PERSON: Peter Stris

Stris & Maher, LLP

Attorney, Founding Partner

Peter K. Stris is one of the most prominent business litigators of his generation. As Chambers USA noted in their latest annual guide to American lawyers and law firms: Mr. Stris is “a really smart strategist” and a “polished advocate” with “excellent oratory skills” whose clients include “a range of plaintiffs, governmental institutions and corporate entities.” In 2014, Reuters named Mr. Stris one of the nation’s 66 most influential Supreme Court lawyers. The Echo Chamber, A Small Group of Lawyers and Its Outsized Influence at the U.S. Supreme Court, Reuters (December 2014). He was the youngest oralist on that list.

Under Mr. Stris’s leadership, Stris & Maher LLP has developed a national reputation for successfully navigating high-profile and high-stakes business disputes. In the words of the National Law Journal: “Impressively, Stris has managed to win even when conventional wisdom held that he barely had a shot.” 2016 Appellate Hot List, National Law Journal (December 2016).

In addition to seven arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Stris has briefed and argued significant business appeals before nearly every federal circuit and several state courts. He also frequently serves as lead trial counsel (for both plaintiffs and defendants) in a wide range of business disputes throughout the country.

Mr. Stris and his practice are regularly profiled in the media. Prominent examples include: Sophisticated Work: Close-knit Lawyers at LA Firm Stris & Maher Seeking to Grow with Big Cases and High Stakes, Daily Journal (July 2017); California Attorney of the Year, Reexamining the Federal Employee Retirement Law, Daily Journal (March 2017); Top 20 Boutique Law Firms in California: Stris & Maher, Daily Journal (October 2016); Three Supreme Court Insiders From Outside the Beltway, National Law Journal (July 2016); Stris Argues ERISA and Other Cases Before High Court, Bloomberg BNA (November 2015); LA Boutique Building a Reputation Before the High Court, National Law Journal (July 2015).

Mr. Stris received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where, together with Elizabeth Brannen, he won the National Debating Championship, defeating Brendan Maher and his Stanford University partner in the final round.

— strismaher.com