Stephen Hirschfeld is a founding partner with the law firm of Curiale Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP, in San Francisco, California.  He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Employment Law Alliance (ELA), the world’s largest network of labor and employment lawyers.  His practice involves labor, employment and higher education law on behalf of management in both the private and public sector.  Mr. Hirschfeld advises clients throughout the country on day-to-day legal issues affecting the workplace, including employee discipline  and terminations, union organizing, workforce reductions, discrimination claims, proprietary information and trade secrets disputes, substance abuse, workplace privacy, disability accommodations, executive employment contracts, overseeing and conducting internal investigations involving employee, student, and faculty misconduct, faculty tenure issues, and other human resources issues.  He regularly defends employers in state and federal courts on disputes involving discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, trade secrets/unfair competition and wage and hour law.  He successfully argued a seminal wage and hour issue before the California Supreme Court.  Mr. Hirschfeld has vast experience working with unionized business on matters including collective bargaining, union contract disputes, and labor arbitrations.  He has represented private and public sector employers in over 100 arbitrations with a success rate of better than 90%.  He regularly assists multi-national clients by conducting worldwide employment law audits to ensure they are in full compliance with all applicable employment and labor laws.  Mr. Hirschfeld has experience working with Boards of Directors to improve their effectiveness and communications.  His clients range from Fortune 500 companies to small, privately-owned businesses.  Mr. Hirschfeld represents over 100 colleges and universities throughout the United States.  He takes a proactive approach when advising clients, emphasizing creative solutions to employee relations problems.  He frequently represents employers in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies on a variety of litigation matters involving the employer-employee relationship.  Mr. Hirschfeld routinely counsels management about ways to prevent costly and protracted litigation.  He teaches clients’ executives, managers, and supervisors how to make sound human resource decisions, while at the same time minimizing wrongful termination, discrimination, and sexual harassment claims.