Steve Estep

Steve Estep focuses his practice on civil litigation. Steve has had three decades of experience handling a broad range of cases for both plaintiffs and defendants, including personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, business and commercial, intellectual property, tax, securities, sports & entertainment, defamation, banking, and antitrust litigation. Steve has tried numerous cases to judges and juries and has handled appeals in both state and federal courts. Two of his jury trial victories were featured in The National Law Journal. He has been appointed lead counsel in high profile securities cases involving major corporations such as Coca-Cola Enterprises and Friedman’s Jewelers. He represented the Atlanta owners of the NBA’s Hawks and the NHL’s Thrashers in a major bet-the-company case and other significant matters. He also represented the musician Kid Rock in a nationally publicized case that Steve tried in DeKalb County, Georgia. Although a majority of his practice is in Georgia, he has handled cases in at least thirteen different states, from Florida to Alaska. He has also handled matters internationally in places like The Netherlands, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, and most recently, the Supreme Court of Myanmar. Steve carries an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating given. 2020 marks the 16th year in a row that Steve has been chosen by his peers as a Georgia Super Lawyer, as published in Atlanta Magazine and the Journal of Law & Politics. He also recently was named one of America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.

Before becoming a member of Cohen, Cooper, Estep & Allen in 2002, Steve spent the first thirteen years of his career at Atlanta’s largest firm, King & Spalding. He was a partner in the tort litigation group from 1996 to 2001. At King & Spalding, Steve specialized in representing multinational corporations in multimillion-dollar product liability lawsuits involving products such as sport utility vehicles, fitness equipment, and silicone breast implants. Steve worked on matters ranging from the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez to the investigation of the death of NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt. Steve still represents large corporations, but he focuses much more of his practice on representing smaller businesses and individuals in a wide variety of litigation.

Steve grew up in Florida and earned his undergraduate degree at Florida State University in 1985. He received his J.D., summa cum laude, from Mercer University in 1988. At Mercer, Steve finished first in his class and was awarded the Woodruff Medal, the school’s highest academic honor. He won merit-based scholarships, numerous academic awards, and was a member of the Mercer Law Review.