Spotlight

With the crisp sound of blades cutting through the ice, crouched down low, peering through the birdcage of his goaltender’s mask, Stephen Rossi sits in anticipation as two wingers head in his direction. As they pass the puck back and forth he pivots from edge to edge of the goal waiting for the right moment to execute his signature move.

Known by his teammates for his aggressive defensive moves, Stephen loves coming out of the crease to intercept the puck mid-pass before the offense has set their shot. It’s gutsy, but effective. Catching the forwards off guard, Stephen regularly stops his opponents from scoring.

As a lifelong hockey player, Stephen relishes competition. His natural ability to see the lines and angles develop on the ice has served him well as a litigator in the labor and employment practice. Knowing where opposing counsel might take their case or anticipating the trajectory of a matter comes as natural to Stephen as his ability to read plays in hockey.

Stephen has enjoyed a successful career on and off the ice as a strategist and play maker. He finds tremendous satisfaction in vociferously tackling the details of a case as he defends his clients while navigating the nuances and complexities of an ever-increasing labyrinth of labor laws.

Experience

Legal Expertise

Stephen A. Rossi represents employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. He has extensive experience in drafting summary judgment briefs, appellate briefs and settlement agreements. He has worked with expert witnesses to prepare reports and regularly conducts depositions. Stephen also has experience litigating complex intellectual property and commercial disputes in many different industries.

Representative Matters

First-chaired a four day arbitration, which resulted in a complete defense victory against claims of breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA.
Before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, won affirmance of summary judgment against discrimination claims after raising an intricate legal argument related to summary judgment evidence, the standard of review, and appellate waiver.
In arbitration, secured early dismissal of an actor’s attempt to invalidate his acting contract.
Achieved a very favorable settlement of a large wage and hour class action involving claims of employee misclassification and missed meal and rest breaks.
Regularly resolves potential litigation claims before they can be publicly filed.
Regularly represents major entertainment industry clients in labor arbitrations, class actions, and single plaintiff employment cases.
Regularly investigates claims of harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation before mediating the claims.
Regularly provides anti-harassment training to client employees in multiple industries, including entertainment production staff members, writers, and other employees.
Successfully settled a single-plaintiff wage and hour dispute during arbitration.
Achieved a favorable settlement in a wrongful termination dispute.
Counseled a non-profit organization on employee classification matters.
Litigated a wide variety of intellectual property and commercial disputes, including patent infringement cases and a patent license dispute, a procedurally complex action in state and federal courts relating to an arbitration award, an attorney disqualification case in a trade secret proceeding, class actions, a construction contract dispute, a breach of fiduciary duty case and various other commercial disputes.

Honors & Awards

"Ones to Watch," Best Lawyers in America© (2021-2022)
Selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Star (2017-2019, 2021)

Professional, Business and civic Affiliations

Membership Chair and former Secretary, Howard T. Markey American Inn of Court
Member, Orange County Bar Foundation’s Associate Board, Building Committee and Grant Committee