Stephen Bergstein

Stephen Bergstein received his B.A. from SUNY New Paltz in 1989 and graduated from
CUNY Law School in 1993, where he served on the editorial board of the school's law
journal. Bergstein is admitted to practice in the courts of the State of New York, the
Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, the Second and Third Circuit
Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court.

Bergstein has represented scores of plaintiffs in civil rights and employment cases in
the State and Federal Courts, helping to set important case precedents involving the
First Amendment, employment discrimination, sexual and racial harassment, housing
discrimination, search and seizure, false arrest, municipal liability and whistleblower
protection.

Mr. Bergstein’s noteworthy cases include:

New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps v. Meyers (2d Cir. 2006) (upholding court
ruling that Town violated rights of volunteer ambulance corps in seizing equipment and
vehicles)

Back v. Hastings on Hudson School District, 365 F.3d 107 (2d Cir. 2004)
(employment discrimination);

Catletti v. Rampe, 334 F.3d 225 (2d Cir. 2003) (First Amendment retaliation);

Whidbee v. Garzarelli Food Services, 223 F.3d 62 (2d Cir. 2000) (racial harassment);

Sugarman v. Village of Chester, 192 F.Supp.2d 382 (SDNY 2002) (First Amendment
prior restraint).

He has also drafted several briefs to the United States Supreme Court.

Several of Mr. Bergstein’s precedents have attained widespread attention, including
Back v. Hastings on Hudson, which established for the first time that caregiver
stereotyping in the workplace violates civil rights laws. In Savago v. Village of New
Paltz (2002), Mr. Bergstein succeeded in striking down an unlawful sign ordinance
which restricted freedom of speech. In Altbach v. Kulon (2003), the Court ruled that
the First Amendment allowed an artist to paint a satirical portrait of a public figure.

Mr. Bergstein is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar
Association and the Orange County Bar Association. Mr. Bergstein has lectured on civil
rights issues, providing attorneys and law students with guidance on employment
discrimination and civil rights. In March 2005, he participated in a symposium at
Rutgers Law School on workplace stereotyping.