Daniel W. Bernal is a Research Fellow at the Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession and a practicing attorney in Washington, DC. His scholarly work centers on improving access to civil justice, with a focus on how civil procedure impacts case outcomes, litigant participation, and perceptions of justice. In addition, he designs and tests interventions to drive change.

Daniel earned his JD from Stanford Law School and his PhD from the University of Arizona, both in 2019. After graduation, he worked as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Andrew D. Hurwitz of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Some of his recent and forthcoming publications include The Limits and Dangers of Self Help, American Law & Economics Review (forthcoming, 2023) (with Andy Yuan); Pleadings in a Pandemic: The Role, Regulation, and Redesign of Eviction Court Documents, 73 Okla. L. Rev. 573 (2021); and Redesigning Justice Innovation: A Standardized Methodology, 16 Stan. J. C.R. & C.L. 335 (2020) (with Margaret D. Hagan).