About Stephen
Stephen Shepard built a career that moves between courtrooms and classrooms. He studied political science early on, earning an A.A. from Golden West College in 1983 and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1985. At UCLA he majored in political science and concentrated in ancient Greek philosophy. He completed his legal education at Western State University College of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1990.
He began practicing law in the early 1990s. His first recorded post was with the Orange County Public Defender in 1990. That role placed him at the front lines of criminal defense work and gave him experience in trial practice and client advocacy. By 1991 he was working in private practice as a lawyer, a shift that broadened the range of matters he handled.
In 2008 he took on the title of General Counsel at the Law Offices of Stephen Shepard, APC. That position reflects a return to a firm structure bearing his name and suggests a steadying of his practice into a business he leads. Over the years he has balanced client work with internal firm responsibilities, handling both litigation tasks and the operational decisions that come with running a small legal office.
Teaching entered his career in 2011 when he joined Trinity Law School as an adjunct professor. He has been listed as faculty there and has combined academic duties with active legal practice. The classroom work complements the practical side of his career. It also puts him in contact with a new generation of law students and a regular flow of legal discussion outside of his caseload.
Shepard is a member of the California State Bar and practices in California. His background—public defense, private practice, firm leadership and part-time teaching—reflects a professional life spent largely in the courtroom and in legal education. He has spent decades working in the state and remains active in both practice and instruction.
He currently practices law in California as General Counsel at the Law Offices of Stephen Shepard, APC and also teaches as an adjunct professor at Trinity Law School.
