Areas of Practice include:

Environmental
Insurance
Litigation
Personal Injury
Professional Liability

Stephen T. Helmer, Chair of the Firm's Executive Committee and Chair of the Litigation Department, joined Mackenzie Hughes in 1982 and has been a partner since 1989. He has extensive trial experience and has litigated appeals at every level, including in New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals. He also counsels various clients on education, general business, commercial, and management issues. His practice concentrates in civil litigation including commercial disputes, personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice and insurance coverage.

Stephen graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Le Moyne College in 1979 and received his Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School of Union University in 1982. While a student, Stephen was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit College Honor Society) and Pi Gamma Mu (Social Sciences Honor Society.) He was admitted to the New York State and U.S. District Court, Northern and Western Districts of New York in 1983. In 1996 he was admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals, and in 2003 he was admitted to the United States Supreme Court.

Stephen is a member of the Onondaga County, New York State and American Bar Associations. He is a member of the prestigious International Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute as well. In 2007, he was named one of the Best Lawyers of America for Products Liability Litigation, one of the 94 Best Lawyers in Central New York and one of the New York Area's Best Lawyers. Stephen's past and present board memberships include the Le Moyne College Board of Trustees, the Le Moyne College Board of Regents, the Le Moyne College Board of Governors, the Town of Manlius Republican Party Committee, the YMCA of Greater Syracuse, Eastern Branch, the Rosewood Nursing Home, the Fayetteville-Manlius Little League, the Fayetteville-Manlius School District Facilities Committee, and the Immaculate Conception Facilities Expansion Committee and Parish Council. Stephen is a member of the Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of Fame for his achievements in NCAA Division II baseball. During his four years on the team, he made several state and regional all-star teams and played in two Division II College World Series.

Stephen is often called on by the New York State Bar Association and professional groups to lecture on such topics as "Expert Witnesses", "Direct and Cross Examination", "Municipal Liability", "Trial Practice", "Update on the Law", and "Summations." He authored the "New York Supplement" to Basic Civil Litigation by Herbert Feuerhake and served on the Editorial Advisory Board of New York Motor Vehicle Accidents by Gary B. Pillersdorf, John F. Scarzafave and J. Michael Hayes.

For six of his years with Mackenzie Hughes, Stephen was an instructor at University College of Syracuse University, where he taught civil practice to paralegal candidates.

Stephen once surgically donated bone marrow through American Red Cross to a family member with Leukemia. Stephen and his wife Susan received the President's Medallion for charitable work in the community from Catholic Charities in 2005. He and his family participated in the annual Fresh Air Fund program by providing in-home summer vacations for inner-city youths. He also enjoys coaching various youth sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, women's lacrosse and Pop Warner football. Stephen is also an avid reader of political biographies and historical works, and a sports and movie trivia fan.