- California
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez represents consumers, employees and whistleblowers who have been harmed by corporate misconduct. He has litigated a wide variety of cases, including automotive class actions, environmental mass torts, pharmaceutical cases, sexual abuse litigation, financial negligence cases, employment class actions, and mass arbitrations. For years, Steve has co-led large teams of lawyers and paralegals representing thousands of renters, homeowners and business owners affected by devastating California wildfires. He is a vital member of the team that helped secure over $1 billion from PG&E on behalf of survivors of the Camp Fire and North Bay Fires.
Most impressive to me was Steve’s attitude and always being available when I needed to ask a question, whether it was big or small.
- Denise G.
admissions−
awards+
Top 40 Under 40, Daily Journal, 2025
Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, Lawdragon, 2023-2025
Rising Star, Northern California Super Lawyers, 2017-2025
education+
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2014
- B.A., University of Virginia, 2008
memberships+
- American Association for Justice
- Consumer Attorneys of California, Former Board Member
Presentations & Articles+
California Fires Litigation
Fourth Annual Shades of Mass Conference
September 2025
Leadership Roles
Courts have appointed Steve to leadership roles in a number of high impact cases. He currently serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the consolidated Social Media Addiction Lawsuits in California state court, representing hundreds of children and families alleging that they have been harmed by addiction to TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media platforms. Steve also serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in litigation related to the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, representing individual and family wildfire survivors against the utility Southern California Edison. Previously, Steve was appointed as class action litigation on behalf of investors who lost money during a platform outage on the Robinhood Trading Platform, which resulted in a $9.9 million settlement.
Awards and Recognition
In 2025, the Daily Journal named Steve to its Top 40 Under 40 list, a recognition of the top lawyers under the age of 40 in California. From 2023 to 2025, Steve has been named to Lawdragon’s list for 500 X – The Next Generation, which highlights promising young attorneys who have already handled matters with “significant impact” as future leaders of the legal profession.
Steve is a 2014 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he was a Publishing Editor for the California Law Review and an Editor for the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law. He was also a member of the La Raza Law Students Association and the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center’s Berkeley Workers’ Rights Clinic.
Prior to law school, Mr. Lopez performed research for a consulting firm dedicated to improving justice programs. He received his B.A. in economics and international relations from the University of Virginia in 2008.
Litigation Highlights
In re PG&E Corp. (2017 North Bay Fire and 2018 Camp Fire Lawsuits)
Steve co-led a team from Gibbs Mura and co-counsel representing over 6,000 wildfire survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, and the 2017 North Bay Fires across Northern California. The lawsuits against PG&E alleged that electrical equipment and power lines owned and operated by the utility ignited the wildfires that raged across Northern California. The team secured over $1 billion in compensation on behalf of their clients.
In re Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation
Steve is court-appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the JCCP consolidation of lawsuits against Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. He plays an integral role in working with data experts, motion practice, and plaintiff discovery. Steve coordinates client outreach and case development on behalf of hundreds of children, teens, and their families who allege that these social media companies purposely designed their platforms to be defective and dangerous, with addictive algorithms and features that may cause a wide variety of harms including depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.
Cadena v. American Honda Motor Co.
Represents hundreds of thousands of Honda CR-V and Honda Accord purchasers in litigation alleging that the automatic emergency braking system in these vehicles is defective and may cause the car to suddenly brake without warning. Steve argued class certification, summary judgment, and related Daubert motions, and oversees discovery and expert work. In June 2024, the Court certified eight classes of consumers.
Individual Claimants v. Amazon.com, Inc.
Represents over 32,000 Amazon Flex drivers in mass arbitration, alleging that Amazon has misclassified them as independent contractors and underpaid them as a result. Drivers’ claims include violations of overtime law, failure to pay for rest and meal breaks, and failure reimburse business-related expenses.
Southern California Gas Leak Cases
Represented over 900 residents around the Los Angeles suburb of Porter Ranch who were affected by the Aliso Canyon well rupture and ensuing gas leak, the largest methane leak in U.S. history. Plaintiffs were displaced from their homes, suffered illnesses and injuries, sustained property value losses, or lost business due to the leak. Steve and the team worked closely with the firm’s clients for over eight years to submit damages during the discovery process, ultimately achieving over $25 million in settlement payments.
O’Brien v. POPSUGAR
Steve represented a certified class of internet influencers who alleged that PopSugar had misappropriated their identities and likenesses to deprive them of affiliate link profits in a case involving copyright issues. Steve and the team successfully won a motion to remand after defendants attempted to assert that the copyright claims meant plaintiffs’ state law claims for damages were preempted. The litigation settled for over $2 million.
Glenn v. Hyundai Motor America
Steve represented Hyundai drivers alleging that their vehicles were defective because their sunroofs had a propensity to spontaneously shatter. Steve led discovery efforts and worked on the expert discovery team. The team achieved a $30+ million class action settlement, which the court praised as “an extraordinarily creative solution” for “an extraordinarily complex case.”