Stephen C. Mazzara
Partner
Stephen C. Mazzara is a member of the firm’s Employment and Labor leadership team and he handles all aspects of employment law, with a focus on claims of discrimination and harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. He also defends unpaid wage claims arising from minimum wage, overtime, meal/rest period claims, and various claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For over a decade, Stephen has represented employers of all sizes, including locally owned business, non-profits, and multi-national corporations in state, federal, arbitration, and administrative venues. An essential part of Stephen’s practice is meeting with clients to assess pre-litigation strategy including preventive counseling, evaluating employee handbooks and policies, and analyzing hiring and termination decisions in an effort to minimize the potential risk of litigation. Stephen also focuses on educating employers regarding applicable CAL-OSHA requirements.
Stephen is also a member of the firm’s Management and Professional Liability leadership team and devotes a significant portion of his practice to professional-liability matters, and has successfully defended clients including insurance agents, real estate agents, elder care facilities, nonprofits, owners’ representatives, attorneys, and various public and private entities against claims involving breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence, and legal malpractice. In his practice, Stephen has also handled significant matters in the fields of general liability and premises liability defense, including wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases. He has extensive experience in every facet of complex civil litigation including trial, binding arbitrations, and appeals.
Stephen was raised in Irvine and spent time living in San Francisco before returning to Los Angeles with his wife and two children. He serves as a trusted counselor to clients in a variety of sectors and industries based or operating across both Northern and Southern California.
Industries
Experience Highlights
- Obtained summary judgment for a non-profit client on claims of age discrimination
- Successfully defended a national client in several administrative hearings in which claimants sought unpaid wages and liquidated damages resulting in labor commissioner orders in favor of client
- Obtained favorable pre-litigation resolution of sexual-harassment case against supervisor
- Vigorously defended and successfully resolved wage-and-hour class-action involving complicated indemnification issues
- Provided employment as well as wage-and-hour counsel for a national payroll company
- Successfully handled an appeal and secured an affirmation of the trial court’s dismissal sustaining an attorney client’s demurrer to the plaintiffs’ financial elder abuse and fraudulent concealment causes of action
- Obtained a dismissal of a malicious prosecution action by filing a special motion to strike (anti-SLAPP motion); the court awarded $23,052 in attorneys’ fees and costs for prevailing on the motion and dismissed the plaintiff’s entire complaint with prejudice
Honors & Awards
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent
Admissions
- California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Education
- Whittier Law School, J.D., 2007
- University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, B.S., 2001
Professional Affiliations
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
Publications & Events
- “Emerging Cannabis Issues for the Hospitality Industry” (Co-Presenter), Finance and Technology Professionals – Northern California Chapter, San Francisco, CA, February 20, 2019
- “Hot Topics in Employment Law” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, November 21, 2019
- “CAL-OSHA Update: Exploring CAL-OSHA’s Stricter Standards and Strategies for Compliance” (Co-Presenter), GS Webinar Series, March 7, 2019
Recent Insights
June 11, 2020
October 21, 2019
September 5, 2019
December 4, 2018