Joshua M. Stein

Joshua is a first-chair litigator at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and platform litigation. He serves as a key member of the firm’s team litigating AI copyright matters, including cases against Meta and OpenAI, and helped spearhead litigation against Meta for Instagram addiction. He also maintains an active appellate practice and was recently appointed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to represent an immigration client on appeal.

Drawing on significant experience both in-house and in private practice, Joshua transforms complex legal problems into clear, business-focused strategies. He previously served as Director of Litigation and Operations at Clipboard Health, where he managed class actions, investigations, and crisis response, and as in-house litigation counsel at Twitter, where he helped oversee work on the company’s successful certiorari petition in Taamneh v. Twitter before the U.S. Supreme Court. Joshua brings particular strength in disputes at the intersection of technology, copyright, and platform liability, as well as in crisis management and international arbitration.

A dual citizen of the United States and Ecuador and fluent in Spanish, Joshua represents clients in cross-border matters and international forums. His international work includes serving on a team litigating before a human rights tribunal in a landmark case against FIFA seeking equality for women footballers, and participating in a crisis team addressing a diplomatic dispute between sovereigns.

Joshua began his career in academia, teaching U.S. history at Yale, UCLA, CUNY, and The New School after earning a Ph.D. at UCLA, and has published frequently cited works on legal history, criminal justice, and constitutional law.

As hiring partner for the San Francisco office, Joshua also helps recruit and mentor top litigation talent, reflecting the firm’s entrepreneurial culture and commitment to excellence.

Joshua's recent representations include:

• Handling AI copyright actions against Meta and OpenAI

• Bringing litigation against Meta concerning Instagram addiction

• Serving as court-appointed counsel by the Ninth Circuit representing an immigration client on appeal

• Winning an argument before the California Court of Appeal in a key copyright defense case for Warner Bros. related to the film “The Judge”

• Leading Ninth Circuit matters involving post-arbitration litigation for a major entertainment client, a Bivens claim, and a discrimination suit against a major university system

• Defending Giphy against intellectual property claims in a high-impact content dispute involving Giphy, Facebook, Reddit, and others, contributing to a circuit split between the Third and Ninth Circuits

• Serving on the U.S. Supreme Court oral argument preparation team in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com

• Working on trial preparation for a firm client in defense of a New York Martin Act suit brought by the New York Attorney General

• Handling offensive discovery in the landmark trade secrets case Waymo v. Uber

• Providing in-house leadership on class action and crisis matters at Clipboard Health, and platform litigation strategy at Twitter, including the Supreme Court phase of Taamneh v. Twitter

Panelist, The Past, Present, and (Possible) Future of Mass Arbitration, NYC Bar Association (May 2025)

Co-author, Department of Justice Attempts to Eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Private Sector and Schools (February 2025)

Top 10 Pet Peeves for In-House Litigation Counsel, Legal Dive (April 2024)

How to Show the Real Value of Your Litigation Team, Corporate Counsel (February 2024)

Behind closed doors at the 9th Circuit, Daily Journal (2018)

Historians Before the Bench: Friends of the Court, Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities (2013)

Tentative Oral Opinions: Improving Oral Argument Without Spending a Dime, Journal of Appellate Practice and Process (2013)

Privatizing Violence: A Transformation in the Jurisprudence of Assault, Law and History Review (2012)