Steptoe Revenue, Profit Growth Each Exceed 10% in Record Year

Steptoe turned in a record financial performance in 2023 with revenue hitting $493 million with strong performances in practice groups including commercial litigation, intellectual property and insurance.

Profits per equity partner rose to $1.9 million, the firm said. The revenue and profit increases each exceeded 10% compared with 2022, according to Steptoe.

Steptoe chair Gwen Renigar in a statement attributed the results to “our focus on our high performance and client service, working at the intersection of business, regulation, policy, and the courts.”

The country’s 100 largest law firms last year posted revenue growth of 6% as higher prices for lawyers’ time and a slight increase in demand more than made up for a broad slowdown in deals, a Wells Fargo & Co. survey found. The average profits per equity partner at the 100 firms increased more than 5% from 2022, Wells Fargo found.

Steptoe has been around the 100th largest law firm by revenue in recent years, according to AmLaw data. The firm last year hired 37 lawyers and business professionals in New York and Los Angeles from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, which has since shuttered.

Steptoe’s statement also cited strong performance in white collar, government investigations, international regulatory compliance, trade, technology and public policy.

The firm also experienced revenue growth in 2022, a relatively down year for law firms. Steptoe’s revenue has grown nearly $100 million since 2020, and its profits per equity partner have increased more than 50% in that time.

Steptoe cited diversity as a critical factor in its success, noting the firm’s chair is a woman, the majority of its elected executive committee members are female, and the majority of its offices and practice groups are managed or led by women.

The firm last year formally dropped “Johnson” from its name, to simply Steptoe LLP, to avoid confusion with West Virginia-based Steptoe & Johnson PLLC.