Stephen L. Bradford

Stephen Bradford is a partner in the Firm’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices and is co-leader of the Firm’s Charlottesville, Virginia and Washington, D.C. offices. He also co-leads the Firm’s Transactional Law Practice and is a member the Firm’s Executive Committee. 

For several decades, Mr. Bradford has been counseling public and closely-held businesses and their owners domestically and internationally, guiding them from a legal perspective through successful expansion, consolidation, succession, acquisition, sale, and a variety of other personal and business-related transactions. 

Mr. Bradford acts as lead counsel on many merger and acquisition (M&A) deals each year. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his M&A work, including most recently from the Los Angeles Business Journal as a “2026 Leader of Influence: Mergers & Acquisitions” and from Law Dragon as a “2026 Leading Dealmaker in America.” He has also been recognized as a Los Angeles Business Journal “2025 Deal of the Year Finalist” and as a Los Angeles Times “2024 Legal Visionary.” 

Mr. Bradford has co-authored several chapters of U.S.A. Business: The Portable Encyclopedia for Doing Business with the United States, and Mexico Business: The Portable Encyclopedia for Doing Business with Mexico.

Community

Mr. Bradford is active in the community and has held leadership positions supporting service, academic and religious endeavors at institutions such as Brigham Young University, University of Virginia, Claremont Graduate University, Graduate Theological Union, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Admissions & Associations

State Bar of California

State Bar of Nevada

District of Columbia Bar

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce

J. Reuben Clark Law Society

Representative Matters

Representation of a California-based family office in connection with the sales of its ranches and ranch operations – including associated livestock, alternative energy, tourism and other business enterprises. 

Representation of a Mexico-based Canadian public company in acquiring a gold mine operator in California.

Representation of the California-based owner of the nation’s third largest marinas operator in effecting its business combination with the nation’s second largest marina management company.

Representation of a Mexico-based food processor in closing investments allowing it to partner with several of the world’s largest food manufacturers and distributors.

Representation of the California-based consortium of nations and universities designing, building and preparing to operate one of the world’s largest telescopes.

Representation of a California-based operator of the nation’s leading revenue enhancement servicer for public agencies in acquiring key business partners and operations as it expands throughout California and nationwide.

Representation of a California-based produce distributor in effecting its business combination with a nationwide marketing and distribution network.

Representation of a California-based packaging supplier to iconic California-based restaurants and food companies in effecting its business combination with a nationwide packaging supplier.

Representation of a major California-based risk manager in effecting its business combination with a nationwide risk management company.