LOS ANGELES- Liebert Cassidy Whitmore (LCW) is pleased to announce that attorneys Amy Brandt, Stephanie J. Lowe, Alysha Stein-Manes, Casey Williams and Alexander Volberding have been named to the 2026 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America list. Brandt was recognized for her excellence in Litigation – Labor and Employment, Lowe for her knowledge in Labor and Employment – Management, Stein-Manes for her expertise in Education Law, Municipal Law, and Litigation – Labor and Employment, Williams for her exceptional performance in Nonprofit/Charities Law, and Volberding for his stellar performance in Municipal Law and Labor and Employment Law – Management. This recognition marks Stein-Manes’ sixth, Brandt’s fourth, and Volberding’s third consecutive year receiving this distinction.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers recognitions are compiled based on an exhaustive Purely Peer Review® evaluation. More than 184,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received more than 25.8 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world.
Inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America is determined solely through a comprehensive peer-review survey. This year, over 31 million evaluations were analyzed, including a record-breaking 4.8 million new responses. Our commitment to a purely peer-based process reflects our belief that the top lawyers are best positioned to recognize excellence among their peers.
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore congratulates Amy, Stephanie, Alysha, Casey and Alex on this well-deserved honor!
About Amy Brandt
Partner Amy Brandt provides advice and counsel to clients in all matters pertaining to education, labor, and employment law. She works closely with community college and school district boards and administrators on various issues such as investigations, employee discipline, civil rights issues, student discipline, leaves, community partnerships, layoffs and workforce reductions. Amy also serves as lead negotiator for clients at the bargaining table. She has experience drafting and reviewing CBAs and MOUs, as well as managing bargaining unit grievances, including responses, mediations, arbitrations, and settlements.
Amy is passionate about special education and supports schools in these matters, including advising and representing districts at IEP meetings, assessment and eligibility issues, manifestation determinations, and in due process hearings. Additionally, Amy is on the board of the California Council of School Attorneys.
About Stephanie J. Lowe
Senior Counsel Stephanie J. Lowe provides representation and legal counsel to public entities and educational institutions in matters pertaining to employment law, labor law, and education. Stephanie’s practice focuses on advising clients on employee benefits, Affordable Care Act compliance, and Section 125 cafeteria plan administration. This includes legal counsel on the ACA’s employer shared responsibility provisions, affordability calculations, health flex contributions, cash-in-lieu, penalties, reporting and notice requirements, and non-discrimination provisions. Stephanie represents public entities in challenging IRS penalties related to health benefits. She provides clients with assistance revising Section 125 plan documents, policies, and procedures related to benefits. She advises on collective bargaining language and changes needed to existing eligibility provisions in line with the ACA.
Stephanie also has extensive experience advising employers throughout the state on job-protected leaves such as California’s Paid Sick Leave, Family and Medical Leave Act, and California Family Rights Act. Stephanie regularly advises employers each step of the way during the disability interactive process. Stephanie also has an extensive wage and hour practice and litigates wage and hour disputes.
About Alysha Stein-Manes
Partner Alysha Stein-Manes primarily represents Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s educational institution clients in a range of employment, labor, and student matters, regularly working with governing boards on conducting CEO evaluations and contract negotiations, as well as advising and training boards on ethics, Brown Act, and other governance issues. In addition to her renowned counsel, Alysha also works as a litigator, representing public agencies and nonprofit educational institutions at all levels of the litigation process in state and federal court.
Alysha is also a leader in the retirement and health arenas, providing counsel to LCW’s clients about the Affordable Care Act and disability interactive process, and to LCW’s public agency clients in the areas of the post-retirement work restrictions, PEPRA compliance, and reporting employee compensation to CalSTRS and CalPERS. Alysha serves on the Executive Committees for LCW’s Public Education Practice Group and Retirement, Benefits, and Disability Practice Group.
About Casey Williams
Partner Casey Williams is the Chair of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s Nonprofit Practice Group and a seasoned nonprofit business and employment attorney based in the firm’s San Francisco office. She helps mission-driven organizations navigate corporate governance, compliance, and employment matters, guiding them through complex legal and organizational challenges.
Casey works with a wide range of nonprofits, including schools, after-school providers, youth advocacy groups, community clinics, social service providers, trade associations, affordable housing providers, fiscal sponsors, arts organizations, museums, and college foundations. She advises on corporate formations, tax-exemption applications, bylaw reviews and board policies, governance best practices and disputes, contracts, mergers, affiliations, and dissolutions. Her expertise includes nonprofit-specific legal issues such as board governance, volunteer management, tax-exemption matters, and crisis management.
About Alexander Volberding
Partner Alex Volberding has spent much of his career working for and on behalf of public agencies in matters pertaining to labor law and labor relations. Alex is well-versed in bargaining strategy and tactics and negotiates collective bargaining agreements on behalf of public agency clients. When he is not bargaining, Alex advises and counsels public agency clients on a wide range of labor relations matters from meet and confer obligations to factfindings to employee strikes. Alex regularly appears at and advocates for clients in administrative proceedings and in arbitrations.
As a leader in the firm’s workplace health and safety practice, Volberding led a team of attorneys that developed resources and training materials that have helped hundreds of firm clients come into compliance with new obligations related to the prevention of workplace violence. Volberding and his team have provided assistance to some of the largest public employers in the state and trained tens of thousands of employees on their employer’s plan to prevent workplace violence. Alex also serves a lead role in the firm’s workplace health and safety work on the firm’s COVID-19 Strike Team. Alex monitors federal and state laws and public health guidance, develops policies and practices that comply with relevant law, advises and counsels clients on such matters, and defends clients against alleged statutory and regulatory violations.
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With offices throughout California, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore serves as trusted advisors to public agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Our legal experts provide client focused services in litigation, labor relations, negotiations, employment, business, and construction. LCW delivers vital web-based and live training to clients, proactively helping them avoid problems. Leveraging decades of expertise, we also conduct impartial workplace investigations for California’s private sector employers. Visit www.lcwlegal.com for more information.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Cynthia Weldon
Director of Marketing & Training
310.981.2055
cweldon@lcwlegal.com