Barri Bernstein

Barri Bernstein is one of those unsung heroes whose diligent work in the background makes other people’s success possible. Barri served as the first executive director of the Tennessee Bar Foundation from 1985 until her retirement in mid-2024. She built the Foundation from scratch, including three initiatives vital to the Tennessee Justice Center’s story. During Barri’s tenure, the Foundation granted over $28 million from its Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts, or IOLTA, program, to organizations which provide legal aid or organizations which work to improve the administration of justice. It was IOLTA funding that launched TJC in 1996, and IOLTA has helped sustain TJC ever since. The second initiative involved the Foundation’s 2019 creation of an innovation grants project which Barri also administered. TJC received two grant awards from that project. The first supported TJC’s advocacy for public policies that enhance the ability of Tennesseans with disabilities to live independently. The additional award launched TJC’s project to make forms more understandable and the legal process more navigable in Tennessee’s General Sessions Courts, where 90% of litigants cannot afford lawyers. Finally, Barri conceived and still produces the Foundation’s “Legal History Project,” which conducts and preserves colorful and inspiring video interviews with leading lawyers and judges, including several who helped found TJC. Barri’s vital work has improved the quality of justice for Tennesseans and touched many thousands of lives.