Withers LLP

Litigation and Arbitration

Senior Counsel

Stephen is a senior counsel in the litigation and arbitration team at Withers. Stephen, past president of the New York State Bar Association, is a seasoned litigator and trial lawyer focused on commercial, securities and real estate disputes.

Stephen has over 35 years of litigation experience and has tried numerous cases in federal and state court and before arbitration panels.  His clients include financial institutions, mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital firms, real estate developers and multinational companies.

He also frequently argues appeals, particularly in the appellate courts of New York and is well-known for his alternative dispute resolution (ADR) work.  Due to his experience in the ADR field, he is often called on to serve as an arbitrator or mediator in high-stakes matters. In addition, he serves as editor of the New York Commercial Division Practice Guide, which is part of Bloomberg Law's Litigation Practice Portfolio Series, and teaches commercial litigation as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University.

New York State Bar Association, Past President; Nominating Committee, Past Chair; Crypto Task Force, Senior Advisor; House of Delegates, Life member, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Past Chair, ADR Committee, Past Chair; Securities Litigation Committee, Past Chair American Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Past Chair; Committee on ADR, Past Chair; Securities Litigation Committee, Past Chair; House of Delegates; Past Chair, Executive Committee; Mid-Atlantic Bar Conference, Past Chair; House of Delegates; Past Chair, Executive Committee; Mid-Atlantic Bar Conference, Past Chair; Innovation Center; ABA International Trade in Legal Services Committee, Past Chair; ABA International Mediation Committee, Past Chair Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Committee on Arbitration, Past Member; Task Force on Civil Courts, Past Secretary) Historical Society of the New York State Courts, Past Chair and Trustee emeritus Governor's Judicial Screening Committee, First Department, Past Member Chief Judge's Commercial Division Advisory Council, Member Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century; Chief Judge's Advisory Committee on New York State Pro Bono Bar Admission Requirements United States District Court, Southern District of New York Eastern District of New York, Mediator; Advisory Board, Financial Markets Regulatory Institute Board of Directors, CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution (Past Chair, Executive Advisory Committee) Fund for Modern Courts, Executive Committee Member New York International Arbitration Center, Founding Board Member Advisory Council, Brooklyn Legal Services Congress of Fellows, Center for International Legal Studies New York Bar Foundation (Fellow) The American Bar Foundation (Fellow) Albany Law School, Trustee Emeritus National Alumni Council, Albany Founding Board Member, Latino Judges Association Foundation Litigation Counsel of America (Fellow)