Following a year that saw Nixon Peabody achieve its strongest financial performance to date, Stephen Zubiago’s leadership has been recognized on a national stage. As a finalist for “Managing Partner of the Year” by The American Lawyer, Steve sat down with us to share his thoughts on what it means to lead a modern law firm, why listening plays an integral role in everything he does, and how he stays connected to both clients and colleagues.
Q&A: Stephen Zubiago on law firm leadership, strategy, and culture
What’s your core philosophy as a leader?
I try to be an active, engaged listener first. You can’t make the nuanced decisions this job requires unless you truly hear the people you serve—what they need, what they care about, and what drives them. Whether I’m talking with clients or colleagues, I start by listening. That’s how you gather information, build trust, and then make informed decisions that move the firm forward. From there, it’s about acting with intention, staying focused, and making sure everyone understands the direction we’re heading, how we’ll get there together, and what they can do to contribute to it.
Nixon Peabody recently achieved a record-breaking year. What do you attribute that success to?
The numbers—over $620 million in revenue and a $23 million increase in net income—reflect something deeper: Alignment. We’ve aligned our strategy with our clients’ needs and our people’s strengths. That’s only possible through a shared sense of purpose, transparency, and collaboration.
As CEO, you often meet directly with the firm’s clients. Why is that important to you?
Our clients count on us to have their backs. That starts with honest, direct conversations about their goals and how we can help them get there. I make it a priority to meet with senior leaders across industries to really understand what drives their success and to ask what they need from our firm. Those insights shape how we build our teams, develop our services, and grow as a firm.
It’s also validating to see that approach reflected in how clients view us. We were honored to be named to BTI Consulting’s “A-Team” for client service this year, based on direct feedback from corporate counsel. That recognition reinforces what we believe: Exceptional service starts with deeper relationships and a real understanding of what matters most to our clients.
Internally, how do you keep the firm connected and aligned?
First, I have a great leadership team around me, and all of us are fully committed to hearing from our people and encouraging them to feel a sense of ownership in the success of the firm. I hold regular virtual office hours for anyone at the firm who wants to talk to me. And this spring, I visited every one of our offices to hold State of the Firm meetings. We talked about a lot of critical topics, focusing on where we are, where we’re going, and how we’ll get there together. The reception was outstanding—our people appreciated the roadmap and, more importantly, they appreciated the conversation. It’s about building trust and making sure everyone, from attorneys to professional staff, feels part of the journey.
What strategic changes have you made to position the firm for the future?
We’ve made several moves to position Nixon Peabody for long-term success, starting with how we think about our clients and our talent.
One of the most impactful shifts we’ve made is adopting an industry-focused strategy. In the legal profession, the standard has been for lawyers to classify their work by practice, but that’s not how clients think. “Practice areas” are the types of work we do; “industries” are the types of clients we work for. Leaning into that distinction allows us to think more broadly about the work we do and how we can best serve our clients.
To lead this effort, Colette Dafoe, a partner in our Affordable Housing & Real Estate practice and member of our Management Committee, has taken on the new role of Industry Strategy partner. She’s helping us deepen our industry-focused approach and ensure we’re delivering seamless, informed service to our clients.
We’ve also evolved how we attract and retain top talent. At the partner level, we have had success supporting lateral partners with significant practices who were not receiving sufficient support from their prior firm. Next, lateral subject matter expert partners are finding a home at NP, as our sophisticated client base continues to demand such services.
We have also built infrastructure that attracts and retains non-partner talent. Our counsel program provides business development and leadership training for our partner-track counsel, enabling them to hit the ground running following promotion to partner. We also offer career alternatives to counsel with subject matter and industry expertise.
We are growing our associate “farm system” of summer interns and coop students by attaching them to our practice groups, and we are selectively targeting lateral associates based on our client and practitioner needs. We deliberately integrate attorneys into our practice group structure, led by some of our strongest partners, to allow associates to build skills and access career-enhancing opportunities, one of the greatest predictors of job satisfaction. This approach has contributed to an associate attrition rate that is measurably lower than industry standards.
In addition, our remote work model allows attorneys to join Nixon Peabody from anywhere in the country, expanding our reach and deepening our bench in high-demand areas like AI, national security, and affordable housing. By offering both remote and hybrid work arrangements, we’re able to find the right attorneys who thrive on the Nixon Peabody platform and contribute meaningfully to our culture and client service.
To support this approach, Julie Seymour, a project finance and public finance partner based in Chicago, now serves as our lateral recruiting partner. Julie’s passion for developing talent is helping us grow strategically and strengthen our pipeline.
These moves are all part of a broader strategy to align our growth with the industries we serve and the evolving needs of our clients.
You’ve also launched a performance optimization initiative. What’s the goal there?
We know that when our people are thriving, our firm is strong. To enhance that, we hired Carla Lempera as our first-ever director of Engagement and Performance Optimization.
Carla brings deep experience in coaching and organizational leadership, and she’s helping us build a firmwide strategy that supports both high achievement and well-being. She’s working closely with our Associate Development and Retention team, our Mental Health and Well-Being Committee, and other firm leaders to make sure we’re addressing the full spectrum of what our people need.
We’re one of the first firms in our peer group to offer this kind of in-house support, and I believe it’s going to be a significant change for our people and for our clients.
How do you approach talent development and promotion?
I’m incredibly proud of the strength of our internal talent pipeline, built through intentional development and support. Our Career Counseling and Training Department operates under one umbrella, leading to tremendous synergies in identifying how to best set our attorneys up for success. We take a holistic approach, understanding that our attorneys continually grow, adapt, and evolve throughout their careers.
We offer a regular cadence of virtual and in-person associate and counsel training programs, led by a mix of internal and external faculty, which promote connectivity, integration, and skill development. SPARK, the crown jewel of our counsel program, plays a key role in equipping attorneys with the mentorship, training, and leadership opportunities they need to grow. It’s designed to prepare them not only for partnership, but to better serve their clients and lead with impact.
Finally, we have curated group and individual programs for our partners, including annual firm retreats and a next-generation leadership program for high-potential income and new equity partners. The results speak for themselves: Our attorneys are driving meaningful outcomes, taking on formal and informal leadership across the firm, and living our values every day. That’s the kind of improvement we want to keep upgrading at our firm.
What makes you most proud to lead Nixon Peabody?
The people.
Every success we’ve had, every milestone we’ve reached, is because of the talent, dedication, and heart of our attorneys and professional staff. They are the foundation of everything we do. My role as Nixon Peabody’s CEO and managing partner is to serve them, to listen, to support them, and to create the conditions in which they can thrive, grow, and do their best work.
Leadership, to me, means showing up for your people every day and making sure they know they’re valued, empowered, and essential to the firm’s future.
