Overview
(January 16, 2019, Los Angeles) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce that first-chair trial lawyer Robyn Crowther, who has been named to the Daily Journal's list of Top Women Lawyers in California eight times in the past nine years and in 2018 was named one of the Most Influential Women Attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal, has joined the firm's Los Angeles office, where she will serve as its co-managing partner. With her arrival, Steptoe has women at the helm of five of the firm's nine offices, including both offices in California.
Crowther has considerable first-chair trial and arbitration experience across a variety of litigation fields. While her primary focus is on complex commercial disputes, Crowther also handles employment and intellectual property litigation matters. Her diverse practice includes securities and investment advisor litigation and arbitration, legal malpractice matters, contractual disputes, employee mobility, and trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation.
Crowther's successes include resolving, shortly before trial, claims for copyright infringement asserted against Obey Clothing, an exclusive licensee of artist Shepard Fairey, by the Associated Press relating to Fairey's "Hope" poster created in connection with Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. She also won summary judgment for the former owners of Nylon magazine against claims that they had wrongfully sold assets to a third party. Additionally, Crowther obtained preliminary injunctions on behalf of a boutique handbag manufacturer against knockoffs offered by a competitor, and successfully defended Old Navy in a trademark infringement trial where the plaintiff sought more than $1 billion in damages.
Crowther has also litigated numerous arbitrations. She has handled matters before various tribunals including JAMS, AAA, and FINRA, and various state and federal courts. In recognition of her success, Crowther has been named to the Southern California Super Lawyers list every year since 2010.
Welcoming Crowther, Steptoe Chair Phil West commented: "Robyn brings considerable experience as a first-chair trial lawyer and in firm management. Her arrival strengthens our presence on the West Coast and adds depth to the litigation capabilities we have in our Los Angeles office. I am also particularly pleased that Robyn has agreed to co-lead our LA office, joining the roster of strong women leaders we have at the firm, including our vice chair and head of litigation."
Crowther added: "I am thrilled to have joined a terrific team at Steptoe. Having worked with a core group of excellent lawyers and staff for more than 20 years, I have high standards for the next phase of my career. Steptoe's top-notch litigation and regulatory practices will allow me to expand relationships with my clients in Los Angeles and to work with my colleagues firm-wide and particularly in San Francisco to increase the firm's profile in California. Additionally, I was impressed by the number of women who hold leadership positions at Steptoe and the firm's intentional efforts to increase diversity at all levels. I look forward to building on the strong foundation in the LA office and to adding new business and personnel in the near future."
Steptoe handles virtually every kind of complex business dispute in courts and arbitrations throughout the United States and abroad. The firm's commercial litigation practice is ranked Tier 1 nationally in US News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms." In addition, many of Steptoe's first-chair trial lawyers have been recognized as "MVPs" or "Trial Aces" by Law360, and litigators have garnered accolades from Chambers USA, The Legal 500, The Lawyer, and Global Arbitration Review. Steptoe's skilled litigators tackle a host of complex commercial disputes, and have represented clients in almost every imaginable industry, with emphasis in energy, manufacturing, telecommunication, retail and consumer articles, financial services and natural resources. They are particularly well-suited to handle complex, cross-border disputes that require a multidisciplinary approach to dispute resolution.
Crowther is a member of the board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and the Joint Task Force on the Retention of Women in the Law.
Crowther received her B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Crowther clerked for Honorable Gary L. Taylor on the US District Court for the Central District of California.
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, London, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
