Stephen J. Hirschfeld

Stephen J. Hirschfeld is a founding and co-managing partner of Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP, based in San Francisco, California. With a career exclusively dedicated to labor, employment, and higher education law, Steve is widely regarded as one of the foremost employer-side attorneys in the United States.

Steve's practice covers employee discipline and terminations, union organizing and collective bargaining, workforce reductions, harassment and discrimination defense, trade secrets disputes, workplace privacy, disability accommodations, and faculty tenure matters. He has tried over 100 cases before courts, arbitrators, and administrative agencies with a win rate exceeding 90%, and successfully argued a landmark wage and hour issue before the California Supreme Court.
In addition to his litigation practice, Steve is a sought-after workplace investigator, overseeing high-profile misconduct investigations involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and ethical violations. He also conducts multi-state and multinational legal compliance audits and regularly advises boards of directors.

Steve is also the founder and CEO of the Employment Law Alliance, the world's largest network of employment law firms, spanning over 100 countries.

He has been consistently recognized by Chambers USA for 16 consecutive years, named to Lawdragon's 500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyers (2012–2026), listed in Best Lawyers in America® (2016–2026), and named Lawyer of the Year – Employment Law, San Francisco (2020). He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the highest honor in the field.