Gwendolyn Prothro Renigar, a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Steptoe LLP, serves as the Chair of her firm. Gwen was elected to lead her firm effective January 1, 2022, the first woman and first Arab-American to do so. Before taking on her firm’s management, Gwen served as Steptoe vice chair for four years and general counsel for six years.

Born in the Middle East, Gwen moved to the U.S. in the 1980s, with a passion for law even as a child, having seen how lawlessness and corruption can devolve into chaos, economic collapse, and war. She graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s in politics, and then Harvard Law School with a cum laude JD. She began her career as a law clerk for the Hon. Lee H. Rosenthal in the Southern District of Texas, after which she joined Steptoe, then Steptoe & Johnson LLP, her professional home for 26 years and half of her life.

In her client practice, Gwen defends law firms, professionals, fiduciaries, financial services providers, and healthcare industry clients in complex litigation raising breach of fiduciary duty, contract, and professional liability claims. Gwen also counsels lawyers and law firms on loss prevention practices, risk management, policy setting and implementation, and lawyer mobility. In her management role, Gwen leads the firm’s corporate governance and client initiatives, sets and implements the strategic plan, oversees the business affairs of the firm, and manages the legal and business professional talent.

Gwen is committed to the Washington legal market and community, having been a DC bar member since 1997, a member of the Board of the DC Women’s Bar Association Foundation, a mentor to junior DC lawyers, and a participant in Steptoe’s pro bono program representing women and children in the Washington area. She is married to an in-house Washington lawyer and has two daughters who go to school in Washington but are waiting to get their high school diplomas before they explore any interest in the law.