Overview
(January 5, 2015, Washington, DC) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP today announced the promotion of nine lawyers in its Washington office. Three lawyers have been elected to the partnership: Kendall Enyard, Sarah Gordon, and Paul Hurst. The firm also named six lawyers as of counsel: Chris Bjornson, Catherine Cockerham, Shawn Davisson, Sarah Lamoree, Jill Maguire, and Jeff Theodore.
New Partners
Kendall Enyard focuses his practice on a wide range of complex civil and commercial litigation areas, including matters in state and federal courts and before domestic and international arbitration tribunals. He also represents government contractors in the areas of biodefense, health care, information technology, and defense services on issues ranging from pre-award protests to challenges to agency cost realism and technical evaluations. Mr. Enyard has significant experience on a full range of government contract matters, including bid protests, civil false claims, fraud disclosures, small business issues, subcontracting, and teaming agreements. He also counsels and advises entrepreneurs, startup ventures, and emerging growth companies on contract disputes, litigation, and data security and privacy laws. Mr. Enyard received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was an executive notes editor of The Washington University School of Law Global Studies Law Review.
Sarah Gordon focuses her practice on insurance and reinsurance, employee benefits, commercial litigation, and legal malpractice. She represents insurance and reinsurance companies in complex litigation before federal and state courts and arbitration panels. Her insurance practice includes a wide range of coverage disputes, including latent health coverage claims, environmental coverage claims, and claims against directors and officers. On the reinsurance side, she has extensive experience representing cedents and reinsurers in the life, health, and property/casualty industries. With regard to employee benefits, Ms. Gordon’s practice has a particular emphasis on Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation and administrative investigations. Ms. Gordon graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the University of Florida, and she received her J.D. magna cum laude from American University, where she was the executive editor of The Administrative Law Review. She served as a pro se law clerk for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Paul Hurst assists clients in investigations and litigation arising from government contracts, including contractors in the defense, construction, and healthcare industries. His practice focuses on compliance-related matters, including the Civil False Claims Act. On behalf of government contractors, he litigates bid protests at the General Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, the Small Business Administration, and state and local forums. Mr. Hurst also represents clients in complex civil litigation and has significant experience litigating cases across the country involving contract disputes, fraud, RICO, and intellectual property. During his tenure at Steptoe, he participated in the firm’s Legal Aid Loaned Associate Program and gained a tremendous amount of trial experience representing indigent clients in matters before the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Mr. Hurst received an economics degree from the University of Delaware, and earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
New Of Counsel
Chris Bjornson represents clients before the Federal Communications Commission and other government agencies and in transactional matters. His clients provide international and domestic satellite, Internet, wireless telecommunications, and video programming services. Mr. Bjornson has extensive experience in major telecommunications transactions, complex licensing matters, and regulatory rulemakings. He received a journalism degree from the University of Texas, where he also earned a master’s in public affairs from the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs. While at Catholic University, where he received his J.D., magna cum laude, Mr. Bjornson was an associate editor of The Catholic University Law Review and a clerk for FCC Commissioner Susan Ness. Prior to law school, Mr. Bjornson was a consultant to state governments, and held various policy and management positions in federal, state, and local government.
Catherine Cockerham focuses primarily on insurance and other complex commercial litigation, including professional liability, products 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 received her bachelor’s and law degrees 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.
Shawn Davisson focuses primarily on white-collar criminal defense matters, government investigations, securities litigation and enforcement, internal investigations, and foreign corrupt practices (FCPA). He has defended corporations, executives, public officials, and other individuals in matters involving allegations of public corruption, securities and accounting fraud, domestic and international bribery, embargo violations, antitrust conspiracies, money laundering, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and obstruction of justice. Mr. Davisson earned a B.A., with honors, from the University of Kentucky, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude. He received his M.B.A., summa cum laude, from Sullivan University, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Mr. Davisson clerked for US District Court Judge David L. Bunning of the Eastern District of Kentucky. In 2014, Mr. Davisson was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Washington, DC Super Lawyers.
Sarah Lamoree focuses her practice on international regulation and compliance, and litigation, including securities enforcement and white-collar criminal defense work. She counsels companies about US regulatory regimes, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and related anti-corruption laws. Ms. Lamoree also conducts internal investigations, compliance audits, and risk assessments for clients worldwide in a variety of industries including the extractives, entertainment, financial services, and pharmaceutical industries. She represents clients before the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and other enforcement agencies. Ms. Lamoree received her B.A. from the University of California, and LL.M in international law from Cambridge University. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was an article editor for the Harvard International Law Journal and a member of the solicitations committee for the Harvard Negotiation Law Review.
Jill Maguire is a member of the Litigation Department and works with clients across a spectrum of industries – from financial services to the energy sector – in a number of fields of substantive law, such as administrative law, constitutional law, and business torts, among others. She has experience with cases involving state and federal statutes, including questions of preemption. A former clerk on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Ms. Maguire is also active in the firm’s appellate practice and has worked on briefs before several federal and state appellate courts. Her practice also includes Supreme Court litigation. She graduated cum laude from Austin College, and magna cum laude from George Mason University School of Law, where she was articles editor of the George Mason Law Review. She was recognized in the 2014 edition of Washington, DC Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in business litigation.
Jeff Theodore focuses his practice on appellate and commercial litigation. He has argued before both federal and state courts of appeals and has extensive experience in all aspects of litigation in trial courts and in arbitration. In Renchenski v. Williams, 622 F.3d 315 (3d Cir. 2010), Mr. Theodore obtained a 50-page, published opinion that made new Third Circuit law protecting the constitutional rights of prison inmates. He was also a core member of the Steptoe team that secured for client Aurum STS Aggressive Trading one of the largest Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) awards ever issued. Mr. Theodore was recognized as a “Rising Star” in business litigation by Washington, DC Super Lawyers in 2013 and 2014. He received his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was the executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.
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, Century City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
