Stephen G Larson

Practice Areas

Appellate Litigation

Complex Civil Litigation

Antitrust and Competition Litigation

Civil Rights Litigation

Class Action

Commercial Litigation

Environmental, Natural Resource, and Basic Materials Litigation

Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation

International Arbitration

Labor and Employment Litigation and Counseling

Media and Entertainment Litigation

Partnership Disputes and Securities Litigation

Real Estate Litigation

Trusts, Probate, and Estate Litigation

Internal Investigations and Compliance

White Collar Defense and Government Investigations

Career

A former U.S. District Judge and founding partner of Larson LLP, Stephen Larson has spent his career at the center of the most high-profile complex civil and white collar criminal matters in the country. With a national reputation in the courtroom as an “even-tempered litigator with a keen mind,” he is recognized annually by Chambers USA and Daily Journal, California’s leading legal newspaper, as one of the top trial lawyers in California. In his more than 30 years of practice as a trial and appellate lawyer, Stephen has been lead counsel in scores of state and federal court jury trials and appeals, including before the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. He serves as a trusted advisor to senior executives, prominent domestic and international businesses, public and private companies of all sizes, and other individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes civil and commercial disputes.

From investigations to trials, arbitrations, and appeals, Stephen represents companies, executives, lawyers, doctors, actors, public figures and entities, and boards and committees in white collar criminal matters. He skillfully guides clients through government investigations and successfully defends them against prosecutions related to public corruption, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), domestic and international sanctions issues, the False Claims Act (FCA), healthcare laws, and financial controls. He has also represented current and former U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, Ambassadors, senior White House and Cabinet level officials, U.S. military officers, and senior elected state officials from California, Arizona, Missouri, and Oklahoma in civil and criminal litigation, state and federal grand jury investigations, congressional and other legislative testimony, and US Department of Justice investigations, including matters related to the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations and sanctions, the Presidential Records Act (PRA), and Special Counsel inquiries.

With extensive experience on both sides of an investigation, Stephen’s practice also involves conducting internal investigations, including leading an internal investigation of policies, procedures, and practices related to anti-public corruption efforts in an international mining company. Stephen was appointed by Riverside County to investigate social service departments related to highly publicized allegations about the care of the 13 Turpin children after being rescued from their abusive home; by Orange County to independently monitor the Orange County District Attorney’s compliance with a Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations related to jail informants; and by Los Angeles County to serve as chair of its commission on public safety which conducted a review of strategies and consequences of state criminal justice reform.

Prior to co-founding the firm in 2016, Stephen was chair of the litigation department at a national Am Law 200 firm and a member of its Executive Committee. He first launched his legal career at an Am Law 100 firm and was then appointed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, where he served as chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. As a prosecutor, he led 24 criminal trials, was responsible for 49 appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and received the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance from Attorney General Janet Reno. Stephen departed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for his judicial service in the Central District of California, first as a Magistrate Judge, and then as a District Judge upon nomination by President George W. Bush.

Professional Memberships

Organization of American States Inter-American Juridical Committee, Member

National Community Renaissance©, Board of Directors

Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Board of Trustees

Pacific Council on International Policy, Member

International Bar Association, Member

Awards

Education