Stefan Caris Love

Biography

Stefan Caris Love’s unique background helps him win appeals for his clients.

At GMSR, Stefan has briefed appeals to the California Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and California Supreme Court on subjects ranging from long-term lease contracts to insurance coverage of pandemic-related losses to loan forgery.  In June 2022—just three years after graduating law school—Stefan argued a case before the California Supreme Court.  The Court appointed Stefan and GMSR partner Jeff Raskin to brief and argue this immigration case pro bono; in the case’s unusual posture, no party was adverse to the petition for review, so to improve its decisionmaking, the Court brought in Stefan and Jeff to articulate the best arguments in favor of affirmance.

Before joining GMSR, Stefan clerked for Judge Paul J. Watford at the Ninth Circuit.  As a clerk, he honed his writing skills and saw up close how judges decide cases.  His writing about the law has appeared in California Litigation, Law360, The Business Lawyer, UCLA Law Review, and UCLA’s Journal of Law and Technology.  He graduated first in his class from the UCLA School of Law.

But before he became a lawyer, Stefan was a professor of music theory, most recently on a tenure track at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Teaching music theory has proven to be apt preparation for appellate advocacy, as both require incisive analysis of difficult concepts.  Indeed, Stefan has yet to encounter a legal issue more daunting than music theory at its most arcane.

Outside of work, Stefan enjoys playing the piano, cooking, and spending time with his wife and two sons.