Overview
(January 3, 2017, Washington, DC) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP today announced the promotion of 11 lawyers in four of its offices. Five lawyers have been elected to the partnership: Erin Bradham, Amy Lentz, Patricia Palacios, Daniel Stringfield, and Cynthia Taub. The firm also named six lawyers as of counsel: Linda Bailey, Christopher Falcone, Damon Kalt, Elizabeth LaRocca, Indiana de Seze, and Craig Simpson.
“These talented new partners and counsel have each worked incredibly hard for their positions and are important building blocks for our firm’s future,” said Phil West, chair of Steptoe. “We are particularly pleased by the number of women who have achieved this milestone in their careers, and we look forward to seeing even more diverse lawyers following in their footsteps.”
New Partners
Erin Bradham (Phoenix) focuses her practice on commercial litigation, with an emphasis on defending major insurance companies, and has extensive experience representing clients in both state and federal courts. She has defended dozens of insurance coverage and bad faith litigation cases, particularly in matters involving automobile, homeowners’, commercial, disability and medical malpractice coverages. Ms. Bradham has been recognized on Southwest Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” list every year since 2012, and in 2013, was named to Arizona Business Magazine’s list of “Women to Watch.” In pro bono service, she has secured asylum and other immigration relief for more than a dozen clients fleeing political persecution or harm in their home country. Ms. Bradham earned her J.D. from Duke Law School, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif, and was editor of Journal of Law and Contemporary Problems. She holds a B.A. from the College of William and Mary and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Amy Lentz (Washington) advises foreign and domestic clients on a variety of international trade matters, including disputes arising under the agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Ms. Lentz has been involved in litigating a wide range of issues concerning the interpretation and application of the WTO agreements before both dispute settlement panels and the WTO Appellate Body. For example, Ms. Lentz has advised sovereign clients in matters arising under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. She has also counseled private sector clients in countervailing duty investigations. Ms. Lentz received her B.A. from Bowdoin College. She earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia, where she was a Dean’s Scholar and the articles editor for the Virginia Journal of International Law.
Patricia Palacios (Washington) focuses on high stakes commercial, class action, and intellectual property litigation at both the appellate and district court levels. She also works with clients in regulated industries, often representing them in litigation involving the federal government. Ms. Palacios has represented clients in disputes involving the Freedom of Information Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and other federal statutes requiring open governance. Ms. Palacios has been recognized on Washington, DC Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” list every year since 2014. She joined the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2016-2017 Fellows Alumni Executive Council. Previously, Ms. Palacios clerked for the Hon. T.S. Ellis, III, at the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She received her J.D. from The George Washington University, with highest honors, where she was named to the Order of the Coif, and served as the senior notes editor for the law review. Ms. Palacios earned her B.A. from Cornell University.
Daniel Stringfield (Chicago) focuses his practice on patent litigation and has served in first or second chair roles on cases involving a variety of technologies including medical devices, software, mobile apps and wireless communications. In his appellate practice, Mr. Stringfield has served as counsel of record on briefs in patent cases before the US Supreme Court and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is a registered patent attorney with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Stringfield, who was recognized in 2016 on Illinois Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” list, earned his J.D., with high honors, from the Chicago-Kent College of Law where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received both his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Cynthia Taub (Washington) focuses her practice on a wide range of environmental regulatory and litigation matters, with an emphasis on biocides regulation, the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She has significant experience with infrastructure permitting issues, including compliance and litigation under the CWA, NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. Ms. Taub's appellate litigation practice includes federal preemption cases, challenging federal regulations and other agency actions, and drafting amicus briefs and certiorari petitions for the US Supreme Court. Ms. Taub clerked for the Hon. Judith W. Rogers at the US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit. She received her B.A., with honors, from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Taub earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she earned an environmental certificate and served as an associate editor for the Ecology Law Quarterly.
