Bernard Walsh

Bernie Walsh Personal Injury Lawyer

"Our profession is law. Our goal is justice." - Bernard F Walsh

  • Personal Injury
  • Car Accidents
  • Wrongful dealth
  • Slip and Fall
  • Workplace Accidents
  • Trucking Accidents
  • Motorcycle Accidents
  • Brain injury
  • Drunk Driving Victims
  • Defective Products

About Attorney Bernard Walsh

An AV Rated Civil Trial attorney with more than 37 years of experience, Bernard F. Walsh first began his career protecting the rights of the public as a prosecuting attorney for Florida. For three years as a trial attorney for the State of Florida, Mr. Walsh helped prosecute numerous high profile trials concerning serious felony crimes.

Since 1982, he has exclusively practiced personal injury law and helped accident victims in and beyond Sarasota and Manatee Counties in Florida.

Mr. Walsh has won the largest playground recovery (2008), motorcycle recoveries (2006) and a daycare center recovery (2010) in the State of Florida.

Bernard Walsh is on the Board of Governors for the Florida Justice Association, the Boards of the Florida Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers, and the American of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America (APITLA). Mr. Walsh is a Florida Legal Elite, has a “Superb Rating” by AVVO – widely recognized by the legal community for superb professional conduct and experience, and an “AV Preeminent Rating” by Martindale-Hubbell – the pinnacle of professional excellence earned through a strenuous Peer Review Rating process.

Mr. Walsh is firmly committed to community service. His volunteer efforts to help all levels of law enforcement have benefited by private citizens and law enforcement personnel. He gives back, supporting many churches, organizations and the arts of Sarasota and Manatee Counties.

Professional Distinctions

  • Avvo 10 out of 10 – Superb Rated Attorney
  • AV Preeminent® Rated – Martindale-Hubbell
  • Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys
  • American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys®
  • The American Society of Legal Advocates
  • Association of Plaintiff Trucking Lawyers of America (APITLA) – Board Member
  • Best Attorney’s of America
  • Florida Legal Elite
  • Melvin M. Belli Society
  • Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
  • The National Association of Distinguished Counsel
  • The National Association of Personal Injury Attorney’s (NAPIL)
  • The National Trial Lawyers – Board Member
    • Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers Section
    • National Brain Injury Trail Lawyers Section
    • Mass Tort Trial Lawyers Section
    • Insurance Bad Faith Trial Lawyers Section
  • Southern Trial Lawyers Association
  • Advisor for Legal Zoom
  • Manasota Trial Lawyers Board (Founder; & President/Board)
  • Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association
  • Florida Justice Association – Eagle/Board Member
  • American Association of Justice
  • The Florida Bar/Trial Section
  • Manatee County Bar Association
  • Sarasota County Bar Association
  • US District Court for Middle District of Florida
  • Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council
  • Florida Sheriff’s Association
  • Manatee County Sheriff’s Advisory Board
  • Sarasota County Sheriff’s Advisory Board

Education

  • Juris Doctorate, 1978 – Cumberland Law School

    • Selected as a Research Clerk and Intern for a Federal Judge and the U.S. Attorney’s Office
    • Awarded the National Book Awards for Constitutional Law and Professional Responsibility
  • Bachelors, 1975 – University of South Florida

Lectures

  • Association of Plaintiff Trucking Lawyers of America (APITLA)
  • Florida Justice Association
  • Manasota Trial Lawyers Board
  • National Trial Lawyers
  • Melvin M. Belli Society
  • Southern Trial Lawyers Association
  • Stetson University – College of Law
  • Western Michigan University – Cooley Law School

Published

  • JUSTLAW Southern Trial Lawyers Association
  • The Lawyer’s LogBook Endorsed by APITLAmerica
  • The Trial Lawyer The National Trial Lawyers Magazine
  • The Lawyer’s LogBook Endorsed by APITLAmerica
  • Working a Trucking Case – the A to Z Basics Winter 2012 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • The A to Z Basics of Proving Closed Head Injury April - May 2013 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • Florida’s Switch From Frye to Daubert: Not A Substantial Change in the Admissibility Determination of Expert Witness Testimony Aug-Sept 2013 (with Sara W. Calabrese, Candidate for Juris Doctor, Stetson University College of Law)
  • Navigating ERISA – Vol. 3, No. 4 Oct. – Nov. 2013 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • Using Cell Phone Records to Track a Truck’s Route and Time Line – Vol. 4, No. 3 Aug. – Sept. 2014 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • JUSTLAW - Southern Trial Lawyers Association Magazine
  • Working a Trucking Case – the A to Z Basics – First Quarter 2012 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • The A to Z Basics of Proving Closed Head Injury – Second Quarter 2013 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • Navigating ERISA – Third Quarter 2013 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • Florida’s Switch From Frye to Daubert: Not A Substantial Change in the Admissibility Determination of Expert Witness Testimony (with Sara W. Calabrese, Candidate for Juris Doctor, Stetson University College of Law)
  • Using Cell Phone Records to Track a Truck’s Route and Timeline – Second Quarter 2014 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • The Hiring of a Lifetime Care Plan Expert – First Quarter 2015 (w/Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • The Trial Lawyer - The National Trial Lawyers Magazine
  • Working a Trucking Case – the A to Z Basics – Fall 2013 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • Florida’s Switch From Frye to Daubert: Not A Substantial Change in the Admissibility Determination of Expert Witness Testimony – Fall 2013 (with Sara W. Calabrese, Candidate for Juris Doctor, Stetson University College of Law)
  • The A to Z Basics of Proving Closed Head Injury – Volume IV, number 1, Spring 2014 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • Navigating ERISA – Volume IV, number IV, Winter 2014 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)
  • Using Cell Phone Records to Track a Truck’s Route and Timeline – Volume V, number I, Spring 2015 (with Elisabeth DeWitt)