Overview
(January 2, 2018, Washington, DC) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce the promotion of three lawyers to partner and one to managing director. Elected to the firm’s partnership are Catherine Cockerham, Will Drake, and Leah Quadrino. In addition, Ying Huang has been named a managing director in her respective practice.
“Every year these elections give us an opportunity to promote some of the great lawyers we have at Steptoe, and celebrate the traditions, history and culture that help keep our firm strong and help us deliver some of the best client services anywhere,” said Phil West, chair of Steptoe. “We are particularly pleased that women comprise 75% of this year’s class and are confident this group will help make the firm even greater in the decades ahead.”
New Partners
Catherine Cockerham (Washington) focuses primarily on insurance coverage disputes and other complex commercial litigation, including professional liability and contractual disputes. Her work on behalf of insurers includes providing advice and litigating coverage actions in federal and state courts and before arbitration panels involving asbestos, environmental liability, bad faith, products liability, D&O, and other claims. Ms. Cockerham is a part of Steptoe’s hiring committee and is also active in the firm’s pro bono program. Ms. Cockerham received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Virginia, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and served on the editorial board of The Virginia Law Review. She clerked for the Honorable Samuel G. Wilson of the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
William Drake (Washington) focuses on white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations. He has represented members of Congress and high-ranking government employees in public corruption criminal matters and investigations. Mr. Drake has also managed large-scale corporate investigations and represented private sector clients accused of violating federal antitrust, securities, export control, and foreign corruption laws. Mr. Drake participates in Steptoe’s pro bono program and has represented clients in employment and housing discrimination claims as well as in appellate matters before the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Drake has been named to the Washington, DC Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” list every year since 2014. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University and his B.A. from Indiana University.
Leah Quadrino (Washington/New York) focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation. Her recent successful engagements include representing plaintiffs and defendants in various international and domestic business disputes, insurance companies in coverage matters, and law firms facing legal malpractice claims. She regularly appears before federal and state courts, and has significant experience handling insurance and reinsurance disputes before arbitration panels. Ms. Quadrino is currently an elected member of the DC Bar board of governors, the chair of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (ABA TIPS) Scholarship Fund Board, and a past chair of the TIPS Committee on Excess, Surplus Lines and Reinsurance. Ms. Quadrino earned a J.D. from Fordham University, where she was a member of the Fordham Urban Law Journal and captain of the National Moot Court Competition Team, and a B.A. from Yale University.
New Managing Director
Ying Huang (Beijing/Washington) focuses primarily on international trade remedies/Section 337 cases, government affairs, and regulatory compliance with respect to China. She helps her clients overcome regulatory barriers to the Chinese marketplace, using her knowledge of China’s political and regulatory systems to bridge cultural and legal differences between the US and Chinese markets. Ms. Huang has provided advice to multinational corporations investing in China, and has participated in commercial negotiations regarding all aspects of foreign investment. She received an LL.B from Nanjing University, a LL.M from the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, and an LL.M from The George Washington University.
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, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.