Steffen co-chairs the firm’s nationwide practice and brings extensive experience in all aspects of appellate litigation to his clients.
Under Steffen’s leadership, the firm’s nationwide Supreme Court and Appellate Practice was named a 2021 “Appellate Group of the Year” by Law360, and was named to the National Law Journal “Appellate Hot List” in both 2024 and 2025.
Steffen Johnson is a partner in Wilson Sonsini’s Washington, D.C., office, where he co-chairs the firm’s nationwide Supreme Court and Appellate Practice. Steffen has extensive experience in all aspects of appellate litigation, from briefing and arguing cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, to handling appeals in every federal circuit, to developing strategy in high-stakes trial court litigation destined for appeal. Legal 500 describes him as “a fantastic name” and “quick on his feet with persuasive arguments.” On four separate occasions, Steffen has been named a “Legal Lion” by Law360 for Supreme Court or other appellate victories. One win was hailed as among “The 10 Biggest Patent Rulings of 2020” by Law360, earning him runner-up honors as an American Lawyer “Litigator of the Week.” Another was named “Impact Case of the Year” by Managing Intellectual Property.
Steffen prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court’s first decision involving the drug competition provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act, and in the Court’s first decision interpreting the America Invents Act’s revisions to the Patent Act’s “on sale” bar. He served as counsel for Google LLC in Gonzalez v. Google LLC, the Supreme Court’s first case involving the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and for the respondents in Moody v. NetChoice, LLC, which held that the First Amendment protects editorial activities of online speech platforms.
Steffen has also handled appeals in a host of other areas, including antitrust, class actions, consumer protection, defamation, the First Amendment, labor and employment, patent, preemption, Section 230, securities, and constitutional law. He has briefed more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court. In addition, he has handled critical motions in major trial-court litigation, including one of the largest defamation cases in U.S. history. His litigation has spanned numerous industries, including pharmaceutical, medical devices, energy, telecommunications, electric vehicles, payment systems, and online platforms.
Before joining the firm, Steffen was a leader in the appellate practice at Winston & Strawn LLP. From 2002 to 2005, he served in the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he advised White House, attorney general, and senior executive branch officials on complex issues of constitutional, statutory, and administrative law.
From 1996 to 2002, Steffen was an associate in the Supreme Court & Appellate practice at Mayer Brown LLP. From 2000 to 2002, he served as a lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School, teaching a course on the First Amendment. From 1995 to 1996, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Donald P. Lay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Steffen Johnson is a partner in Wilson Sonsini’s Washington, D.C., office, where he co-chairs the firm’s nationwide Supreme Court and Appellate Practice. Steffen has extensive experience in all aspects of appellate litigation, from briefing and arguing cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, to handling appeals in every federal circuit, to developing strategy in high-stakes trial court litigation destined for appeal. Legal 500 describes him as “a fantastic name” and “quick on his feet with persuasive arguments.” On four separate occasions, Steffen has been named a “Legal Lion” by Law360 for Supreme Court or other appellate victories. One win was hailed as among “The 10 Biggest Patent Rulings of 2020” by Law360, earning him runner-up honors as an American Lawyer “Litigator of the Week.” Another was named “Impact Case of the Year” by Managing Intellectual Property.
Steffen prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court’s first decision involving the drug competition provisions of the Hatch-Waxman Act, and in the Court’s first decision interpreting the America Invents Act’s revisions to the Patent Act’s “on sale” bar. He served as counsel for Google LLC in Gonzalez v. Google LLC, the Supreme Court’s first case involving the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and for the respondents in Moody v. NetChoice, LLC, which held that the First Amendment protects editorial activities of online speech platforms.
Steffen has also handled appeals in a host of other areas, including antitrust, class actions, consumer protection, defamation, the First Amendment, labor and employment, patent, preemption, Section 230, securities, and constitutional law. He has briefed more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court. In addition, he has handled critical motions in major trial-court litigation, including one of the largest defamation cases in U.S. history. His litigation has spanned numerous industries, including pharmaceutical, medical devices, energy, telecommunications, electric vehicles, payment systems, and online platforms.
Before joining the firm, Steffen was a leader in the appellate practice at Winston & Strawn LLP. From 2002 to 2005, he served in the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he advised White House, attorney general, and senior executive branch officials on complex issues of constitutional, statutory, and administrative law.
From 1996 to 2002, Steffen was an associate in the Supreme Court & Appellate practice at Mayer Brown LLP. From 2000 to 2002, he served as a lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School, teaching a course on the First Amendment. From 1995 to 1996, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Donald P. Lay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
U.S. Supreme Court Experience:
Experience in the Federal Courts of Appeals:
U.S. Supreme Court Experience:
Experience in the Federal Courts of Appeals: