With just more than 400 lawyers, Steptoe & Johnson LLP is neither large nor small, not wildly profitable or struggling to get by.

For new executive committee chairman Philip West, who took the helm Jan. 1, the question now is whether being in the middle is enough. Has Steptoe found the Goldilocks sweet spot between 4,000-lawyer behemoths and specialized boutiques, or is the market for legal services making such a model increasingly untenable?