California license and practice

Steven E. Ernest is admitted to practice law in California and is a member of the State Bar of California in good standing (State Bar of California #183967). Verify the current individual Bar record at apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/183967 before hiring an attorney.

Steven E. Ernest is a Partner and Litigation Department Head at Fortra Law in Irvine. He earned his bachelor’s degree from The American University in 1993 and his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, in 1996. He is admitted to the State Bar of California, and also in Oregon, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Illinois and Indiana, and is a member of the Bar of the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Southern, Northern and Eastern Districts of California. His areas of practice are litigation, bankruptcy, replevin, eviction and unlawful detainer, and collections. He has extensive first-chair, lead trial, arbitration and mediation experience in commercial litigation, secured transactions and insolvency, including recovery of collateral, compelling performance of contractual obligations, breach-of-warranty, Credit Reporting Act and collection-practices litigation, prejudgment remedies such as writs of possession, and creditors’ rights enforcement in California, including more than 7,000 replevin cases. He has defended a major luxury automaker in antitrust, warranty and fraud cases, served as regional counsel to nationwide lenders, and given seminars to Mercedes-Benz Financial, AmeriCredit Financial Services, Chrysler Financial and Ford Motor Credit on collection practices. He has served as a judicial extern to the Hon. James N. Barr of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and as a legislative assistant to Congressman Edward R. Royce.

Matters this legal field covers

Litigation may cover commercial litigation, secured transactions and insolvency, replevin, eviction and unlawful detainer, bankruptcy and collections.

Questions to ask

Ask which type of litigation matter the lawyer handles, the relevant California county, potential filing deadlines, and the scope of legal fees. Confirm whether the firm can handle your location, matter type and timing.

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