Law firm continues expansion as it narrows on centennial
When Steptoe & Johnson celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, the West Virginia law firm will also mark the continued expansion of its law offices in Southpointe.
The firm, which has always had a focus on coal and oil and gas clients, leased 6,000 square feet of office space in December 2010 in Hershey Grandview, opening with three attorneys, said Kristian White, managing member of the office. In June, it leased another 6,000 square feet in the building, and recently added its 18th attorney, marking a six-fold increase in staff in less than two years.
While many law school graduates have had a difficult time finding work in most of the country, White said the situation has been beneficial for Steptoe & Johnson.
“We have really taken advantage of the downturn in the economy of the last few years,” he said. “We have students coming out of law school, as well as attorneys from firms that haven’t been adding business.”
He said the firm does recruiting at a dozen law schools, including those at Pitt, Penn State and Duquesne, and this summer had a law school student from Texas Tech clerking at the local office.
Steptoe & Johnson has also continued to strengthen its energy expertise by hiring attorneys from within the energy industry, White said.
“There are only so many oil and gas attorneys out there,” he said. “So we went to clients and other companies and looked there for oil and gas attorneys.”
Steptoe & Johnson’s projection for growth here isn’t finished, White added. He said the firm has already signed a lease for the remaining 12,000 square feet on the second floor of Hershey Grandview that takes effect in June.
“We do anticipate additional growth,” he said, adding that in addition to energy, the firm also has strengths in labor, employment and litigation. “The goal for this office is to be full-service.”
While the firm, which was founded in Clarksburg, W.Va., in 1913, now has six offices in West Virginia cities and another in Lexington, Ky., its expertise in the energy business stretches as far west as Houston, Texas, where it opened an office in 2011 to assist energy-related companies in the mid-continent region that were looking to bring operations to Pennsylvania. Earlier, in 2007, it opened an office in Columbus, Ohio, to meet the needs of the oil and gas market there.
Steptoe & Johnson entered Pennsylvania with an office in Meadville in September 2010, opening the Southpointe office two months later.
“We had been looking at the Pennsylvania market for some time,” White said.
He said its expansion beyond West Virginia has been a strategy for the past decade.
“Ten years ago, the firm recognized that the economy in West Virginia was only so large, so in order to expand, it had to look outside of the state,” White said.
One of the offerings of the firm to its clients are periodic webinars on topics related to oil and gas, a feature that White said is gaining a wider audience.
“A year ago, when we offered webinars, it was mostly viewed by clients in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, but more recently, we’ve seen participation from North Dakota and Texas,” he said.
It also recently sponsored a seminar for banks looking to tap into financing opportunities in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays.
“A lot of banks are looking to capitalize on oil and gas activities, and we’ve been educating them on different issues,” he said.
Beyond the fact that its Southpointe address puts the firm in the hub of oil and gas activity in the region – there are now more than 50 energy-related companies doing business there – White said the business park has many other attributes.
“Its proximity to Pittsburgh International Airport is a great advantage, and the business community here is very vibrant,” he said, noting the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Southpointe CEO Association.
“We felt welcomed to the business community as soon as we got here,” he said.