International law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C
Steptoe LLP formerly known as Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international
law firm headquartered in
Washington, D.C. , with offices in
New York City ,
Los Angeles ,
Chicago ,
Houston ,
San Francisco ,
London ,
Brussels ,
Beijing , and
Hong Kong .
History
Philip Steptoe and
Louis A. Johnson , both graduates of the
University of Virginia School of Law , and John Rixie formed Steptoe, Rixey, & Johnson
[1] in 1913 in
Clarksburg, West Virginia . The following year, Rixey left the firm, which became Steptoe & Johnson.
In 1928, Steptoe & Johnson opened an office in
Charleston, West Virginia , to meet the expanding legislative and regulatory work available in the state capital. Meanwhile, Johnson, a veteran of
World War I , helped found the
American Legion , bringing national prominence to himself and the firm when he served as the organization's commander in the mid-1930s. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Johnson
as United States Assistant Secretary of War in 1937.
[2]
After leaving the Roosevelt administration, Johnson opened the Washington D.C., office of Steptoe & Johnson in 1945. In March 1949, President
Harry S. Truman appointed Johnson as
United States Secretary of Defense , and he served in that job until September 1950.
The firm's Washington office grew quickly under Johnson's influence. Amongst its first clients were members of the growing airline industry, as well as pipelines, railroads, and foreign companies whose assets had been seized during World War II. In assisting these clients, Steptoe & Johnson became known as a prominent firm in regulatory law, tax, and international trade.
In 1980, the firm separated into two firms, with the DC-based firm being called Steptoe & Johnson Chartered (now Steptoe LLP) and the founding firm remaining a West Virginia partnership called Steptoe & Johnson (now Steptoe & Johnson PLLC).
In 1987, a combination of client needs and business opportunities led to the opening of a Steptoe & Johnson office in Phoenix. Since 1997, the firm has opened offices in Los Angeles (1997), London (2001), Brussels (2002), New York (2005), Chicago (2007), Beijing (2010), and Palo Alto (2014; relocated to San Francisco in 2017).
Steptoe attorneys have frequently served in high-level government positions, and are often quoted on current business, political, and legal happenings in national media.
[3]
[4]
[5] The firm is notable for being one of the first to establish a
blockchain practice
[6] and to accept payment in
bitcoin .
[7]
In November 2021, Gwendolyn Prothro Renigar was elected as the firm's new chairperson.
[8]
In December 2023, the firm removed reference to Johnson in its registered legal name and rebranded as Steptoe LLP.
[9]
Pro bono
Steptoe ranked 19th among Am Law 200 firms in
The American Lawyer ' s 2015 pro bono report,
[10] based on average hours spent on and breadth of commitment to pro bono work. The firm's pro bono efforts have been recognized by the
Animal Legal Defense Fund ,
[11] the
John Carroll Society ,
[12] the Children's Law Center,
[13] the
Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation ,
[14] and the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project,
[15] among others.
Reputation
Steptoe is an American
"white shoe" law firm and according to the
Am Law 100 is the 93rd highest-grossing law firm worldwide.
[16]
[17]
Notable current and former attorneys
Stephen Ailes , former
United States Under Secretary of the Army and former
United States Secretary of the Army .
Shara L. Aranoff , former Chairman of the
United States International Trade Commission .
Bruce Babbitt , former
United States Secretary of the Interior and
Governor of Arizona .
Stewart Baker , former General Counsel of the
National Security Agency and first Assistant Secretary for Policy at
United States Department of Homeland Security .
John D. Bates ,
U.S. District Court Judge for the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia .
David S. Biderman, Executive Director & CEO, Solid Waste Association of North America.
Steve Bullock , former
Governor of Montana .
Paul K. Charlton , former prosecutor.
Shannen W. Coffin , General Counsel to
Vice President of the United States
Dick Cheney .
Alan D. Cohn , former Assistant Secretary for Strategy, Planning, Analysis & Risk of the
United States Department of Homeland Security
Luis Fortuño , former
Governor of Puerto Rico .
