ltd. For more than a decade, he has focused his practice exclusively on immigration and nationality law. He is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, where he currently serves as associate chair of the Department of Labor Liaison Committee for the Chicago Chapter. He has served as chair for the Asylum Liaison Committee and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

In 2006, Professor Bernstein was elected to the executive committee for the Chicago chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a national association with more than 9,500 member attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. The Chicago chapter is one of the largest and most active chapters in the organization.

Professor Bernstein has been an invited speaker by legal and community organizations and is a regular volunteer advisor to nonprofit organizations such as Asian Human Services. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation. He received his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University and received his JD from Chicago-Kent.