Aaron Bernard studied law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he achieved his law degree as Juris Doctor in 2003.

Immediately after law school, Mr. Bernard passed the bar exam in Arizona and Iowa while working at Hopkins & Huebner P.C. as an immigration and employment lawyer in Des Moines, Iowa. Aaron also worked at Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C. and The Davis Brown Law Firm, P.C. and as General Counsel at Alewelt Inc. prior to starting his own law firm, The Bernard Firm P.L.C., in 2008.

Throughout his career, Aaron’s practice has had an emphasis in employment and immigration law, including I-9 audits, family immigration, removal defense and post-conviction relief. Over time however, Aaron’s practice has evolved to focus on business immigration with an emphasis on providing H-2A (Agricultural) and H-2B (Non-agricultural) Temporary Labor and TN (NAFTA Professionals) while still practicing a great deal in the areas of consular processing all types of visas, administrative appeals, employment immigration compliance and wage and hour laws.

Memberships:

  • Member of National Pork Producers Labor Security Council
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association (member since 2004)
  • Iowa State Bar Association (Sections: Labor and Employment Law, Agricultural Law and Criminal Law)
  • Story County Bar Association
  • Speaker at numerous events and seminars on immigration law and corporate compliance

Additional Languages:

  • Serbo-Croatian

Personal and Family Life

Growing up, Aaron enjoyed all sports including basketball, snowboarding, soccer and tennis. Aaron put his athletic aspirations on hold to serve a two-year LDS mission in Croatia from 1995-1997. It was on this mission where Aaron was able to learn to speak Serbo-Croatian fluently and experience both the pains of the Yugoslavian Civil War and the excitement of peace as the civil war ended.

Being born of British parents, having a best friend who was German and serving a mission in the Balkans all factored into Aaron’s choice to study International Relations. Thus, after a brief period fulfilling a lifelong dream to play NCAA tennis, Aaron transferred to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in International Law and Diplomacy in 2000.

The Bernard Firm P.LC.

Founded in 2008 by Aaron D. Bernard, The Bernard Firm P.L.C. has achieved rapid success by being results orientated while also maintaining a high level of accessibility to our clients. Thus, the Firm has grown almost entirely based on word-of-mouth referrals (see our Client Testimonials page) to encompass a nationwide business immigration and family immigration practice. The Bernard Firm continues to practice in all areas of immigration while also adding pro-bono family law to its practice areas in recent years. The firm now has five lawyers and twenty staff with its main office in Ames, Iowa and satellite offices in Tres Rios, Costa Rica and Iowa Falls, Iowa.