Steptoe & Johnson’s Dallas Office Continues Growth with Addition of Austin Gilleland and Lauren Sawyer

DALLAS – Steptoe & Johnson’s Dallas office continues to grow with the addition of two Associate attorneys. Austin B. Gilleland and Lauren A. Sawyer have joined the Business department, both focusing their practices on corporate and mergers and acquisitions.

Gilleland has served as a lead associate on numerous buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions, where he has guided clients through each stage of the deal process from initial structuring and due diligence to negotiation and closing. He also brings experience representing issuers in private placement offerings and related security filings.

Gilleland earned his BBA from Texas A&M University and his law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Sawyer leverages her previous experience as in-house counsel to guide clients through business transactions including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, entity formation, and corporate governance. She works with a range of clients including large and small businesses, nonprofit corporations, individuals, banking institutions, and real estate investment firms to assist them with commercial real estate deals.

Sawyer graduated with her B.S. from Oklahoma State University and earned her law degree from University of Oklahoma College of Law.

With the addition of Gilleland and Sawyer, the firm has added 12 attorneys in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW) in 2025. Since opening offices in downtown Dallas and in Collin County in 2020, Steptoe & Johnson now has 39 lawyers serving clients from DFW.