Born and raised in Southern California, Steve Estey is a local boy. He graduated from San Diego State University with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. He followed this with a law degree from California Western School of Law in 1992. Steve met Mike Bomberger during law school and the two immediately became friends. Estey & Bomberger was established in 1994, where Steve has focused on personal injury lawsuits with an emphasis on sexual abuse cases. Representing both child and adult victims of sexual abuse is a passion of his.
The rising prevalence of ride-sharing companies has seen Steve represent multiple victims of sexual assault by Uber and Lyft drivers. He has extensive experience in representing victims of sexual abuse at the hands of teachers, coaches, clergy members, foster parents, medical providers and now ride-sharing drivers.
Steve is a dedicated advocate for victims of sexual abuse. He and has taken on and achieved settlements in cases that other Uber and Lyft sexual assault lawyers thought could not be won. He obtained record-setting jury verdicts on behalf of survivors of childhood sexual abuse, including:
- $30 million for a single victim of sexual molestation by a foster parent
- $23 million for a single victim of sexual molestation by teacher
- $15 million for victims of sexual molestation by teacher
- $9 million for victims of sexual molestation by teacher’s aide at a daycare center
Steve has won jury verdicts and settled cases against multiple school districts throughout the State of California, as well as private schools.
Steve is a knowledgeable and trusted expert regarding institutional sexual abuse in schools. He has been featured in numerous news interviews on the topic. For a complete list see:
- ABC 10 News — discussing a school’s computer access leading to child molestation
- ABC 10 News — discussing a private school student molested by her teacher
- Fox 40 News — discussing sexual abuse at a school
Steve is a Board Certified Trial Attorney, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has an AV-Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating from his peers. Steve has received the following awards and recognition:
- Named as a Top Plaintiff Attorney by the Daily Journal (2017)
- Named Trial Attorney of the Year in 2011 and 2013 by Consumer Attorneys of San Diego (CASD) resulting from the large verdicts he obtained for his clients
- Recognized with three Outstanding Trial Lawyer Awards from CASD
- Named a Super Lawyer for eleven consecutive years (2008-2018)
- Included in The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 list since 2010
- Included in The Best Trial Lawyers in America since 2011
Steve believes in giving back to the public by helping fellow lawyers and educating communities throughout the U.S. through the following activities:
- Teaching trial skills to other attorneys
- Lecturing at seminars throughout the country, including:
- The Utah Association for Justice
- The American Association for Justice
- Consumer Attorneys of San Diego
- Consumer Attorneys of California
- Presenting at various conferences:
- Color of Child Welfare Conference – Milwaukee
- National Center for Victims of Crime
- East Los Angeles Women’s Center
- San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment
- Chadwick Center
- Peace Over Violence