Steptoe Trade Lawyer Richard Cunningham Dies at 79

Richard Cunningham, a long-time Steptoe & Johnson trade lawyer, died at 79, his firm announced. Cunningham spent his entire career of over 50 years at Steptoe, where he handled "some of the most significant U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty cases over the past 50 years," including as lead on the firm's team in a successful Supreme Court case in 2009, Steptoe said. He also helped to launch the careers of many international trade lawyers at Steptoe and others in the trade bar, the firm said. "Dick was a fantastic mentor," said Eric Emerson, co-head of Steptoe's International Trade and Regulatory Group. "Dick is the best international trade lawyer that I ever saw," said Gary N. Horlick, former head of Import Administration at the Commerce Department and prior to that a lawyer with Steptoe. "He'd get this glint in his eye when he knew what it would take for his client to win -- and when you saw it, you knew you were about to hear something wonderful."