International law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has announced that Steve Baumer will assume overall leadership of the firm as BCLP’s new global chief executive officer (CEO).
As part of the BCLP’s succession plan, this move follows the firm’s partnership agreement, which calls for a transition from firmwide co-chairs to a single leadership structure in 2024. Steve Baumer, currently serving as co-chair alongside Lisa Mayhew, is poised to build on a series of major growth moves this year, including the recent addition of a 15-person, market-leading IP and Corporate team from Dentons, and the launch of a new office in Seattle.
Steve became BCLP’s co-chair in 2020, having previously led the global transactions practice. His appointment as global CEO follows a transformational period for BCLP under his joint leadership with Lisa. Over the course of their tenure, BCLP significantly improved its financial performance while steering through the complexities of a transatlantic merger, a global pandemic and geopolitical uncertainty. At the same time, the firm invested globally in its three growth engines – Litigation & Investigations, Mid-Market Transactions, and Real Estate as an asset class—which saw BCLP deepen its presence in several key markets, including Germany and France.
'I look forward to working with our talented partners and colleagues to build upon our culture of collaboration, leveraging the investments we made in our global platform and growth engines to help our clients with the challenges and opportunities that matter the most,' said Steve.
Lisa was the managing partner of Berwin Leighton Paisner and the architect of its merger with Bryan Cave to form BCLP in April 2018. Since then, she has been global co-chair. One of only a few women in the legal industry at the helm of a major global law firm, Lisa has led on substantive performance improvements, business transformation, and the consolidation and operationalization of BCLP’s international platform.
She has also played a pivotal role in shaping BCLP’s inclusive culture and advancing its innovative diversity programs. Under her leadership, the firm established BCLP's Inclusion & Diversity Client Relationship Partner, a first-of-its-kind position in the legal sector, in addition to BCLP Podium, a novel new leadership communications program, which brings together the next generation of female lawyers from BCLP and its clients.
'The foundation for the firm’s continued growth is firmly in place. Steve has the experience, the drive and the team spirit to take us to the next level. Having served with him as Co-Chair, I look bclplaw.com 2 forward to working closely with him during this transition as we focus on taking BCLP to the next level,' said Lisa.
As the global CEO, Steve will also have the strong support of a senior partner based outside the US, which the firm intends to announce in September.
