Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Steptoe & Johnson LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
- Designation: Washington, DC
- Head Count: 411
- Gross Revenues: $366,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $890,000
- Profits Per Partner: $980,000
- Year Over Year Change: 2
While it traces its roots to 1902 and a small West Virginia office, Steptoe & Johnson LLP would truly come of age in 1945, when it moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C. There, under the leadership of Colonel Louis Johnson (who would later serve as secretary of Defense under Harry Truman), the firm quickly made its mark in regulatory law, counting manufacturers, chemical companies, and transportation carriers among its key early clients. It would also branch out into transactional and litigation practices, and become well known for its tax and international trade work.
By 2011, Steptoe had the fifth largest firm in D.C., with just over 300 lawyers (among its partners and counsel are a number of former government officials). But it is active in other markets as well, with U.S. offices in Century City, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Phoenix, and international offices in Beijing, Brussels, and London. The firm’s practice mix is familiar, ranging from tax, government contracts, and intellectual property, to antitrust, insurance, and telecommunications. Its best known lawyer is white–collar specialist Reid Weingarten a veteran of high–profile trials and investigations—and a close friend of Attorney General Eric Holder.
Steptoe gets middle–of–the–road marks on diversity, coming in eighty–sixth of 194 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard (just over 12 percent of U.S.based lawyers are minorities). Midlevel associates, however, have given the firm better than average numbers on our satisfaction surveys: The firm placed forty–ninth of 126 firms in 2011, and fifty–second of 137 firms in 2010. On it pro bono commitment, Steptoe fares better still, placing twenty–seventh of 200 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Pro Bono Report. Lawyers averaged nearly 80 hours of nonpaying legal work, and their efforts include work on some unique projects such as the firm’s signature Action for Children of Trafficking program. Since 2007, the firm’s attorneys have been advising victims of international child trafficking, helping them to gain refuge in the United States and start a new life.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 79 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 79 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 179 | 18 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 29 | 3 | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 27 | 3 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 233 | N/A | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 49 | 3 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 91 | 21 | Summer programs |
In the News
D.C. CALENDAR
: The National Law Journal : February 25, 2013
INADMISSIBLE
: The National Law Journal : February 25, 2013
Slam dunk for Cadwalader; damage control for Menendez; spotlight on hospitality law; Schmaler leaves public affairs office; busy week for defense lawyers; Jim Graham fights back; and Bob Bennett becomes a lobbyist in this week's column.
Court Orders Disclosure of Attorney-Client Communication
Christine Simmons : New York Law Journal : February 25, 2013
In a rare move, a judge has ordered the disclosure of communications between attorneys and a New York businessman facing a civil suit alleging he and others misappropriated $13 million in a real estate deal.
Crowdfunding Site Can't Show Kickstarter Infringes
Jan Wolfe : The Litigation Daily : February 22, 2013
Kickstarter.com seems to be on the verge of winning its well-publicized declaratory judgment suit against ArtistShare, the crowdfunding website that claims its patent covers Kickstarter's social financing business model.
Kickstarter.com Nears Win in Patent Case
Jan Wolfe : The Litigation Daily : February 21, 2013
The for-profit website, which allows creative types and entrepreneurs to tout their projects and ask for contributions from the public, seems to be on the verge of winning its well-publicized declaratory judgment suit against ArtistShare, the crowd-funding website that claims its patent covers Kickstarter's social financing business model.
Court Orders Disclosure of Attorney-Client Communication
Christine Simmons : New York Law Journal : February 21, 2013
In a rare move, a judge has ordered the disclosure of communications between attorneys and a New York businessman facing a civil suit alleging he and others misappropriated $13 million in a real estate deal.
Dumped by NBPA, Billy Hunter and Quinn Emanuel Team Blast Paul Weiss Report
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : February 15, 2013
Former federal prosecutor G. William Hunter, the ousted executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, has hired Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to challenge allegations leveled against him in a $5 million independent report released last month by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Separating fiction from fact over the International Trade Commission
Alice A. Kipel and Charles F. Schill : The National Law Journal : February 14, 2013
These days, Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 is the target of much hyperbolic and hysterical attack, based not on facts, but on myth stemming from the diverse agendas of the criticizing parties.
Tech Circuit: LTNY Innovation Edition
Monica Bay : Law Technology News : February 8, 2013
One of the highlights of LegalTech New York was the chance for Law Technology News to shine a spotlight on the six winners of the 2012 LTN Innovation Awards — our 10th year of recognizing often-unheralded contributors to legal technology advances. This year, we held a short ceremony prior to the final keynote and we honored all the winners via a video presentation that described their accomplishments. [MORE]
NBA Players Union Hires Orrick in Aftermath of Paul Weiss Report
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : February 7, 2013
The leadership crisis roiling the National Basketball Players Association pulled in another Am Law 100 firm Thursday when the union hired Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Orrick enters the fray on the heels of an internal investigation led by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison that resulted in NBPA executive director G. William Hunter being placed on an indefinite paid leave amid accusations that his stewardship of the union was marked by nepotism and mismanagement.
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