Susan H. Stern, Esq.

Ms. Stern has over 30 years' experience as an employment and commercial litigator and began mediating over a dozen years ago. Ms. Stern presently concentrates her practice as a Mediator in state and federal courts throughout Florida and the United States, providing mediation services for voluntary and court ordered mediations, as well as pre-suit disputes. Ms. Stern also is available for single arbitrator proceedings and panel arbitrations. She brings to each dispute her broad experience as a successful litigator representing both plaintiffs and defendants, as well as her extensive training as a Florida Supreme Court certified civil and appellate mediator.  Ms. Stern draws on an innate ability to quickly build a rapport with attorneys and their clients, a rapid grasp of even the most complex issues, both legal and factual, her acute understanding of the interpersonal dynamics of the situation, and her depth of legal knowledge to swiftly and effectively resolve cases. Her experience, hard work and creativity have resulted in the successful resolution of innumerable difficult cases, both large and small, and she is committed to helping parties maximize the mediation experience and obtain a negotiated resolution.   She previously concentrated her practice in the areas of Labor and Employment Litigation, Commercial Litigation and ERISA litigation. 

Ms. Stern was Of Counsel to the Shavitz Law Group, P.A. from 2011-2017, where she represented plaintiffs in nationwide class and collective actions, recovering millions of dollars in unpaid overtime.  Prior to that she founded the firm of Susan H. Stern, P.A. where she focused her practice on mediation as well as representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a myriad of employment and commercial claims.  Earlier in her career she was Of Counsel to Jackson Lewis in Miami, Florida and an Associate at Proskauer Rose in Boca Raton, Florida, where she represented employers exclusively, defending employment and ERISA claims.  Prior to that, Ms. Stern was a commercial litigation associate in Boca Raton.    Thus, Ms. Stern has extensive experience in labor and employment litigation, representing both employees and management in federal and state courts throughout Florida and the nation, as well as before various administrative agencies.

She has far-reaching experience litigating discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage and hour claims under a variety of statutes including Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, Federal and Florida civil rights laws, the FLSA, and state and federal whistleblower laws. Ms. Stern's litigation experience includes tort (fraud, defamation, negligence, tortious interference) and contract claims arising from the termination of employment relationships, stock option agreements, non-compete agreements, severance agreements, and the hiring, training and supervision of employees.               

Ms. Stern also has wide-ranging experience  in commercial litigation, at both the trial and appellate levels, in areas including complex commercial litigation, construction defects, mechanics liens, intellectual property, unfair trade practices, civil RICO, residential and commercial landlord/tenant, real estate disputes, foreclosure actions, insurance claims, contract disputes, business torts, products liability and probate litigation. She has arbitrated a number of claims before the NASD (now FINRA). Ms. Stern also has experience litigating benefits claims under ERISA and state insurance laws.  Ms. Stern has lectured extensively,  presenting seminars on various litigation, employment law and mediation related topics.   

Admissions:  Florida Bar; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida;  U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida;  U.S. District Court, Colorado; U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.    

Certifications:  Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator, Circuit Civil and Appellate; AV-Preeminent rated by Martindale Hubble.   

Memberships:  Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Florida Bar, Labor and Employment Section of the Florida Bar,  Prior Co-chair of the South Palm Beach County Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Committee. 

Education:  Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., cum laude, 1990; Hofstra University, B.A., Economics, cum laude, 1987.