Victor "Vic" Bernson is Of Counsel at Holtzman Vogel, where he brings more than three decades of experience at the intersection of political law, nonprofit compliance, constitutional litigation, and First Amendment advocacy. Vic counsels clients on the full spectrum of political law matters, drawing on a career that spans active military service, senior executive branch positions, and leadership roles at some of the nation's most prominent advocacy organizations.
Prior to joining the firm, Vic served as Vice President and General Counsel of Young America’s Foundation (YAF), where he oversaw all legal matters. Before YAF, he spent seven years as Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and AFP Foundation, one of the most influential grassroots advocacy organizations in the country. During his tenure, Vic built and led a legal team recognized across the political law community for its excellence in compliance, political law, and First Amendment matters, successfully guiding organizations through complex regulatory environments without a single significant compliance failure.
Vic’s private sector experience also includes serving as Senior Counsel at the Pew Charitable Trusts and as General Counsel and Secretary of DCI Group, LLC, a global public affairs firm, where he managed all legal matters for a firm representing dozens of Fortune 500 companies.
His distinguished record of government service includes consecutive three-year appointments as General Counsel for the Office of Administration in the George W. Bush White House; Director of Legislative Counsel in the Office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon; and Attorney Advisor in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys at the Department of Justice. Vic also served for more than a decade as an active duty officer in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander. During his naval service, he resided six years overseas in Italy and the Philippines and deployed to the Persian Gulf as the legal advisor for the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) aircraft carrier battle group.