Class Action Claim Dismissed After RRB Compels Arbitration for Behavioral Health Hospital
Stephen Raucher successfully compelled arbitration of wage-and-hour and PAGA claims brought against a behavioral health hospital despite developing case law challenging the enforceability of the arbitration agreement. The ruling resulted in dismissal of the class action claim, leaving the plaintiff’s individual PAGA claim to proceed in arbitration.
RRB Secures Summary Judgment for Apartment Building Owner in Private Nuisance Case
Stephen Raucher secured summary judgment for the owner of an apartment building sued by a neighbor over filming activities arranged by a tenant. Raucher established that the landlord had no knowledge of or participation in the alleged conduct and that no nuisance existed when the lease began. The court granted summary judgment, eliminating the claims before trial and protecting the client from the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation.
High-Conflict Custody Matter Resolved on Favorable Terms Before Month-Long Trial
Stephanie Blum and the Reuben Raucher & Blum team recently secured a significant result in an exceptionally complex, high-conflict custody matter involving allegations of domestic violence, child abuse findings, a custody evaluation, school and medical witnesses, and an imminent month-long custody trial.
Blum was originally brought into the case by another prominent family law firm to assist in handling the domestic violence component. Following an 18-day DVRO trial, they secured sole legal and sole physical custody for the father over two of the parties’ three children, along with findings that the mother had abused the two boys and a no-visitation order against the mother pending further proceedings.
As the case moved toward a full custody trial, Blum and the RRB team developed an aggressive but highly strategic litigation plan. The team pushed for and obtained a custody evaluation, worked to secure and maintain minor’s counsel, took extensive depositions of teachers, school administrators, therapists, doctors, nannies, and other key witnesses, and prepared expert evidence addressing not only custody, but the practical path forward for the children. The firm’s approach was comprehensive: prepare every aspect of the case for trial while remaining alert to any path that would protect the client and children without prolonging the conflict unnecessarily.
On the eve of trial, after months of intensive preparation and while continuing to take depositions during mediation, Blum and the team secured a favorable settlement that allowed the client to relocate to the East Coast with the two boys while maintaining sole legal and sole physical custody. The result avoided a month-long trial, spared the client substantial additional fees, eliminated the need for days of testimony and deposition exposure, and allowed the children to begin the school year in their new community without the delay or risk of appeal that often follows contested move-away orders.
The result reflects the way Blum and RRB approach family law disputes: with trial readiness, tactical discipline, and a clear understanding that the best outcome is often achieved by preparing as though the case will be tried in full. In a matter marked by extraordinary factual and procedural complexity, Blum and her team used pressure, preparation, and practical judgment to secure a result that advanced the client’s goals and prioritized stability for vulnerable children.
Stephanie Blum Named Among Best Lawyers for 2027
Reuben Raucher & Blum is pleased to announce that partner Stephanie I. Blum has been recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Blum is a Certified Family Law Specialist with more than 25 years of experience representing clients in complex family law matters, including divorce, child custody, domestic violence, and disputes involving significant financial and property issues. She is also frequently called upon to resolve difficult family law matters through mediation and other forms of dispute resolution.
Best Lawyers selections are based on peer review by attorneys recognized in the same practice areas and geographic regions. Blum’s inclusion reflects the strong professional reputation she has developed through decades of sophisticated family law work and client advocacy.
Her 2027 recognition follows a number of recent professional honors, including selection by the Daily Journal as a 2026 Top Family Lawyer and recognition among the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2026 Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Attorneys.
Read the full press release here.
Four Reuben Raucher & Blum Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers for 2027
Reuben Raucher & Blum is pleased to announce that four of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized in the 2027 editions of Southern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
Timothy D. Reuben, Stephen L. Raucher and Stephanie I. Blum were again selected to the Southern California Super Lawyers list, while Trenton E. Hartzler was named to the Southern California Rising Stars list for the third consecutive year.
– Timothy D. Reuben, Business Litigation: Super Lawyers, 2004–2027
– Stephen L. Raucher, Business Litigation: Super Lawyers, 2009–2027
– Stephanie I. Blum, Family Law: Super Lawyers, 2012–2027
– Trenton E. Hartzler, Family Law: Rising Stars, 2025–2027
The continued recognition of Reuben Raucher and Blum, together with Hartzler’s third consecutive Rising Stars selection, reflects the depth of experience and quality of work the firm brings to complex business disputes and family law matters.
Read the full press release here.