New Of Counsel
Linda Bailey (Washington) has a practice that includes civil litigation (with a particular focus on national defense and foreign relations litigation), white-collar criminal defense, appellate, and administrative law. Ms. Bailey, who clerked for the Hon. Janice Rogers Brown on the District of Columbia Circuit, has worked on appeals in the Third, Fourth, Ninth, Federal, and DC Circuits. She has also worked on several petitions for certiorari and oppositions to certiorari before the Supreme Court. Ms. Bailey has been recognized on Washington, DC Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” list every year since 2014. She earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from The Catholic University of America, and received her B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Christopher Falcone (Washington) has a practice that focuses on both international trade and transportation. On the trade side, Mr. Falcone’s practice focuses primarily on issues arising out of the US antidumping and countervailing duty laws. With regard to transportation, Mr. Falcone provides regulatory, litigation, and strategic advice on railroad and motor carrier transportation issues. Prior to law school, Mr. Falcone worked as an economist at the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Mr. Falcone received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University, where he was an articles editor for the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy.
Damon Kalt (Washington) focuses on antitrust and competition. His practice encompasses all aspects of antitrust law, including private litigation, class action defense, cartel investigations, compliance counseling, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and representation of clients in connection with civil investigations by the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission. He has represented clients across a number of industries including computer software and hardware, telecommunications, waste services, aerospace, energy, pipelines, machine tools, financial services, and automotive repair equipment, among others. Mr. Kalt earned his J.D. from the University of Arizona, where he was a member of the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Elizabeth LaRocca (Washington) focuses her practice primarily on employment-based immigration. Her experience includes representation of multinational corporations petitioning for executives and specialized knowledge employees (L-1A/B), treaty investors (E-2) and immigrant investors (EB-5), and employers of specialized knowledge professionals (H-1B). Her work extends to immigration compliance advisements and representation including I-9, Public Access Files, eVerify and Export Control. Ms. LaRocca has significant experience in the pursuit of permanent residence via PERM labor certifications, adjustment of status, and family-based petitions. Her experience also includes assisting clients with asylum, removal (formerly deportation), criminal issues and waivers. She advises clients with regard to immigration planning and related matters. In 2016, Ms. LaRocca was recognized in The Legal 500 US for immigration law. Ms. LaRocca earned her J.D. from St. Thomas University and her B.A. from Tulane University.
Indiana de Seze (Brussels) focuses on EU chemicals regulation, product compliance and antitrust. On the chemical regulatory side of her practice, she predominantly advises clients on REACH, biocides, plant protection products, and other applications of chemicals requiring regulatory clearance or pre-market authorizations, as well as on data sharing negotiations. Ms. de Seze’s litigation work in this area involves representing clients before the EU and national courts, and the Board of Appeal of the European Chemicals Agency. With regard to antitrust, Ms. de Seze has worked on a number of significant EU cases in the areas of merger control, and cartels and advises trade associations on statistics and information sharing. Ms. de Seze has been recognized in The Legal 500 EMEA for the past two years.She qualified in France and holds Master’s degrees in EU law and international business law.
Craig Simpson (Brussels) is a UK qualified solicitor with more than 14 years of experience providing tailor-made advice to multinational companies and European trade associations in the life sciences industries on compliance with relevant EU regulations and related commercial, contractual and competition law issues. Mr. Simpson has particular experience in EU regulation of chemicals (including REACH, hazardous substances), biocidal products and food and feed, as well as advising on other product specific, product safety (CE marking and recalls) and consumer protection requirements and regulatory non-compliance strategies. Mr. Simpson is recognized in the 2016 edition of The Legal 500 EMEA for his EU food law experience. Mr. Simpson received his M.A. from the College of Europe, Bruges, and his LL.B. from University College London.
About Steptoe
Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm widely recognized for vigorous advocacy in complex litigation and arbitration, successful representation of clients before governmental agencies, and creative and practical advice in guiding business transactions. The firm has more than 500 lawyers and other professionals in offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.