Stephen Haberfeld

Hon. Stephen E. Haberfeld (Ret.)

JAMS Mediator, Arbitrator and Referee/Special Master

Case Manager
Joshua Kroll
T: 310-309-6206
F: 310-396-7576
1925 Century Park East, 14th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067
JKroll@jamsadr.com

Biography

Hon. Stephen E. Haberfeld (Ret.) brings a wealth of talent and accomplishment and more than 30 years of ADR or judicial experience to each employment engagement.

He has a reputation among seasoned practitioners for making correct, thoughtful, and well-reasoned decisions and for conducting all proceedings fairly, civilly, and efficiently. Judge Haberfeld is a former U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and was an Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor in Washington, D.C.

Frequently selected to resolve complex and highly contentious employment disputes, Judge Haberfeld’s expertise as an arbitrator and mediator extends across a broad range of matters, including national, statewide, and multi-county employment class actions.

Judge Haberfeld has taught at Pepperdine Law School and has been an instructor at advanced arbitrator institutes. He also has been a lecturer on arbitration to experienced and sophisticated fellow arbitrators.

Representative Matters

  • Arbitrator of California statewide wage-and-hour class action
  • Arbitrator of dispute over allegedly discriminatorily coerced departure of nationally-known attorney from famed international law firm
  • Arbitrator of contract dispute over abrupt departure to a rival Spanish-language radio station of popular "morning drive" radio personality
  • Arbitrator of dispute over termination of bond trader for insubordination in allegedly failing to timely and adequately cover hundreds of millions in exposure resulting from earlier trades
  • Arbitrator of dispute over termination of principal of well-known merged Hollywood talent agency
  • Arbitrator of disputes concerning whether employee terminated "for cause" or under "morals clause" or otherwise, as affecting monetary and other substantial contractual benefits
  • Arbitrator of disputes concerning whether termination of employment retaliatory or otherwise pretextual (e.g., discrimination, whistle-blowing, etc.)
  • Arbitrator of employment disputes concerning alleged violations of corporate duties of loyalty and care (e.g., corporate opportunities doctrine, business judgment rule, etc.)
  • Arbitrator of employment disputes concerning alleged violations of covenants not to compete, trade secrets, and unfair competition by former employees of professional practices and businesses (e.g., medical, motion picture equipment, legal document copying services, etc.)
  • Chair of three-person panel in mock arbitration in connection with nationwide class action employment sex discrimination litigation
  • Mediator of multi-county wage-and-hour class action
  • Arbitrator of dispute over company's allegedly discriminatory refusal to hire "temp" as permanent full-time employee, whose name appeared on U.S. Government list of people disqualified from employment involving interaction with and programs of specific governmental departments and agencies
  • Mediator of numerous U.S. Postal Service employment disputes, involving EEO and other labor-management issues at initial and more advanced stages of proceedings
  • Member of three-person international arbitration panel in dispute concerning termination of CEO of cosmetics subsidiaries of famous multinational luxury goods corporation
  • Sole arbitrator of dispute concerning termination of radio station general manager
Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS. 

  • Chair of City of Los Angeles Special Committee on Investigative Oversight (2020-Present), President (2003, 2x)
  • Elected Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators
  • Settlement Judge, Nevada Supreme Court, 2003-present
  • Received JAMS in-house comprehensive training in Arbitration, Mediation, Ethics, Intellectual Property Rights and Entertainment Law
  • Former arbitrator for the Writers Guild of America, West
  • U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1988-1992
  • Partner, Haberfeld & Haberfeld, Los Angeles, 1978-1988
  • Partner and Associate, Agnew, Miller & Carlson, Los Angeles, 1975-1978
  • Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor, Watergate Special Prosecution Force, Washington, D.C., 1973-1975
  • Associate, Harold E. Kohn, P.A., Philadelphia, 1971-1973
  • Law Clerk to Judge Leonard P. Moore, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2d Circuit, New York, NY, 1970-1971
  • J.D., Harvard Law School, 1970 (Article Editor, Harvard Journal on Legislation)
  • Master in Public Affairs, Princeton University, 1967
  • B.A., summa cum laude, UCLA (Valedictorian, Phi Beta Kappa, Regents Scholar), 1965

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