Stephanie Blum and Stephen Raucher Named Among Los Angeles’ Leading Litigators and Trial Attorneys
Reuben Raucher & Blum partners Stephanie Blum and Stephen Raucher have been selected for inclusion in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2026 Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Attorneys special publication.
The annual publication recognizes accomplished Los Angeles attorneys whose advocacy, professional achievements, and contributions have made a meaningful impact on the legal profession and the community.
Blum is a Certified Family Law Specialist with more than 25 years of experience representing clients in complex custody disputes, domestic violence proceedings, high net worth divorces, sophisticated financial matters, and post-judgment litigation. The Los Angeles Business Journal described her as “widely recognized as one of California’s leading family law attorneys” and highlighted her ability to manage highly complex and emotionally charged matters.
As head of the firm’s Family Law Department, Blum is known for combining strong courtroom advocacy with practical judgment and a careful understanding of the personal consequences involved in family law disputes.
Raucher represents individuals and businesses in complex business, real estate, employment, partnership, insurance coverage, and other commercial disputes. His work spans sophisticated motion practice, trials, and appeals involving substantial financial and operational consequences.
The publication recognized Raucher for the breadth of his litigation practice, his substantial trial and appellate experience, and his ability to navigate technically complex cases while remaining practical and strategic. His recent work includes significant victories in business, real estate, partnership, and insurance-related disputes.
“Stephanie and Steve exemplify the judgment, preparation, and commitment to clients that have defined our firm for decades,” said Tim Reuben, President of Reuben Raucher & Blum. “They are exceptional advocates who understand that the strongest litigation strategy requires the ability to assess the human and business realities of a dispute, earn a client’s trust, and remain focused on the outcome that will serve the client well beyond the courtroom.”
The selection reflects Blum’s and Raucher’s longstanding commitment to providing thoughtful, strategic, and determined advocacy when clients are facing consequential disputes.
Stephanie Blum Recognized by Los Angeles Business Journal as a 2026 Women of Influence: Attorneys Honoree
Reuben Raucher & Blum is proud to announce that partner Stephanie I. Blum has been selected for inclusion in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2026 Women of Influence: Attorneys special publication, recognizing leading women attorneys making a significant impact on the legal profession and Los Angeles community.
Blum, a Certified Family Law Specialist with more than 25 years of experience, is widely recognized for her work in complex family law matters involving high conflict custody disputes, domestic violence proceedings, and sophisticated financial issues. She serves as Chair of the Family Law Department at Reuben Raucher & Blum and represents clients in matters requiring strategic judgment, strong advocacy, and thoughtful resolution.
The Los Angeles Business Journal highlighted Blum’s recent work in an 18 day domestic violence restraining order trial involving a contested custody dispute over three children. In a rare outcome, the court adopted Blum’s argument that the best interests of the children required a departure from the typical structure in such cases, awarding her client sole legal and physical custody of two of the children and issuing a no visitation order against the opposing party pending further proceedings.
Blum is also known for her ability to resolve difficult family disputes through carefully structured mediation and strategic negotiation when appropriate. Her practice spans a broad range of family law matters, including divorce proceedings involving significant financial disputes, relocation issues, post judgment custody matters, and domestic violence restraining order proceedings.
In addition to her legal practice, Blum has long been active in the Los Angeles legal community through leadership, mentorship, and service. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Family Law Section and previously dedicated significant pro bono time to organizations including the Harriet Buhai Center for Family Law and Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center.
The 2026 Women of Influence: Attorneys publication recognizes women attorneys whose professional accomplishments, leadership, and community involvement have made a meaningful impact across the Los Angeles legal community.
Tim Reuben and Stephanie Blum Named 2026 Legal Visionaries by LA Times
Boutique Los Angeles law firm Reuben Raucher & Blum announced today that Tim Reuben and Stephanie Blum have once again been recognized in the Los Angeles Times Legal Visionaries feature, published in the May 2026 Business Magazine.
The Los Angeles Times says that the attorneys recognized in this year’s Legal Visionaries feature “distinguish themselves not only through skill and results but through an unwavering commitment to their clients, their craft and the communities they serve.” The publication described the honorees as attorneys whose work reflects “a forward-thinking approach to the law.”
Stephanie Blum is recognized for her work handling complex divorce, custody, and family law disputes. A Certified Family Law Specialist with more than 25 years of experience, Blum is widely respected for her strategic handling of high conflict family law matters involving substantial financial issues, domestic violence allegations, and complicated custody disputes.
