OUR  ATTORNEYS

Steven M. Oxenhandler

Steven M. Oxenhandler Shareholder

(318) 445-6471
(866) 302-6823 Toll Free
(318) 445-6476

Steven M. Oxenhandler ("Steve") joined Gold Weems in 2002 and focuses his practice on employment, civil rights, and public sector defense litigation, including public sector civil service litigation and class/collective action defense.

Steve is the senior litigator, member of the Firm's Board of Directors, and team leader in the firm’s successful employment, civil rights, and public sector litigation practice areas.

Representative Matters
  • Successfully litigated and represented private and public employers in a wide range of employment discrimination claims, including, but not limited to, the following: age, race, national origin, sexual harassment, disability, family and medical leave, and gender claims under Title VII, the ADEA, ADA, FMLA, and parallel state law claims.
  • Successfully litigated and represented private and public employers in civil rights cases, including, but not limited to, the following: excessive force, false arrest, 1st Amendment speech and association, 14th Amendment procedural and substantive due process, name clearing, and illegal search and/or seizure.
  • Argued successfully numerous times before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, and the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
  • Successfully litigated and represented public employers in civil service matters and appeals, including cases before the public employers’ Police and Fire Civil Service Boards.
  • Successfully defended and litigated road hazard/motor vehicle accident cases.
  • Argued successfully numerous times before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, and the Louisiana Supreme Court.
  • Successfully litigated and represented public employers in civil service matters and appeals, including cases before the public employers' Police and Fire Civil Service Boards.
  • Successfully litigated and represented private and public employers in complex collective and class action wage and hour claims.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Recognitions
  • Order of the Coif
  • University of Miami Law Review
    • Senior Notes and Comments Editor (2000 - 2001)
    • Member (1999 - 2001)
  • Paratrooper, Battalion 890, Israel Defense Forces (1977-1981)
Professional and Civic Activities
  • Coach and mentor to Peabody Magnet High School Mock Trial Team for four (4) years.
  • Coached little league baseball and football.
  • Assisted in building homes for senior citizens.
News
10/10/23 La. Supreme Court grants Writ Application; Rules in favor of Gold Weems Civil Rights Litigation Team
8/28/23 Gold Weems Employment Litigation Team Wins Whistleblower Case and Attorneys’ Fees
 
7/29/22 Civil Rights Defense Team Wins ADA Case for State of Louisiana
4/20/22 Gold Weems Civil Rights Defense Team Wins Defamation Case
 
7/14/21 U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment and Attorneys’ Fees in Favor of MARTCO in an FMLA and Title VII case
3/22/21 Gold Weems Employment Law Team Obtains Dismissal of Discrimination Suit Against Hospital
1/12/21 Gold Weems Civil Rights Defense Team Wins Federal Court Deliberate Indifference and Negligence Lawsuit
 
8/19/20
 		 Gold Weems Lawyers Obtain Important Legal Victory for Louisiana College; U.S. Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of All Claims By Fired President Aguillard
4/7/20
 		 Gold Weems Civil Rights Team Gets Attorney Fees for Natchitoches Parish Following Dismissal of Race Discrimination Case
3/4/20
 		 Gold Weems Attorneys Win “Service Dog” Federal ADA/Civil Rights Case for City of Alexandria
2/3/20
 		 Gold Weems Workers’ Compensation Team Wins at Trial on behalf of the City of Natchitoches
 
7/15/19 Civil Rights Defense Litigation Group Prevails on Summary Judgment
 
1/9/18 Firm Employment Lawyers Record Significant Victory for Municipal Employer
1/2/18 Gold Weems Civil Rights Defense Team Succeeds at the Fifth Circuit
 
5/15/17 Employment Defense Group Successful in Defense of College
 
12/07/16 Gold Weems Employment Lawyers Prevail in OSHA Case
11/08/16 Oxenhandler, Crenshaw Obtain Civil Rights Summary Claims Dismissal
 
12/30/14 Firm Employment Law Litigators Win Third Affirmance from U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal
11/19/14
 		 U.S. Fifth Circuit Affirms Judgment Obtained by Firm Employment Law Litigators In Significant Drug Testing Case
8/30/14 Lawson Spearheads Win in U.S. 5th Circuit in Significant Drug Testing Case
8/30/14 Oxenhandler and O'Shee Win 5th Circuit Affirmance in Retaliatory Discharge Case
8/12/14 Gold Weems Lawyers Obtain Defense Verdict from Avoyelles Jury
 
10/17/13 Oxenhandler/O'Shee Prevail In Class Action Certification Dispute
 
3/07/09 Poole and Oxenhandler coach Peabody High School's Mock Trial Team to victory
1/07/09 Drell and Oxenhandler are Named as Shareholders 
Publications and Presentations
  • "Taxicab Licenses: In Search of a Fifth Amendment, Compensable Property Interest," 27 Transp. Law Journal 113 (2000).
  • "The Lady Doth Protest Too Much Methinks: The Use of Figurative Language From Shakespeare’s Hamlet in American Case Law," 23 Hamline Law Review 370 (2000).
  • Presented numerous seminars and classes in the areas of employment law and civil rights defense.
Past Experience
Steve’s varied life and work experiences before entering the practice helped him develop and refine the skills and abilities necessary to succeed as a lawyer.  His background includes cotton and wheat farming and irrigation, military service as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, work as a police officer, and leading a number of large governmental agencies.

Areas of Practice

Clerkships

Judge F. A. Little, Jr., U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana

Education

  • University of Miami, J.D., magna cum laude, 2001
  • Florida Atlantic University, M.P.A., magna cum laude, 1985
  • University of Cincinnati, B.S., cum laude, 1977

Bar and Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of Louisiana
  • United States District Courts
    • Eastern District of Louisiana
    • Middle District of Louisiana
    • Western District of Louisiana
  • United States Court of Appeals
    • Fifth Circuit
  • United States Supreme Court