Steptoe LLP - Achieving Excellence in Client Service
A firm-wide celebration that brought ‘One Steptoe’ together to recognise success.
Why?
In early October 2025, Steptoe held its second all-firm retreat in its hometown of Washington, DC—making it the only Am Law 100 firm to host a retreat that brings together all of its partners, associates, business services professionals, secretarial teams, and some of its outsourced service providers from around the world. In total, some 750 people attended.
The purpose of the retreat was to celebrate success. In highly competitive and uncertain times, the firm had successfully grown both revenue and profitability, completed a series of strategic acquisitions, and expanded its home-grown legal talent.
Led by Chair and Partner Gwen Renigar, the decision was taken to bring everybody together to focus on how this success had been achieved and, in doing so, to ensure that best practice was built upon so that this success could be sustained. As Steptoe’s second all-firm retreat, the firm wanted something different and engaging for its people—building on the success of the first retreat held in 2023.
This second retreat was an opportunity to lift the lid on best practice, thank the individuals who make up the firm for their hard work, and take time to celebrate together how they were Achieving Excellence in Client Service.
What
As part of the two-day all-firm retreat, Steps was invited to host the afternoon of the first day with the following objectives:
To underscore that there is ‘One Steptoe’ working on behalf of its clients
To celebrate the work that Steptoe does every day
To increase awareness of what it means to deliver excellence in client service at Steptoe, and how that service depends on different teams performing together
To provide everyone at Steptoe with the opportunity to reflect on what might get in the way of achieving excellence in client service
To consider the individual actions we can all take to move the dial from good to great, regardless of role
The retreat was introduced by Chair of the Firm, Gwen Renigar. By taking time to celebrate individual and team success, shining a light on the firm’s commercial achievements, and recognising some remarkable client wins, the scene was set for an upbeat opportunity to compare Steptoe’s journey to the world of Formula One.
In 1950, the fastest pit stop was timed at 67 seconds. By continually examining how to shave off every moment that mattered, teams went on to achieve a new record in 2013 of just 1.8 seconds. Gwen’s challenge to everyone at Steptoe was to view their success in a similar way—to lift the bonnet on the inner workings of the firm and consider how success could not only be sustained, but fine-tuned for the future.
To create the most meaningful content, Steps partnered closely with the Steptoe internal team, led by CMO Chris Hinze. Together, they designed carefully facilitated focus groups that enabled Steps to identify the contributions made by lawyers and business professionals across the firm—regardless of title, role, or location. It was mission-critical to accurately reflect the perspectives of everyone within the firm, demonstrate why their contribution mattered, and capture the language, lived experiences, and day-to-day realities of life in a fast-paced, client-centric law firm.
The combined Steps and Steptoe team then worked together to develop an engaging, drama-based session. The research findings were played back throughout the afternoon via a series of extended, in-person, on-stage and multimedia vignettes delivered by professional actors. These performances held a mirror up to the way things really were at Steptoe—allowing individuals to see themselves and understand why their contribution mattered.
Blending this drama-based approach with space for carefully facilitated, firm-wide discussion groups enabled participants to identify the strengths in their current best practices, while also recognising how they could move from good to great.
What’s next?
Whilst Steps’ programming typically seeks to achieve lasting behavioural change, the primary ambition for the work at Steptoe was to celebrate success and highlight what outstanding client service looks like—in a way that was engaging, thoughtful, and infused with humour.
Taking a moment in October, in Washington, DC, to look one another in the eye, pause, and recognise what had been achieved together was remarkable. It provided the opportunity to say thank you for work well done, and—through celebration—to consider how each individual could fine-tune their performance so that, after the retreat, they were each just a little better than when they arrived.
