Stephen Rossi, a partner at Century City-based Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, has been with the firm since 2016.
In keeping with the firm’s historical niche within Hollywood’s motion picture industry, the bulk of Rossi’s clients are film, TV and commercial producers. His work for those clients frequently includes defenses against wage-and-hour class actions and Private Attorneys General Act claims, among other labor and employment areas just as harassment or discrimination claims.
Prior to his focus on labor and employment, Rossi specialized in complex intellectual property and commercial litigation.
Tell me about your labor and employment practice and how you built it.
My practice spans many industries and given MSK’s over 100-year history of serving the motion picture industry, a large portion of my work involves representing motion picture studios and producers. It’s not only a privilege to work with the biggest names in entertainment – it’s also a genuine pleasure. MSK’s deep institutional knowledge allows us to provide insight and value that cannot be found elsewhere. A typical day may involve mediating a wage and hour dispute arising out of a production, deposing a plaintiff claiming discrimination, briefing an intricate issue of contractual interpretation under a guild collective bargaining agreement, advising an independent producer on the intersection between collective bargaining agreements and California law, or giving anti-harassment training to a new television production. Clearly, I like variety and want to serve our clients broadly.
As for building my practice, it’s been steady and consistent. I joined MSK because of its amazing reputation in Los Angeles labor and employment. From the onset, I worked with our many long-term clients, always aiming to provide good advice, do excellent work, be responsive – and just be nice to work with. It was a simple business strategy that has paid off. Not only do existing clients continue to reach out for help, but new ones continue to find me. Over the last several years, many commercial producers have reached out for help with issues that overlap with those faced by film and television producers. While we have historically helped many of them with traditional labor issues, I’ve been fortunate to find that many of those clients need employment advice and representation in wage
and hour litigation.
What’s a signature legal victory for you?
It’s hard to choose, but one recent case felt like a culmination of years of learning and practice. Several years back when I was an associate, a producer’s decision to replace a creative employee was challenged in court based on alleged discrimination. The producer maintained the decision was based purely on creative reasons, which is protected by the First Amendment. One of my mentors at MSK, Adam Levin, led the charge on an anti-SLAPP motion that ultimately resulted in a great result.Recently, history repeated itself and an actor challenged the decision to replace him. This time, drawing on what I had learned from Adam and my own experience, I helped lead a team that ultimately secured a Court of Appeal decision holding that casting decisions are protected under anti-SLAPP and dismissing all claims for lack of merit.
Conversely, is there a loss that was nevertheless formative for your career?Fortunately, there haven’t been too many painful ones. In one case, we took an appeal from the denial of a motion to compel arbitration. One of our arguments was that courts were being too mechanical when determining whether an agreement was unenforceable. They were taking a “two strikes and you are out” approach, meaning any agreement was unenforceable if any two provisions in it were deemed unfair. I felt our position was well-supported by the law. The Court of Appeal disagreed, and we lost, which was disappointing.Happily, several years later the California Supreme Court took up a similar issue and it agreed with our argument. This experience gave me perspective on how long and difficult the road can be when trying to change the law – but also why we should continue to push to change the law for the better.
What’s it like to work labor and employment in a state like California?
The easy answer is “busy.” The real answer is rewarding, but painful. It’s rewarding because I have been fortunate to work with amazing clients and people and achieve great outcomes for them. But it’s painful because California’s overly protective laws are hurting businesses – and driving film and television work outside the state. Â
To give an example, I routinely get calls from companies accused of accidentally underpaying an employee a few dollars based on a technicality – only to face tens of thousands of dollars in penalties, or worse, millions in a class action. California wants to know why production is leaving the state and what it can do. This is an area worth examining closely.
What has kept you busy so far this year?
The usual mix, but I am seeing a huge uptick in class actions.
In the sense that rising operating costs can result in cutbacks, do you anticipate the Trump Administration’s tariffs to add your workload at all?
Of course. Any time there are economic challenges and people are out of work, litigation will increase.
What are unique challenges to the labor and employment landscape in Los Angeles?
California, and Los Angeles in particular, has a lot of lawyers and they are all looking for cases. That, combined with a statutory scheme that is incredibly complex and difficult to comply with perfectly, means employers are bombarded with claims and subjected to possibly extreme liability for even minor offenses. Our job is to help clients avoid trouble and resolve issues quickly, but it seems like there is a new claim or theory every day.
How has your firm empowered your career and practice?
MSK is an incredible place to work and grow a practice. I came in with significant litigation experience, and my now-partners took me under their wings and taught me how to serve clients in a way that adds value beyond just telling them what the law says. A lot of our value comes from understanding our clients’ industries and providing practical advice that can actually be implemented. I think that is what sets us apart and helps us maintain strong relationships and a strong practice.
I was also given real responsibility early on, which helped me make connections that have helped me grow my own practice. On top of that, our lawyers are just great people to work with. Having a happy, supportive place to work makes practicing law that much more fulfilling.
