Adjunct Spotlight

PETER BERNBAUM Finds a Calling in the Classroom

I

n some ways, when New York shut down in 2020, it was business as usual for Peter Bernbaum. As a longtime corporate attorney, mediator, and hearing officer, he had maintained a home office for years, representing business entities and individuals in a wide variety of industries, including cable television, broadcasting, and new media. But the 20 pounds of snacks sitting in his garage told a different story of change and adaptation in the wake of the pandemic.

In a typical semester, stocked in a box at the front of the classroom, the warehouse club sweets and savories provide much-needed sustenance for the students Bernbaum teaches late in the day as an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law. “Building rapport and community with, and among, my students is a priority for me,” Professor Bernbaum says. “The snack box certainly helps me do that. With the shift to remote teaching and learning, it’s now on sabbatical, and I’ve donated all the snacks to first responders.

While his snacks are on hiatus, as he has done for the past 10 years, Professor Bernbaum continues to tap his 45 years of experience in the field to guide and inspire St. John’s students in courses that include Drafting ADR Documents, Lawyering, Intensive Negotiation, and the Externship Seminar. “I always wanted to teach, but couldn’t find an opportunity,” he says. “Then, in 2010, I volunteered to judge a negotiation competition at the Law School. Afterwards, Professor Elayne Greenberg and former Professor Paul Kirgis asked if I’d be interested in developing and teaching a new dispute resolution course, and I jumped at the chance. With a lot of support from the Law School community, I was in front of my first class just a few months later.”

A highlight of his work at St. John’s, Professor Bernbaum shares, is collaborating with other faculty members and lawyers. “Every time I’m part of a teaching team, I learn new ideas, new methods of teaching, and new legal concepts and theories from my colleagues, who are exceptional, creative, and experienced scholars, educators and legal practitioners,” he says. “In response to student interest in handling ‘real world’ scenarios, I invite clients and professional negotiators to class to work with, negotiate with, and provide real-time feedback to students, who value their input tremendously.”

Professor Bernbaum’s students also benefit from their own close collaborations, even in this year’s virtual environment. “I try to give assignments that involve students working as teams to develop solutions to challenging legal and law practice problems,” Professor Bernbaum explains. “I also try to meet with each student by telephone or online during the semester. This gives me an opportunity to provide personal feedback on their work and discuss their career goals.”

Although he misses teaching in person, Professor Bernbaum is clear that he is exactly where he wants to be. “I couldn’t imagine anything better, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he says. “To me, teaching is a calling. Whether virtually or in person, if they’re sitting in a seat at St. John’s Law, my students are entitled to the best I have.”