The Los Angeles Times feature follows Blum’s recent recognition by the Daily Journal as one of California’s Top Family Lawyers for 2026. The publication highlights her work managing highly sensitive custody and domestic violence matters and her ability to guide clients through difficult disputes with precision, judgment, and long term strategic focus.
Tim Reuben is recognized for his decades-long career handling complex business litigation and for his growing mediation practice through Reuben Mediation. A veteran trial lawyer and founder of Reuben Raucher & Blum, Reuben has represented clients in high stakes business, real estate, employment, entertainment, and commercial disputes for more than four decades. Through Reuben Mediation, he now focuses on helping parties resolve complex civil disputes efficiently and strategically, drawing on extensive courtroom and trial experience.
The recognition follows a year of continued visibility for Reuben, including a Daily Journal profile highlighting his mediation practice and national recognition for his debut novel, Tequila, A Story of Success Love & Violence, which recently won the 2026 American Legacy Book Award for Best Legal Thriller.
“We are proud to see both Tim and Stephanie recognized by the Los Angeles Times,” said Stephen Raucher, VP and Director of Reuben Raucher & Blum. “Their practices reflect the depth of experience, judgment, and client commitment that define this firm. Both have built outstanding reputations through decades of thoughtful advocacy and results in extraordinarily challenging matters.”
Reuben Raucher & Blum continues to earn recognition for its work across litigation, mediation, insurance coverage, and family law. Earlier this year, multiple firm attorneys were also recognized in the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
Tim Reuben Featured in Daily Journal for Mediation Practice
Tim Reuben is featured in the Daily Journal, which profiles his work as a Los Angeles mediator and arbitrator and examines the approach he brings to resolving complex disputes.
The article, “For Timothy Reuben, mediation is persuasion — just gentler,” highlights how Reuben applies decades of litigation experience to his neutral practice. A mediator and arbitrator with more than 40 years of experience as a civil trial lawyer, Reuben handles matters involving real estate, construction, business, employment, insurance, entertainment, and probate disputes.
The profile emphasizes Reuben’s focus on helping parties evaluate risk, understand competing positions, and move toward practical resolution. His mediation work is informed by a broad litigation background and a process designed to guide parties toward efficient and durable outcomes.
In addition to mediation, Reuben serves as an arbitrator, where his approach centers on identifying key issues and streamlining proceedings.
The full Daily Journal profile is available here.
Stephen Raucher Recognized by Los Angeles Business Journal in Leaders of Influence: Insurance Issue
Reuben Raucher & Blum is pleased to share that Stephen Raucher has been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal in its Leaders of Influence: Insurance issue, which highlights professionals making a significant impact in the insurance industry across Los Angeles.
Raucher maintains a broad litigation practice with a focus on insurance coverage matters, real estate disputes, and general business litigation. He regularly represents policyholders in disputes involving commercial, property, and professional liability insurance, helping clients navigate complex claims and hold carriers accountable.
His recent work includes securing a defense under a commercial general liability policy after an initial denial by establishing that an abuse of process claim triggered the potential for coverage. He also obtained a full refund of premiums on a cancelled multi million dollar life insurance policy after demonstrating improper notice, and helped secure summary judgment requiring an insurer to defend a catastrophic construction site injury matter, leading to resolution of the underlying claim.
In addition to his client work, Raucher is a recognized voice in insurance law and co-authors the annual Insurance Law update for the California Lawyers Association and presents an annual CLE program for the Beverly Hills Bar Association focused on recent developments in coverage law. His involvement in the Beverly Hills Bar Association also includes a number of leadership roles, including president. He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles. Raucher has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer each year since 2009.
Stephanie Blum Recognized by the Daily Journal as a 2026 Top Family Lawyer
Reuben Raucher & Blum is pleased to share that partner Stephanie I. Blum has been recognized by the Daily Journal as one of California’s Top Family Lawyers for 2026.
The annual feature highlights attorneys across the state whose work is shaping the practice of family law and guiding clients through complex and high stakes matters.
Blum, a Certified Family Law Specialist with more than 25 years of experience, handles a wide range of family law disputes, including high conflict custody litigation, domestic violence restraining order proceedings, and divorce matters involving complex financial issues.
In its profile, the Daily Journal highlighted Blum’s work in several challenging matters, including a contested custody case involving domestic violence allegations that required an extended trial and significant strategic advocacy. The publication also noted her ability to bring difficult disputes to resolution through carefully structured mediation when settlement offers the best path forward for families.
