Not very many law firms have been around for 39 years, let alone have employees who have worked at the firm for 39 consecutive years!
In August 1986, Bernadette “Bernie” Rentfro was hired at Bulman Dunie by Larry Bulman after a mutual friend, (the Bulman Dunie landscaper), told her there was an opening at the firm.
After 39 years of service, Bernie retired from the firm at the end of August 2025.
We recently sat down with Bernie to reflect on her decades at the firm and in the legal industry.
Q: Bernie, what do you remember most about your early years at the firm?
A: My two sons were both born in my first few years at the firm. The firm made its first maternity leave policy because of me. As a young working mother, when my boys attended Our Lady of Lourdes for grade school, I’d use my lunch break to volunteer as a playground monitor. When they were old enough, they could walk to the firm after school. The firm was an excellent place to work, very flexible and family-oriented.
Q: What do you remember most about the work you did at the firm?
A: I have many good memories having supported many attorneys over the years.
Larry Bulman, with whom I shared a birthday, once represented a lady who was injured in 3 separate car accidents in one year. He told her he was going to just call her “Crash” after the third accident.
I have fond memories of John Burke opening the office each morning, arriving after his 5 am workout at the gym! He was such a nice man, in the office with me early every day, and the attorney who handled the divorces.
In the old days before technology, I used to take shorthand, do dictation, and type letters on a typewriter after listening to cassette tapes of the attorneys’ instructions. Alan Feld was always friendly and fair (and he came to my sons’ basketball games). I would type whatever an attorney requested, but I drew the line one day when Alan dictated a letter to a client who’d just had a baby that he wanted to start with “I hope everything came out all right”.
Over the years, I worked across nearly all of the areas of practice at the firm. I enjoyed the work in the personal injury department the most, because every case was different.
Q: What are you looking for to being able to do with your time now that you’re not going to be working every day?
A: I’m planning to renovate my basement and create a play space for my grandchildren. I’m looking forward to traveling to Myrtle Beach in the Spring with [my husband] Ed and celebrating [my son’s] wedding in August 2026. Both my sons returned to the area to raise their families, so I will be able to spend a lot more time with them now.
Q: What won’t you miss?
A: The commute! It used to take me 20 minutes to get to work each day. Now it’s at least 35 minutes with all the construction.
We will remember Bernie as a reliable and devoted employee who supported so many attorneys over the year and ensured that our clients received top-notch support. Bernie was our link to the past, reaching out every year to retired employees to ensure their return for our holiday party.
A consummate team player, Bernie spent her last few weeks at Bulman Dunie training our newest employee to ensure a seamless transition after her departure. We look forward to seeing her at this year’s holiday party, this time as a retired employee. This is not goodbye, it’s “see you later”!
