left-caret
Image: Stephen L. Berry

Stephen L. Berry

Senior Counsel, Employment Law Department

Overview

Stephen Berry is a partner and Chair of the Orange County Employment Law Department. He concentrates his practice in the representation of public and private employers in all aspects of employment law and labor relations, including defense of wage and hour and Fair Credit Reporting Act class actions, as well as employee mobility/trade secret protection, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful discharge, whistleblower, and ADA Title III access lawsuits; union organizing and decertification campaigns, contract negotiations, strikes, and arbitrations; and administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and other federal and state agencies. Mr. Berry also provides preventative counseling and training in all of these areas. 

Mr. Berry’s clients include major foreign and domestic-based international employers, including pharmaceutical, medical device, and other lifesciences biotechnology and technology firms, insurance companies, entertainment companies, container shipping lines and shipping terminal operators, transportation companies, and manufacturing firms.

Recognitions

  • Continuously named in The Best Lawyers in America since 2004, and named "Management Employment Lawyer of the Year" for the Orange County, California area by that publication each year since 2011
  • Named to "Top Labor and Employment Lawyers of 2012" by the Daily Journal
  • Named The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2018 for work in Employment Law - Individual and Management, Labor Law - Management and Qui Tam Law

Education

  • J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University, J.D. (Associate Editor of the Utah Bar Journal; Order of Barristers), 1981
  • Brigham Young University, B.S. (cum laude), 1978

Representations

  • Won over a dozen jury trials and arbitrations, including claims of disability discrimination by a former employee of a pharmaceutical company, sex discrimination by a former sales manager with a telecom company, wrongful termination by a former partner in a law firm and obtained a judgment against the former partner in an amount exceeding $100,000, and whistleblower retaliation at arbitration by the former head of sales for a medical device company
  • Won complete summary judgment in two wage and hour class actions and 43 individual cases
  • Defeated class certification in an exempt misclassification case, and in an independent contractor misclassification case
  • Leads collective bargaining negotiations for the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association (formed by 14 of the largest container shipping companies and terminal operators in the world) with ILWU Local 63, Office Clerical Unit

    insights

    Engagement & Publications

    • Frequent lecturer on employment law topics, including wage and hour compliance, use of temporary workers and other independent contractors, prevention and investigation of harassment and other workplace issues, and privacy and drug testing issues
    • Has authored articles on a variety of employment law topics, including "Workplace Drug Testing Programs" (Employment Law Handbook, Government Institute, Inc.) and "Wrongful Termination: Ten Keys to Avoiding a Day in Court" (International Legal Strategy)

    Involvement

    • Admitted to the State Bar of California
    • Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

    Practice Areas

    Employee Mobility and Trade Secrets

    Litigation

    Employment Litigation

    Appellate Litigation

    Workplace Retaliation and Whistleblower Defense

    Trade Secrets

    Employment Counseling and Preventive Advice

    Life Sciences and Healthcare

    Employment Law

    Traditional Labor and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)


    Languages

    Japanese

    English


    Admissions

    California Bar


    Education

    J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, J.D. 1981

    Brigham Young University, B.S. 1978

    Brigham Young University, B.A. 1978


    Get In Touch With Us

    Contact Us