Overview
(March 28, 2022, Washington, D.C.) — The American Inns of Court awarded Steptoe associate Chris Suarez with the 2020 Warren E. Burger Prize at its 2020 Celebration of Excellence on March 26, 2022, in a ceremony at the United States Supreme Court. The Burger Prize is a writing competition that promotes scholarship in the areas of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence. Suarez was selected for his essay "Disruptive Legal Technology, COVID-19, and Resilience in the Profession," which was published in the South Carolina Law Review. John Caracappa, co-chair of Steptoe’s Intellectual Property Practice, attended the event with Chris.
Suarez's essay focuses on the ethical issues prompted by the legal technologies that have been transforming the legal profession in recent years. Thanks to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other advances, the legal profession may now rely on technology to review documents, draft briefs, and even render judgments. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this technological transformation, with lawyers now interviewing witnesses, conducting legal proceedings, and doing other work online from their homes. The event was initially scheduled to take place in Fall 2020 and was delayed due to the pandemic.
At Steptoe, Suarez focuses his practice on high-tech patent and trade secret trials and appeals. His clients represent a wide range of industries and electronic technologies, including smartphones, internet-of-things technologies, voice control computers, and others. The intersection of law, privacy, and technology is another interest. Suarez has participated in privacy-related litigation and holds a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Suarez earned his J.D. from Yale, where he served as executive editor of the Yale Law and Policy Review. He received an M.A.T. from Dominican University and dual undergraduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Suarez is active in the American Bar Association, Federal Circuit Bar Association, and the Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court.
About Steptoe
In more than 100 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
The diversity of the firm is a critical factor in its success. The majority of Steptoe's nine offices are managed by women; the majority of Steptoe’s practice groups have women as leaders; the firm’s fourteen-person elected compensation committee includes six women; and the firm's nine-person elected executive committee includes three women. The firm's eight-person professional business services leadership is equally diverse, with half the c-suite made up of women, including three women of color, and other leaders who openly identify as LGBTQ+.
