A former patent examiner and law clerk to a lead administrative judge, Steven handles patent matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, from formation to post-grant trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He has deep experience in rendering opinions, IP counseling, and commercial IP strategy and portfolio development for clients ranging from startups to multinational entities. Steven has considerable and broad patent litigation experience, including as first chair in post-grant trials and as lead invalidity counsel for defendants in the Fortune 500.
Adept at managing large portfolios, Steven is experienced in a spectrum of technologies, including mechanical, electrical, materials and chemistry, control systems, software and machine learning innovations across many commercial areas including medical devices, chemical production, industrial equipment, mobile communications devices, telecommunications, data systems, automotive, textiles, and consumer products such as outdoor lifestyle apparel and equipment.
When developing legal and commercial strategies, Steven applies firsthand experience as a former technology specialist engineer with Bechtel Power Corporation, where he evaluated technical risk for emerging technologies.
Steven’s IP practice is supplemented by his broad administrative law experience, including his work in bid protests for government contract awards related to naval vessels, writings on environmental law and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), experience in administrative trials and appeals, and his experience in intricate compliance in global technologies. Steven actively counsels clients through a range of general matters, soft IP, and commercial strategies.