Steven M. Frederick CO-MANAGING PARTNER
Steve is Co-Managing Partner of the firm. His diverse practice focuses primarily on business and employment law.
In the litigation context, Steve has tried or settled numerous high value and high profile commercial, employment, construction and tort cases, several of which have been featured in local and national publications. Steve practices in state and federal trial and appellate courts, and has participated in domestic and international arbitrations and mediations conducted by the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, FINRA, and the International Chamber of Commerce. Steve also assists individuals and business entities resolve complex disputes without the need for formal litigation.
Outside the litigation context, Steve routinely serves as outside general counsel to privately held businesses and families, and in that role, helps clients achieve their business goals in a cost-effective and risk-appropriate manner. Steve also regularly advises and represents companies, key employees, and owners in connection with a wide variety of corporate and transactional matters, including the negotiation and drafting of formation documents, partnership agreements, purchase and sale agreements, and a myriad of other business documents.
Steve graduated from Tufts University (B.S., magna cum laude, 1986), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi National Honor Society, and New York University School of Law (J.D. 1989), where he was a Moot Court Advocacy Award recipient. Steve joined the firm in 1991, after working for two years at a Wall Street law firm. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Ferguson Library, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Stamford Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Senior Employment Service, Inc., Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ferguson Library Foundation, and Chairman of the Education Committee of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce. From 2005 through 2013, he was a member of the Board of Directors of The Stamford Public Education Foundation, and from 2006 until 2013, he served as a Citizen Advisor to the Trustees of The Ferguson Library. Beginning in 2012, Steve has also served as an arbitrator in the Connecticut Bar Association’s Resolution of Legal Fee Disputes Program. In addition, Steve serves as Counsel to Schoke Jewish Family Service of Fairfield County, where he previously served on the Board of Directors, and from 2011 through 2015, he served as Program Chair of the Raymond E. Baldwin chapter of the American Inns of Court, an organization dedicated to the education and training of trial attorneys. When he is not working or volunteering his time as a lawyer, Steve can be heard playing one or more saxophones, clarinets and flutes in various community productions and at senior residences.
In 2024, Steve received The Ferguson Award at “A Novel Affair,” the library’s signature benefit, for his longstanding service to the library and the Stamford community.
Steve has been recognized by his peers for inclusion in the publication The Best Lawyers in America® for his work in representing both management and individuals in the field of Employment Law. In the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers®, Steve was named “Lawyer of the Year” as a result of receiving the highest overall peer feedback for the category of “Employment Law – Management” in the Stamford area. In 2023 and 2024, Steve was named to the Top 50 “Best of the Best” Connecticut Super Lawyers as a result of receiving one of the highest point totals in the Super Lawyers peer nomination, review and research process. Since 2009, Steve has been selected to Connecticut and New England Super Lawyers in the fields of Employment & Labor Law, Business Litigation, and General Litigation. He has also been listed in Super Lawyers Business Edition and Corporate Counsel Edition in the fields of Employment and Labor, and has been recognized as one of the area’s “Top Lawyers” in Greenwich Magazine, Stamford Magazine, and Connecticut Magazine. Steve is also AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. In 2016, he was elected a James W. Cooper Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation. In 2020, Steve was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a global honorary society of lawyers, judges, law faculty and legal scholars, whose membership is limited to one percent of the lawyers admitted to practice in the United States. In 2017, Steve was selected for inclusion in Marquis’ Who’s Who in American Law.
Steve is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.
Practice Areas
Education
- New York University School of Law, Juris Doctorate, 1989
- Moot Court Advocacy Award
- Tufts University, Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, 1986
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Psi Chi National Honor Society
- Tufts Jazz Ensemble
Bar and Court Admissions
- Connecticut, 1989
- New York, 1990
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Tax Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- United States Court of Federal Claims
- United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Professional Awards
- AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Connecticut Super Lawyers, 2009 – 2024
- Top 50: Connecticut Super Lawyers, 2023 – 2024
- Best Lawyers® 2020 Employment Law – Management “Lawyer of the Year” in Stamford
- The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law – Individuals, 2018 – 2024
- The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law – Management, 2018 – 2024
- Marquis’ Who’s Who in American Law
Professional Associations
- Connecticut Bar Association
- Connecticut Bar Foundation
- James W. Cooper Fellow
- Stamford Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
- American Inns of Court
- Connecticut Employment Lawyers Association
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Raymond E. Baldwin Chapter of the American Inns of Court
- Program Chair
Publications
- “Today’s Business: Here’s what to know about Connecticut’s expanded telemarketing laws,” September 2024
- Attorney Steven Frederick discusses noncompete agreements, WICC 600 AM, May 2024
- “DraftKings Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Ex-Employee in Noncompete Lawsuit,” Connecticut Law Tribune, May 2024
- “Today’s Business: New laws employers must grapple with in 2022,” July 2022
- “Noncompete agreements: Are their days numbered?,” Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals, August 2021
- Attorney Steven Frederick discusses the FTC’s attempt to ban non-competition agreements on a federal level, WICC, August 2021
- Attorney Steven Frederick discusses employment law and Covid-19, WTIC-AM, July 2020
- Attorney Steven Frederick discusses businesses reopening, News12, May 2020
- “Opinion: Balancing reopening with employment laws,” May 2020
Speaking Engagements
- The Practice of Law, New York University School of Law Finding Your Professional Niche Program, 2012
- Child Welfare Litigation, Columbia Law School Public Interest Law Program, 2009
- Employment Considerations for Senior Executives in Transition, The Executive Forum, 2007
- The Legal Field, University of Connecticut PALS Program, 2007
- Ethical Issues in Employment Litigation, American Bar Association Program on Equal Employment Opportunity Basics, 2001
- Constitutional Law, SMA Civil Rights Program, 1994 and 1999
Community Involvement
- The Ferguson Library, Board of Trustees
- Member, 2013 – 2024
- Vice-Chairman, 2017
- Chairman, 2018
- Ferguson Library Foundation, Board of Trustees
- Member, 2018 – 2024
- Chairman, 2023 – 2024
- Stamford Chamber of Commerce
- Chairman of the Board of Directors, 2004 – 2006
- Vice-Chairman
- Executive Committee
- Board of Directors
- Education Committee, Former Chairman and Vice-Chairman
- Senior Employment Service, Inc., Chairman of the Advisory Committee
- Stamford Chamber of Commerce
- Chairman of the Board, 2004 – 2006
- Chairman of the Education Committee
- Stamford Public Education Foundation, Board of Directors, 2005 – 2013
- Citizen Advisory Board to the Trustees of the Ferguson Library, 2006 – 2013
- Connecticut Bar Association’s Resolution of Legal Fee Disputes Program, Arbitrator, 2012 – present
- Jewish Family Service of Stamford, Inc.
- Executive Committee, 2002
- Counsel, 2002 – present
- Board of Directors, 1999-2006