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Steven is a member of the Life Sciences Health Industry Group, practicing in the area of product liability litigation and consumer class actions in state and federal court.

Steven has substantial experience with medical device and pharmaceutical product liability litigation, particularly with "mass tort" procedures such as class actions, multidistrict litigation in federal court, and coordinated litigation in California state courts. He has represented many of the country’s largest medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers in litigation, and has been counsel of record for defendants in litigation involving orthopedic implants, anti-inflammatory medication, cholesterol drugs, mechanical heart valves, angioplasty devices, cardiac bypass devices, cardiac defibrillators, Parkinson’s disease medication, ADHD medication, anti-anxiety medication, and antidepressants.

Steven has experience representing clients in class actions, including consumer class actions arising in various industries.  In 2005 and 2007, Steven represented cardiac device manufacturer St. Jude Medical, Inc. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in In re St Jude Medical, Inc. Silzone Heart Valve Products Liability Litigation, 425 F.3d 1116 (8th Cir 2005), and In re St. Jude Medical, Inc. Heart Valve Products Liability Litigation, 522 F.3d 836 (8th Cir. 2008), landmark cases in federal court on the propriety of nationwide class actions and the application of federal class action rules in the consumer protection context.  Other class actions in which Steven has represented defendants include Trujillo v. First American Registry, Inc., 157 Cal. App. 4th 628 (2007), Rivera v. Bio-Engineered Supplements & Nutrition, Inc. (2009), Peterman v. North American Company for Life & Health Insurance (2009), and class actions involving drugs and medical devices in federal and state courts in various locales.

Steven is the Pro Bono Partner for Reed Smith's San Francisco office. In Spring 2000, he took a three-month leave of absence from the firm, during which time he joined the jury trial staff at the Alameda County District Attorney. 

Publications

• “The Expert Ethicist and Product Liability Litigation,” with Marilyn A. Moberg, Eric T. Atkisson and James E. Heffner, ABA Products Liability Newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 2, Summer 2008
• “Product Liability: Winning Strategies and Techniques,” Law Journal Press, Chapter Author (Discovery), 2007
• “Litigating Chemical Exposure Class Actions,” with Erik T. Atkisson, American Conference Institute, October 2006
• “Analysis: ‘Ethics Experts’ in Products Cases Just Confuse the Issues,” with Marilyn A. Moberg and Zareh A. Jaltorossian, Law.com, September 22, 2006
• “The Ethics Expert: Argument From the Witness Box,” with Marilyn A. Moberg and Zareh A. Jaltorossian, Product Liability Update, August 2006
• "Medical Monitoring: Innovative New Remedy or Money for Nothing?," with Kevin M Hara, Critical Legal Issues: Working Paper Series, Washington Legal Foundation, January 2006
• “A Critical Update on the Class Action Fairness Act in California,” with Kenneth M. Seeger, National Business Institute, 2005
• “Eighth Circuit Reverses Nationwide Product Liability Class Action, Reaffirms the Constitutional Imperative of Proper Choice of State Law, etc.,” Product Liability Update, November 2005
• "The Safety Act: Liability Limitation For Sellers Of Anti-Terrorism Technologies," with Robert Levin, For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, June 2004
• "The SAFETY Act: Implications for the Pharmaceutical Industry," with James M. Wood, Food and Drug Law Institute Update, Issue 5, September/October 2003
• "Department of Homeland Security Publishes Proposed Safety Act Regulations: Six Things Every Business Needs to Know About Potential Liability Following Terrorist Acts," Reed Smith Bulletin, July 23, 2003
• "A Look at the Safety Act," with Lorraine Mullings Campos and Stephen M. Sorett, The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International, July 15, 2003
• "The "SAFETY Act": Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act," Reed Smith Bulletin, April 23, 2003
• “Summary Judgment Affirmed for Newspaper in Reporter’s Defamation and Wrongful Termination Lawsuit,” LDRC Libel Letter, November 1999

Speeches / Presentations

• "Privacy, Data Protection, and Security: 2009 and Beyond," August 18, 2009, Reed Smith University
• “Ensuring Your E-Discovery Procedures Are in Compliance with the New Rules,” E-Discovery: Applying the New FRCP Changes Seminar, San Francisco (August 28, 2007)
• “Designing a Compliant Records Retention Policy,” E-Discovery: Applying the New FRCP Changes Seminar, Oakland (August 30, 2007)
• “Litigating Chemical Exposure Class Actions,” American Conference Institute, Chicago (October 5, 2006)
• “How to Get Your Expert Testimony Admitted into Evidence,” National Business Institute, San Francisco (September 13, 2006)
• “A Critical Update on the Class Action Fairness Act in California,” National Business Institute, San Francisco (June 30, 2005)
• “Class Action Litigation: Post Class Action Fairness Act,” Lorman Education Services, Los Angeles (October 5, 2005)
• "Select Topics for Trial Lawyers: Class Actions in California," Lorman Education Services, San Francisco (July 20, 2004)
• "SAFETY Act Teleconference and Panel Discussion" (November 18, 2003)
• "The Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002," Homeland Defense Training Conference, Los Angeles (June 17, 2003)

Experience

Legal Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• California