Michael D. Seplow

Michael D. Seplow is a partner at Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes, LLP where his practice focuses on civil rights and employment litigation. Mr. Seplow has been litigating police misconduct cases since 1992 and has been actively involved in several successful civil rights cases, including a case in which a mentally disabled Los Angeles resident was wrongfully imprisoned in New York State for two years, which resulted in a published decision (Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668 (9th Cir. 2001)) and a $3.75 million settlement.

Mr. Seplow is a 1990 graduate of UCLA School of Law and received his A.B Degree from Duke University in 1985. He has taught as an adjunct professor at UC Irvine School of Law from 2014-2017, teaching civil rights litigation (2014-2017) and is presently teaching an appellate litigation clinic..

Mr. Seplow has been named as a "Super Lawyer" from 2004-2022 by Los Angeles Magazine. For his work on the appeal before the California Supreme Court in the case of B.B v. County of Los Angeles, 10 Cal. 5th 1 (2020) Mr. Seplow (as well as his co-counsel) received the California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) Award for 2020 by the Los Angeles Daily Journal in March 2021 and the 2021 Streetfighter of the Year Award by the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Mr. Seplow is a member of various professional organizations, including the National Police Accountability Project (NPAP), the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Past Case Highlights:

Scott v. County of Los Angeles , represented Estate of Donald Scott in federal civil rights lawsuit against law enforcement officials from the County of Los Angeles and federal government which resulted in a $5 million settlement paid to the plaintiffs for death of Malibu rancher killed during police raid.

Sanders v. New York State Department of Correctional Services, County of Los Angeles et al., represented mentally disabled Los Angeles resident who was wrongfully imprisoned for over two years in New York State prison system. Case resulted in settlements of over $3.5 million against New York State and County of Los Angeles and published Ninth Circuit opinion.

Jenkins v. Archdiocese of Los Angeles Education and Welfare Corporation et al. Won summary judgment on behalf of blind school teacher in case under Americans With Disabilities Act where school failed to renew Plaintiff's contract after 14 years of exemplary service. The District Court held that Defendants' course of action is a disturbing example of an employer's blatant failure to engage in the interactive process envisioned by the ADA.

Olu Orange v. Count of Orange. Won verdict in favor of a former deputy public defender where a federal jury determined that Plaintiff was wrongfully terminated by the Orange County Public Defender's Office in violation of his First Amendment rights.

Wasserman v. The Pampered Chef et al. Represented 57 year old woman in a products liability action against manufacturer and distributor of ceramic bake pan who cut her finger and developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) (a debilitating nerve disorder) when the pan broke the first time it was used. Case resulted in $2.6 million settlement on behalf of Plaintiff.

Garcia v. City of Los Angeles, represented family who alleged civil rights were violated by Park Rangers Case resulted in settlement of $335,000 and pledge to improve training for Park Rangers to conform to statewide peace officer standards.

Waters v AT&T Services, Inc.   Served as lead co-counsel in class action settlement of wage and hour case alleging that IT workers were mis-classified.  Case settled for $17,000,000, with class members each receiving an average of approximately $20,000 in proceeds

Rauda-Puebla v. City of Los Angeles  Obtained jury verdict finding that LAPD detectives acted with deliberate indifference to the civil rights of a 16 year old girl who was murdered by gang members after the  detectives  falsely informed a murder suspect that the girl  their had identified him in a photo line up.

Publications:

Punishing Pundits: People v. Dyleski and the Gag Order as Prior Restraint in High-Profile Cases LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES LAW REVIEW 2007[Vol. 39:1195] (co-authored with Paul Hoffman)