Serving Those Who Live or Work in New York State
Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP law is a small but aggressive litigation firm concentrating in the areas of civil rights, employment rights and benefits, workplace harassment and appellate practice. We work closely with clients, combining personal attention with professional service and legal expertise.
Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP was formed in 2001, bringing together the expertise of partners Stephen Bergstein and Helen G. Ullrich. We have extensive experience in plaintiffs’ litigation. We have won jury awards and negotiated settlements vindicating clients and upholding their constitutional and civil rights. Many of our victories have become important precedents in New York, and in jurisdictions around the country.
The Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP law firm represents plaintiffs and employees whose rights were violated and need vigorous representation in court or other venues. There are laws to protect you in these situations. We help plaintiffs take legal action, often a last resort for many who have tried and failed to resolve the matter. With our legal knowledge and experience in hundreds of cases, we can help get the relief you seek – such as lost wages, compensation for pain and suffering, coverage for medical expenses and other damages.
Bergstein & Ullrich LLP is based in New Paltz, New York, and practices in state and federal courts, as well as administrative agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Division of Human Rights.
If you have a legal matter for us to consider, please see the Contact Us page, Please note that before we can take a case, we ask you to provide information via a confidential questionnaire. That questionnaire allows us to determine if there is a basis to discuss the case further. In completing the questionnaire, feel free to provide as much information as we need to evaluate your potential claim.
Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP was formed in 2001, bringing together the expertise of partners Stephen Bergstein and Helen G. Ullrich. We have extensive experience in plaintiffs’ litigation. We have won jury awards and negotiated settlements vindicating clients and upholding their constitutional and civil rights. Many of our victories have become important precedents in New York, and in jurisdictions around the country.
The Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP law firm represents plaintiffs and employees whose rights were violated and need vigorous representation in court or other venues. There are laws to protect you in these situations. We help plaintiffs take legal action, often a last resort for many who have tried and failed to resolve the matter. With our legal knowledge and experience in hundreds of cases, we can help get the relief you seek – such as lost wages, compensation for pain and suffering, coverage for medical expenses and other damages.
Bergstein & Ullrich LLP is based in New Paltz, New York, and practices in state and federal courts, as well as administrative agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Division of Human Rights.
If you have a legal matter for us to consider, please see the Contact Us page, Please note that before we can take a case, we ask you to provide information via a confidential questionnaire. That questionnaire allows us to determine if there is a basis to discuss the case further. In completing the questionnaire, feel free to provide as much information as we need to evaluate your potential claim.
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. Mr. 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.
In 2015, Martindale-Hubbell issued Mr. Bergstein an AV-rating. According to Martindale-Hubbell, these Peer Review Ratings “are the gold standard in attorney ratings, and have been for more than a century.” An AV-rating is “a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.”
Mr. 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. He has significant trial and appellate experience. Many of Mr. Bergstein's precedents have attained widespread attention, including Back v. Hastings-on-Hudson, 365 F.3d 107 (2d Cir. 2004), which established for the first time that caregiver stereotyping in the workplace violates the civil rights laws. Another case that Mr. Bergstein argued early in his career, Weyant v. Okst, 101 F.3d 845 (2d Cir. 1996), is among the most frequently-cited cases in our jurisdiction on false arrest issues. As reflected on our "success stories" page, he has successfully litigated a variety of civil rights matters covering disabilities discrimination, gender discrimination and sexual harassment, whistleblower protection and government misconduct.
Mr. Bergstein is an active member of the New York chapter of National Employment Lawyers' Association, a bar association that represents the interests of plaintiffs' civil rights lawyers. From 2009 through 2016, Mr. Bergstein served on the board of directors of NELA/NY, and during that time he co-edited that organization's newsletter. In addition, he maintains a law blog which covers civil rights developments in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and other courts. (www.secondcircuitcivilrights.blogspot.com).
Mr. Bergstein lectures extensively on civil rights matters and has been quoted in local and national media on civil rights issues. He regularly provides updates on the civil rights decisions of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals at continuing legal education conferences sponsored by NELA/NY and other bar associations, and he has also lectured on workplace stereotyping, mediation, police practices and the fundamentals of employment discrimination. In addition, Mr. Bergstein has lectured before human resources professionals, advising them on the basics of employment law in New York and outlining appropriate ways to comply with the legal requirements governing public and private employees. Over the last 10 years, Mr. Bergstein has lectured on nearly two dozen occasions on civil rights developments. Mr. Bergstein also regularly publishes commentary in the New York Law Journal on civil rights developments in the Second Circuit. He returns to his law school each year to lecture students on trial skills.
Mr. Bergstein is also a court-approved mediator in the Northern District of New York. And the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from time to time assigns him pro bono appeals to handle on behalf of clients who cannot afford an attorney,
In 2015, Martindale-Hubbell issued Mr. Bergstein an AV-rating. According to Martindale-Hubbell, these Peer Review Ratings “are the gold standard in attorney ratings, and have been for more than a century.” An AV-rating is “a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.”
