Clients hire Steptoe when they are in need of trial lawyers. We handle virtually every kind of complex business dispute in courts and arbitrations throughout the United States and abroad. Our commercial litigation practice is ranked Tier 1 nationally in US News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" rankings. In addition, many of our first-chair trial lawyers have been recognized as "MVPs" and "Trial Aces" by Law360, and our litigators have garnered accolades from Chambers USA, The Legal 500, The Lawyer, and Global Arbitration Review.
Our skilled litigators tackle a host of complex commercial disputes, and we have represented clients in almost every imaginable industry, with emphasis in energy, manufacturing, telecommunication, retail and consumer articles, financial services and natural resources. We are particularly well-suited to handle complex, cross-border disputes that require a multidisciplinary approach to dispute resolution. We collaborate with subject-matter professionals within the firm as well as a well-tested network of international lawyers to obtain results for our clients. We regularly handle matters involving breach of contract, fraud, civil RICO, fiduciary duties, and other matters integral to business operations. We also have substantial experience in asset recovery and judgment enforcement, toxic and mass tort, product liability, consumer class actions and alleged deceptive trade practices, and trade secrets. In addition, we regularly represent secured, unsecured and subordinated creditors, equity security holders, sureties and insurers of financially troubled enterprises in connection with failed or failing real estate and construction projects, mass-tort cases, and ERISA-related matters.
We understand that not every matter goes to trial. Our trial experience and capability gives clients the necessary perspective to map strategy even before litigation is filed and to obtain successful results when that litigation goes the distance and is resolved in the courtroom. Our lawyers are complex problem solvers with a track record of helping our clients reach outcomes that meet business goals. Our practice often teams with other renowned practices at Steptoe including our international arbitration, white collar criminal defense, as well as our global regulatory practice to achieve results.
Noteworthy
- Chambers Global, Disputes: International & Cross-Border US (2020)
- The Lawyer, Global Litigation 50 (2016-2017)
- Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes (2015-2019)
- Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: International Litigation (2017-2019)
- Legal 500 UK, Dispute Resolution: Commercial Litigation (2010-2020)
- BTI's Litigation Honor Roll (2017)
- Law360, Top 50 Firms For Litigation (2016)
Representative Matters
- Successfully represented ExxonMobil in its efforts to collect on sums owed to it by Venezuela and PDVSA, the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, for breach of contract and indemnification obligations.
- Represented Toys "R" Us, Inc. (TRU) in a claim for breach of contract and defense of breach of warranty counterclaims against one of TRU’s vendors and a toy manufacturer.
- Represented a joint venture owner seeking contractual rights to receive $2 billion of the $55 billion in proceeds from sale of TNK-BP to Rosneft in 2013.
- Represented the former CFO of American Realty Capital Properties in parallel proceedings brought by federal prosecutors and the SEC, and in numerous class action, derivative and opt-out litigations.
- Represented Otkritie Financial Corporation in multiple matters, including efforts to recover significant funds diverted by former employees, and in a $120 million fraud case against another financial institution.
- Successfully represented Motorola in its claims against the Uzan family, which formerly owned the Turkish telecom company Telsim, concerning fraudulent conduct in connection with a $2 billion loan
- Successfully represented CACI International Inc. in a suit in which a contractor sought to hold CACI liable for allegedly leading the plaintiff to believe it had been awarded a government contract to provide meals for troops in Iraq.
- Secured summary judgment for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) three weeks before a trial on the merits in a breach of contract dispute involving claims by a construction management company that PG&E owed it significant sums for supporting and working around PG&E facilities in the course of performing contracts for the city and county of San Francisco.
News & Publications
Client Alerts
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: New York Breach of Contract Damages
June 18, 2020
By: Chris Paparella, James M. Carolan, Justin Ben-Asher, Julie Amadeo
Client Alerts
June 2, 2020
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Jared R. Butcher, Molly Bruder Fox, Claire Schachter
Client Alerts
Enforcing Judgments During COVID-19 Times
May 5, 2020
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Jared R. Butcher, Molly Bruder Fox
Client Alerts
Lender Beware Series - Part III: Criminal Exposure for Banks Participating in the CARES Act
May 5, 2020
By: Michael Campion Miller, Stacie R. Hartman, Matthew B. Kulkin, Leah M. Quadrino, Ashwin J. Ram, Jeremy B. Glen, Jason Meade, Caitlin Conroy, Anna M. Stressenger
Client Alerts
Lender Beware Series - Part II: Key Sources of Civil Liability
April 29, 2020
By: Leah M. Quadrino, Stacie R. Hartman, Matthew B. Kulkin, Patrick F. Linehan, Michael Campion Miller, Ashwin J. Ram, Jeremy B. Glen, Caitlin Conroy, Jason Meade, Anna M. Stressenger
Client Alerts
Lender Beware Series - Part I: Mitigating Risks in Lending Stimulus Funds to Small Businesses
April 27, 2020
By: Ashwin J. Ram, Leah M. Quadrino, Stacie R. Hartman, Matthew B. Kulkin, Michael Campion Miller, Jeremy B. Glen, Anna M. Stressenger, Caitlin Conroy, Jason Meade, Josh Oppenheimer
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives 19 Practice, 56 Individual Mentions in Chambers USA 2020
April 23, 2020
Events
Webinars
Communicating in a Crisis: Best Practices for Privilege and Position Preservation
June 16, 2020
Speakers: Robyn C. Crowther, Charles A. Michael, Chris Paparella, Gwendolyn Prothro Renigar
On Demand
Lender Beware: Mitigating Risks in Lending Stimulus Funds to Small Businesses
May 6, 2020
Speakers: Michael Campion Miller, Stacie R. Hartman, Matthew B. Kulkin, Leah M. Quadrino, Ashwin J. Ram, Jeremy B. Glen
On Demand
The Expanding Reach of US Securities Laws: Mitigating Risk in the Wake of the Crisis
April 22, 2020
Speakers: Stacie R. Hartman, Nathaniel Kritzer, Chris Paparella