Bernard Pastor

Bernard “Bernie” Pastor is a partner in the Miami office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is a member of the Business Litigation Practice Group.

A Florida Bar Board-Certified expert in Civil Trial Law with extensive first-chair experience in federal and state courts, Bernie focuses his practice on complex civil litigation. He has managed and tried a wide range of matters, including civil rights, wrongful death, tort, and commercial disputes. A seasoned trial attorney, he has successfully tried to verdict nearly 30 federal and state jury trials and has handled numerous appeals and oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Prior to joining Shutts & Bowen, Bernie served for more than two decades in the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office, where he represented Miami-Dade County in federal and state court defending wrongful death, constitutional, civil rights, and tort claims. Serving as Chief of Federal Litigation & Appeals, and for more than three years simultaneously as the Chief of the Tort and Malpractice Section, he oversaw high-profile and complex matters through trial and appeal. He also advised senior leadership and key departments, including the Office of the Mayor, the Miami-Dade Police Department and Sheriff, Jackson Memorial Hospital, and Risk Management on a broad spectrum of legal issues. Bernie previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Miami and as law clerk to the Honorable John H. Moore II, United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Florida.

Active in the professional community, Bernie is a former President and current Board Member of the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and is an elected member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an invitation-only organization recognizing experienced trial lawyers who demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and civility. Bernie currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami School of Law and as faculty for the Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section’s Advanced Trial Advocacy Seminar.  He also previously served as an Adjunct Professor at Florida International School of Law and as a faulty member for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA).