Overview
(June 27, 2022, Washington, DC) — Law360 has named Steptoe of counsel Johanna Dennehy a Rising Star in Insurance. Selected by a team of editors who carefully reviewed more than 1,000 submissions, the Rising Stars list recognizes individuals with significant legal accomplishments under the age of 40.
In a profile published June 16, the editors cited Dennehy's leading role in The Hartford's COVID-19 widespread business interruption lawsuits as one of her major accomplishments that landed her on the list.
As a key member of Steptoe's team responsible for these suits, Dennehy is not only a crucial contributor to the team’s broader strategy, but has personally drafted briefs related to around 20 successful bids for summary judgment or dismissal. Overall, the firm has secured victories for The Hartford in more than 110 dispositive motions nationwide.
Participating in these pandemic lawsuits was a formative learning experience that gave Dennehy a firsthand look at how the law changed in real time. "You wake up in the morning, there are four or five new rulings, and you have to figure out how those fit into your strategy," Dennehy told Law360. "I'm really proud of how Steptoe has handled processing that information to make our motions even better."
At Steptoe, Dennehy represents insurers and other commercial clients in complex insurance coverage disputes, commercial litigation, and appeals of regulatory decisions by federal administrative agencies. She has litigated before a variety of federal and state appellate and trial courts.
Dennehy is proud of her extensive pro bono work at Steptoe as well. In her Law360 profile, she cited her participation on a team representing health care providers challenging a Trump-era regulation that removed protections for LGBTQ+ (and particularly trans) individuals. As soon as the new rule was issued, Dennehy and the broader team comprised of attorneys with Steptoe and Lambda Legal sought a preliminary injunction and successfully stopped the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing aspects of the rule that would have peeled back the protections.
The full profile on Dennehy can be read at Law360 (subscription required).
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.