Blum’s work reflects a thoughtful approach to family law that balances strong advocacy with careful judgment in matters that carry profound personal and financial consequences.
Read the full press release here.
Four Reuben Raucher & Blum Attorneys Recognized in 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
Reuben Raucher & Blum is proud to share that four of our attorneys have been recognized in the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
This recognition reflects the depth of our litigation and family law practices and our continued commitment to thoughtful, strategic advocacy in complex disputes.
We are grateful to our clients and colleagues for their trust, and we congratulate Tim, Steve, Stephanie, and Trenton on this well-earned honor.
Read the full press release here.
Stephen Raucher to Present 2025 Insurance Law Update
Stephen Raucher will be presenting for the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section on February 6, 2026.
The program, 2025 Insurance Year in Review: Major California Insurance Coverage Decisions and What’s Ahead in 2026, will examine the most consequential insurance coverage decisions from the past year and what practitioners should be watching as courts and carriers head into 2026.
Stephen’s practice focuses on complex insurance and coverage disputes, and this presentation reflects his ongoing engagement with the issues shaping coverage litigation across California.
Register here.
Divorce Case Turned Around Through Strategic Intervention and Mediated Resolution
Stephanie Blum was retained as the third attorney in a Los Angeles Superior Court family law matter after significant procedural errors by prior counsel resulted in court sanctions and a failed disclosure process. Upon entering the case, Blum quickly reorganized the matter, corrected critical deficiencies, and stabilized the case to protect the client from further penalties. She guided the parties through mediation and resolved complex financial, property, and support disputes that had previously appeared headed toward prolonged litigation. Her focused intervention transformed a mismanaged and high-risk situation into a structured, comprehensive settlement, allowing the client to avoid additional litigation exposure and significant legal expense.
National Foundation Resolves Multi-Claim Employment Dispute Through Early Arbitration
Employee plaintiff brought a wrongful termination suit against RRB’s client, a large national foundation. Plaintiff claimed retaliation, constructive discharge, gender discrimination, age discrimination, hostile work environment and harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violation of whistleblower protections, and negligent supervision and retention. RRB forced plaintiff into arbitration where it settled the matter on a financially expeditious and reasonable basis, avoiding significant cost and risk to defendant.
RRB Secures $5M+ Benefit for Commercial Property Client in Complex Partnership Dispute
RRB successfully represented a joint venturer in a high-stakes partnership dispute involving a commercial property. The client had secured a judgment permitting him to buy out his partners’ joint venture interests based on a 2013 property appraisal. When the partners refused to complete the sale at the appraised price, the client sought an order to force the sale based on the judgment.
However, the trial court declined to enforce the judgment, finding that the price had not been set. Steve Raucher of RRB appealed the decision, arguing that the trial court’s refusal to act was an abuse of discretion. The Court of Appeal agreed and reversed the lower court’s ruling, ordering the sale to proceed—even instructing that the Court itself could sign the transfer documents if necessary.
Back in the trial court, the other partners argued for all sorts of adjustments to the appraisal price in an effort to increase the buyout amount. However, after an evidentiary hearing, the trial court rejected all of those adjustments and ordered the sale to be completed. Due to significant property appreciation during the prolonged litigation, this hard-fought victory delivered a benefit exceeding $5 million to the client.
Tim Reuben on The Spotlight on the Community Show
In a recent episode of Spotlight on the Community Show, Tim Reuben discusses how decades as a trial lawyer shaped both his approach to mediation and his debut novel, Tequila: A Story of Success, Love and Violence.
The conversation touches on judgment under pressure, the role of human behavior in conflict, and why experienced litigators often make effective mediators. Tim also reflects on what drew him to fiction and how storytelling draws on the same instincts that guide high stakes dispute resolution.
A thoughtful listen for anyone interested in the intersection of law, narrative, and persuasion.
Listen to the full episode:
Spotlight on the Community Show
Stephanie Blum Featured in Los Angeles Times’ 2025 Inspirational Women Magazine
Family Law Specialist Stephanie Blum has once again been recognized as a nominee in the Los Angeles Times 2025 Inspirational Women Forum and Leadership Awards and is featured in the Inspirational Women magazine, published this week. This annual publication honors a select group of women whose professional discipline, achievements, and leadership have shaped business and civic life in Southern California.
Read more on this here: https://lnkd.in/ehvU_XkT