Stephen A. Sommers

Stephen Sommers has dedicated his career to fighting for justice. He began his career by spending a decade in the trenches of the labor movement and working for progress within the larger economic justice movement.

From 1990 to 1993, Stephen was the Director of Citizen Action of Maryland and Western Pennsylvania. Stephen waged political campaigns on behalf of consumers to lower utility bills, lower health care costs, stop hazardous dumps and secure resources for environmental clean-ups.

From 1993 to 1999, Stephen worked in the trenches of the labor movement as a union organizer in the tough, anti-union and largely poor Southeastern United States. Stephen spent years in small southern towns, encouraging mill workers to stand-up against the mill owners for respect and dignity. Stephen negotiated collective bargaining agreements valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars and brought federal charges against corporate rouges.

Stephen has taken on some of the most contentious employers in the nation and won. As a result of his unique background, Stephen brings uncommon understanding, skill and dedication to his law practice.

As an attorney, Stephen concentrates on the areas of law he is most passionate employee rights and small business. His employment practice helps employees and former employees who have been wrongfully terminated, victim of discrimination, improperly paid or otherwise unfairly treated. Stephen recognizes that the employer/employee relationship can bring tremendous esteem when it goes well, but can be terribly painful if the work situation becomes aggrieved.

As a small business owner himself, Stephen understands the difficulties small businesses face. He has developed a wide-ranging consultation and litigation practice for small businesses, including formation, development of employment practices, protection of trade secrets, copyright infringement, and licensing issues.

Stephen also continuously gives back to the community. He has been awarded the "Hero Award" by the AIDS Legal Referral Panel for the past three years. He is a former Board Member of the Future Leaders Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping high school students find their personal passion and make a lasting impact on their community.

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Legal Background
Attorney and founder, Sommers Law Group; Attorney, McCarthy, Johnson & Miller; Attorney, Beeson, Tayer & Bodine. Law Clerk, John Truesdale, Chairperson of the National Labor Relations Board; Law Clerk, Bredhoff & Kaiser; Law Clerk, Meehan, Boyle, Black & Fitzgerald; Law Clerk, United Mine Workers of America.

Work Background
International Representative, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE-HERE); United Electrical Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE). Director, Maryland Citizen Action; Director Western Pennsylvania Citizen Action. Volunteer, United States Peace Corps, Chad, Africa.

Admitted
State of California, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Law School
Northeastern University School of Law, J.D., Boston, MA

Memberships
State Bar of California (Labor and Employment Law Section); American Bar Association; AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee; California Employment Lawyers Association; Future Leaders Institute (Board of Directors)

Born
Atlanta, Georgia, September 27, 1967

SOMMERS.LAW.GROUP
870 Market Street, Suite 1142
San Francisco, California
(415) 839-8569
info@sommerslaw.com