Jerome Holmes , federal judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit .
Louis A. Johnson , former
United States Secretary of Defense and former
Assistant Secretary of War .
J. Bennett Johnston , former United States Senator for Louisiana.
Robert E. Jordan III , former
General Counsel of the Army .
Debra L. Lee , Chairman and
CEO of
Black Entertainment Television (BET) .
Monroe Leigh , former Legal Advisor of the Department of State under
Henry Kissinger .
Wilma A. Lewis , chief judge of the
District Court of the Virgin Islands and first female
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
Ken Ludwig , Theatre Director and Playwright.
Pantelis Michalopoulos, Partner and Owner of Steptoe LLP.
[18]
Shirley D. Peterson , former Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division of the
United States Department of Justice and former Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service .
Intisar Rabb, professor at
Harvard Law School .
Robert Rizzi, former
CIA lawyer, political vetter.
John Rizzo , former
CIA General Counsel.
John Shadegg , former
U.S. Representative for
Arizona's 3rd congressional district .
Laurence Silberman ,
United States federal judge for
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit .
Karl Tilleman , former member of the Canadian National Basketball Team who played in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics; current Olympic record-holder for the most three-point baskets in a single game.
Richard Verma ,
United States Ambassador to India and former
Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs .
Kimba Wood , federal judge for the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York .
See also
References
^ McFarland, Keith D.; Roll, David L. (2005).
Louis Johnson and the Arming of America: The Roosevelt and Truman Years .
Indiana University Press . pp.
13 –14.
ISBN
9780253111647 . Steptoe & Johnson.
^
"Louis A. Johnson" . history.defense.gov . Retrieved 2022-05-18 .
^ Guida, Victoria; Hanna, Andrew (December 2016).
"Banks not looking to rip up Dodd-Frank" . Politico . Retrieved 14 December 2016 .
^ Wilson, Megan R. (29 November 2016).
"Schumerland ascends to new heights in Senate" . The Hill . Retrieved 14 December 2016 .
^ Versprille, Allyson.
"What Mnuchin Should Expect From Senate Vetting: Tax Primer" . Bloomberg BNA . Retrieved 14 December 2016 .
^ DeNisco, Alison.
"Bitcoin & Blockchain, Attorneys at Law: One firm's big switch" . TechRepublic . Retrieved 15 December 2016 .
^ Friedman, Gabe.
"Will Work for Bitcoin, Steptoe & Johnson Says" . Bloomberg Law . Retrieved 14 December 2016 .
^
"Steptoe Elects Gwendolyn Prothro Renigar as Chair and Alfred Mamlet as Vice Chair" . Steptoe & Johnson. November 8, 2021.
^
"Steptoe Loses Its Johnson - Above the Law" . 11 December 2023.
^
"Pro Bono Report 2015: The Charts" . The American Lawyer . ALM Media Properties, LLC. Retrieved 19 December 2016 .
^
"Pro Bono: Giving Back to the Animal Community" (PDF) . The Animals' Advocate . 32 (3): 6. Winter 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2016 .
^
"The Red Mass" . John Carroll Society . Archived from
the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2016 .
^
"Steptoe Receives Pro Bono Champion Award from Children's Law Center" . Children's Law Center . Retrieved 19 December 2016 .
^
"Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation and LexisNexis Recognize Five Lex Mundi Member Firms for Outstanding Pro Bono Contributions in 2012" . Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation . Lex Mundi. Retrieved 19 December 2016 .
^
"ABA Death Penalty Representation Project presents Volunteer Service Awards" . American Bar Association . ABA. Retrieved 19 December 2016 .
^
"Firms Ranked by Gross Revenue" . The American Lawyer . ALM Media Properties, LLC. Retrieved 19 December 2016 .
^ Renowned rankings e.g. Legal 500:
https://www.legal500.com/firms/52535-steptoe-johnson-llp/52981-washington-dc-usa
^ Michalopoulos, Pantelis (2023).
"Pantelis Michalopoulos Linkedin Profile" . Linkedin .
External links