Mr. 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. He has significant trial and appellate experience. Many of Mr. Bergstein's precedents have attained widespread attention, including Back v. Hastings-on-Hudson, 365 F.3d 107 (2d Cir. 2004), which established for the first time that caregiver stereotyping in the workplace violates the civil rights laws. Another case that Mr. Bergstein argued early in his career, Weyant v. Okst, 101 F.3d 845 (2d Cir. 1996), is among the most frequently-cited cases in our jurisdiction on false arrest issues. As reflected on our "success stories" page, he has successfully litigated a variety of civil rights matters covering disabilities discrimination, gender discrimination and sexual harassment, whistleblower protection and government misconduct.
Mr. Bergstein is an active member of the New York chapter of National Employment Lawyers' Association, a bar association that represents the interests of plaintiffs' civil rights lawyers. From 2009 through 2016, Mr. Bergstein served on the board of directors of NELA/NY, and during that time he co-edited that organization's newsletter. In addition, he maintains a law blog which covers civil rights developments in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and other courts. (www.secondcircuitcivilrights.blogspot.com).
Mr. Bergstein lectures extensively on civil rights matters and has been quoted in local and national media on civil rights issues. He regularly provides updates on the civil rights decisions of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals at continuing legal education conferences sponsored by NELA/NY and other bar associations, and he has also lectured on workplace stereotyping, mediation, police practices and the fundamentals of employment discrimination. In addition, Mr. Bergstein has lectured before human resources professionals, advising them on the basics of employment law in New York and outlining appropriate ways to comply with the legal requirements governing public and private employees. Over the last 10 years, Mr. Bergstein has lectured on nearly two dozen occasions on civil rights developments. Mr. Bergstein also regularly publishes commentary in the New York Law Journal on civil rights developments in the Second Circuit. He returns to his law school each year to lecture students on trial skills.
Mr. Bergstein is also a court-approved mediator in the Northern District of New York. And the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from time to time assigns him pro bono appeals to handle on behalf of clients who cannot afford an attorney,
Hellen G. Ullrich
HELEN G. ULLRICH is a 1996 magna cum laude graduate of New York Law School where she was a Notes and Comments Editor on Law Review and Moot Court member. She is admitted to practice in New York State courts and in federal courts in New York and New Jersey.
Ms. Ullrich is a highly skilled litigator and negotiator on behalf of employees and has litigated scores of civil rights cases. She is experienced in representing individuals who were fired or mistreated on account of race, gender, national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation and marital status and has significant victories in all these areas. Her most recent trial victories include jury awards on behalf of persons with disabilities, a student subjected to racial harassment, public employees who blew the whistle on misconduct and victims of sexual harassment. As most cases end in settlement rather than trial, Ms. Ullrich has settled most of her cases on terms that were satisfactory to her clients. Ms. Ullrich has frequently represented women, in both the public and private sectors, who were subjected to sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination and routinely brought those cases to a satisfactory conclusion.
In addition, Ms. Ullrich represents employees in negotiations concerning employment contracts, severance packages and termination agreements.
Ms. Ullrich is a member and past Board member of both the Orange County Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan Counties. She is a 2009 recipient of the Women's Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award, the Orange County Human Rights Commission Award and the 2009 Orange County Tribute to Women of Achievement.
Ms. Ullrich is also active in her community. She was the first woman elected to the Town Board of the Town of Hamptonburgh and served in that capacity from 1991 to 1994. She served as Co-Chair of the Orange County Democratic Committee from 2004 to 2006 and as a member of the New York State Democratic Committee from 2002 to 2008. With the exception of 2011, she has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Mid Hudson Valley since 2001. Ms. Ullrich is also one of the founders and past president of Orange County Democratic Women, Inc. Ms. Ullrich is a trustee of Orange County Community College - SUNY Orange and serves on the Board of Directors of the SUNY Orange Foundation.
Ms. Ullrich is a highly skilled litigator and negotiator on behalf of employees and has litigated scores of civil rights cases. She is experienced in representing individuals who were fired or mistreated on account of race, gender, national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation and marital status and has significant victories in all these areas. Her most recent trial victories include jury awards on behalf of persons with disabilities, a student subjected to racial harassment, public employees who blew the whistle on misconduct and victims of sexual harassment. As most cases end in settlement rather than trial, Ms. Ullrich has settled most of her cases on terms that were satisfactory to her clients. Ms. Ullrich has frequently represented women, in both the public and private sectors, who were subjected to sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination and routinely brought those cases to a satisfactory conclusion.
In addition, Ms. Ullrich represents employees in negotiations concerning employment contracts, severance packages and termination agreements.
Ms. Ullrich is a member and past Board member of both the Orange County Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan Counties. She is a 2009 recipient of the Women's Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award, the Orange County Human Rights Commission Award and the 2009 Orange County Tribute to Women of Achievement.
Ms. Ullrich is also active in her community. She was the first woman elected to the Town Board of the Town of Hamptonburgh and served in that capacity from 1991 to 1994. She served as Co-Chair of the Orange County Democratic Committee from 2004 to 2006 and as a member of the New York State Democratic Committee from 2002 to 2008. With the exception of 2011, she has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Mid Hudson Valley since 2001. Ms. Ullrich is also one of the founders and past president of Orange County Democratic Women, Inc. Ms. Ullrich is a trustee of Orange County Community College - SUNY Orange and serves on the Board of Directors of the SUNY Orange Foundation.