Overview
(December 11, 2023, Washington, DC) – Washington, DC-based law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP has changed its name to Steptoe LLP.
The change reflects how Steptoe is known by its clients and its people. For at least a decade it has operated under a logo that simply says "Steptoe" and used the steptoe.com domain name for its website and email addresses.
In 1980, the predecessor firm of Steptoe & Johnson amicably separated into two firms with both agreeing to retain the same name. The Washington, DC-based firm has been known as Steptoe & Johnson LLP; the other firm, based in West Virginia, is Steptoe & Johnson PLLC. It is the Washington, DC firm that is changing to Steptoe LLP as its formal name.
Similar changes will also take place in relation to Steptoe’s presence in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
According to Gwen Renigar, Chair, Steptoe LLP: "We are known simply as Steptoe by our clients and our colleagues, in all of our markets, in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and China. After a 100+ year history and a rich shared heritage with Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, we are ready to start the new year with our own simplified name, Steptoe. We will continue the next era as we concluded the last one, with a focus on regulatory enforcement, investigations, and litigation, working at the intersection of business, government policy, and the courts, and with a strong international footprint."
Says Chris Slaughter, CEO of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC: "Both firms have a long and successful history, first together and then separately, growing to serve our respective clients across the country and even the world. Both firms draw on the roots established by Philip Steptoe and Louis Johnson in 1913 in terms of public service and commitment to their communities. We will continue to embrace our shared heritage but look forward to having different names in the future, as our firms continue to grow and establish offices in new markets. While sharing the same name has often had its lighter moments, we recognize that having different names makes life a lot easier for everyone."
Philip Steptoe and Louis Johnson joined together in 1913, in Clarksburg, WV, a booming oil and gas center. Louis Johnson went on to open the firm’s Washington, DC office in 1945 having served as Assistant Secretary of War under President Franklin Roosevelt from 1937 to 1940, then President Roosevelt’s personal representative in India in 1942, and finally President Truman’s Secretary of Defense from 1949 to 1950.
About Steptoe LLP
In more than 110 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.
About Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is a law firm nationally recognized for its strengths in energy law with more than a century of know-how in the areas of business, labor and employment, and litigation. Steptoe & Johnson has over 400 lawyers and other professionals practicing in 18 offices in Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. For more information, visit www.steptoe-johnson.com.
