Stuart M. Bernstein is the Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. At the time of his appointment to the bench in 1993 he was a private legal practitioner in New York. He became Chief Judge on February 1, 2000.

Chief Judge Bernstein earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from Queens College of the City University of New York in 1972, and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Fordham Law School in 1975.

From September, 1975 until March, 1978 he was an associate at the New York law firm of Rosenman & Colin. From March of 1978 until September of 1982 he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. For several years prior to his appointment to the bench in November of 1993, he practiced law with the New York firm of Kensington & Ressler, P.C.

Chief Judge Bernstein has lectured on behalf of the ALI-ABA Committee on Continuing Professional Education, and is a contributing editor of the ALI-ABA course material on federal court litigation programs. He has also taught as an adjunct professor of law