BERNADETTE D’SOUZA has dedicated her legal career to the practice of family law.  There is no one more experienced and better prepared to serve New Orleans as its first Family Court Judge.  Bernadette has been a practicing attorney for over 18 years, many of them as Managing Attorney of the Family Law Unit at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (formerly New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation).

Bernadette received her Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University School of Law in 1992.  Upon graduation she dedicated her legal career to public interest law representing indigent clients in family law, housing, and domestic violence cases.  She has spent over a decade promoting awareness to domestic violence issues by devoting time to educating and supervising law students from Tulane Law School and from around the country post-Katrina.  Bernadette served as adjunct professor at Tulane Law School, teaching a course on domestic violence laws and instructing students through a clinical externship program. 

Bernadette has participated in numerous speaking engagements including continuing legal education programs for the Louisiana State Bar Association and New Orleans Bar Associations. Due to her experience in family law and dedication to ensuring that legal services are available to all who need them, Bernadette was appointed by to the Louisiana Commission on Women’s Policy and Research by Governor Foster and later Governor Blanco. Additionally, she serves on the City of New Orleans Mayor’s Domestic Violence Advisory Committee.

Bernadette is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, serving on the Access to Justice Committee; the New Orleans Bar Association, having served as past chair of the Family Law Committee;  the American Bar Association where she is a member of the ABA - Family Law Section Domestic Violence Executive Committee; the A.P. Tureaud Inn of Court; and the Association for Women Attorneys.  She is a Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation where she served as chair of the Judicial Liaison Committee and is currently the chair of the Development Committee.  Recently, Bernadette was appointed by the Supreme Court to the Self-Represented Litigants Task Force and the Committee on Bar Admissions.

Additionally,  Bernadette has served on many community boards.  She is past president of the YWCA and Tulane University Women’s Association.   She currently serves as president of the WRBH - Radio for the Blind and as secretary of the Institute for Mental Hygiene. She also participated on the Steering Committee for the New Orleans Family Justice Center.

Bernadette is the recipient of several prominent awards for her professional and personal commitment to the community, including recognition as one of the CityBusiness 2011 Women of the Year, the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church Humanitarian Award, YWCA Role Model Award, Citizen Hero Award from Victims and Citizens Against Crime and the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Into Action Award.  She has also received the Association for Women Attorneys Professionalism Award and the Louisiana State Bar Association 2008 Career Public Interest Award in recognition of her career commitment and outstanding contribution of legal services to Louisiana’s indigent.

Bernadette is married to Dr. Terence D'Souza and has three children, Lloyd, Vanessa, and Christine. Vanessa and her husband Michael DePetrillo have just been blessed with their first child Aidan Michael.