Overview
(August 6, 2019, Washington, DC) — Steptoe Vice Chair Gwen Renigar and senior counsel Suzanne Ross McDowell have been elected to the American Law Institute (ALI), an independent organization in the United States "producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law." The pair are among 60 new members elected to the ALI's latest class.
The ALI's elected membership consists of judges, lawyers, and law professors from all across the United States and from many other countries, selected on the basis of professional achievement and demonstrated interest in improving the law.
The election of an individual begins with a confidential nomination by an ALI member that is supported by two additional ALI members. Members are encouraged to propose individuals who have demonstrated excellence in the law, are of high character, will contribute to the work of the Institute, and are committed to its mission.
At Steptoe, Renigar, who serves as the firm's vice chair and general counsel, maintains a broad civil litigation and counseling practice. She defends law firms, professionals, fiduciaries, financial services providers, retirement plans, and healthcare industry clients in complex litigation and class actions raising breach of fiduciary duty and professional liability claims, as well as in US Department of Labor government investigations into alleged ERISA violations. Renigar also counsels lawyers and law firms on loss prevention practices, risk management, policy setting and implementation, and lawyer mobility. In addition to her practice and management of the firm, Renigar participates in a number of associations and informal groups for the advancement of the law, the advancement of women in the law, and the advancement of the legal profession, including the Women's Lawyer Liability Group, the Law Firm Roundtable in Georgetown’s Center of Ethics and the Legal Profession, and the American Bar Association.
McDowell, a member of Steptoe's Tax and Private Client practice, advises charities, private foundations, trade associations and professional societies, social welfare organizations, educational institutions and other exempt organizations and their boards of directors on tax and corporate governance issues. Her practice includes counseling clients on tax planning matters and representing them before the IRS, courts, Congress and the Department of Treasury. McDowell also advises nonprofit corporations on a broad array of governance matters including board and committee structures, fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, potential director liabilities, and protection from liability. Additionally, she conducts confidential internal investigations on behalf of boards of directors.
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, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
