Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC - The Inside View

So, you’ve had the bright idea that you want to be a lawyer. You’ve done the thinking, survived law school, and now you’re ready to make the most consequential decision you’ve probably made so far: where do you actually want to work? What about the place that safeguards and protects any and all ideas? Yes, that’s intellectual property powerhouse Sterne Kessler.

“I wanted to be on the very cutting edge of IP litigation,” one junior explained, “they’re a big player in that space, and very specialized in what we do.” Our colleagues at Chambers USA can vouch for this, as the firm’s IP departments picks up acclaim for its work across patent prosecution, patent trial and appeal board, and litigation.

“I wanted to be on the very cutting edge of IP litigation.”

The firm’s managing partner Mike Ray breaks down the firm’s niche in this helpful anecdote: “If you need brain surgery, are you going to go to your family practice doctor who does everything?’ You're not. You're going to go to a specialist. We're that specialist in IP.”  Within their niche, the firm’s work is broken down evenly into two buckets: litigation and prosecution. “It’s really important to have that mix as an IP firm,” Ray emphasizes, “by doing both, we can take lessons learned on one side and take it to the other.”  Beyond a healthy mix of work buckets, the firm also attracts a good range of technical experts to the DC stronghold, with juniors pointing out that “there’s a lot of people from those backgrounds here and working with my colleagues has been a real highlight.”

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is recognized as a Strong Performer for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Strategy & Future

When asked about the future, Ray has two words on his lips: artificial intelligence. “Everyone recognizes that AI has the potential to change the practice of the law,” Ray begins, “The only question is, is it going to happen months from now or five years from now?” From Sterne Kessler’s point of view, the former may be more likely, and the firm is jumping on that opportunity as it is actively engaged in developing its own AI tools in-house.

“It's still early, but we expect it will have a significant impact, and we want to lead in that area,” Ray describes of the firm’s ambitions. Push back from clients is lessening by the day as well, with Ray highlighting that “our clients have really adjusted and changed their expectations” in regard to hesitation around AI. This firm-wide drive in the space has trickled down to its junior classes as well, with sources pointing out that “a good amount of resources and time have been put into that.”

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is recognized as a Strong Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer Program

The main goal of the firm’s summer program is to “give you a good sense of why people do the job” explained one junior. Summers are given substantive work such as a motion to exclude a witness which can ultimately be done faster and more efficiently by associates, but sources felt that “getting to grapple with the actual facts of the case felt like they were keeping me in a good loop.”

It’s not all work though, as we heard there is at least one social event a week to integrate summers with associates and seniors, which sources agreed “set us up well” for when they joined the firm proper.

The Work

Rookies coming into the firm are assigned to one of four groups: trial and appellate, biotechnology and chemical, mechanical and design, and electronic. The latter three are largely prosecution groups with the trial and appellate team taking on district court and appellate litigation matters.

The firm favors a more free market focused system across the board, after a slight grace period at the start, which in practice operates like this: “They try to set you up with cases when you join but after that it’s up to you to make connections with that kind of networking.” Although some juniors noted that this system meant associates could struggle to find work if they weren’t especially proactive, others saw the benefits of this system as “it gives me a little more autonomy in who I work with and what I do.”

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is recognized as a Strong Performer for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

The firm’s biotechnology & chemical work within the patent prosecution arm of the firm sees associates taking on anything from PTAB litigation, district court litigation, ITC patent litigation, and general patent prosecution in the US and abroad. “That’s a very common experience in the group, to handle foreign clients” revealed one source.

As technical backgrounds are common at the firm, juniors relished the fact that “it’s common to tailor your experience to your expertise, it would be a lost opportunity if you didn’t get to work on that frankly!” Common junior tasks range from drafting responses and letters, opinion drafting, generic backgrounds, fact discovery, petitions, and more.

Over in mechanical & design, juniors spoke of working on strategizing and filing patent obligations, advising clients, writing appeal briefs, and liaising with the patent office. “I like getting granular and seeing new things hit the market,” one source gushed. The level of responsibility across both groups was widely praised with plenty of hands-on experience reported from the get-go. “We have a reputation for being thrown in the deep end from day one,” one insider exclaimed, “one year at Sterne Kessler is like two-three years at another IP firm.”

Patent prosecution clients: Adidas, Roku, Therabody. The firm represents the health technology company NeuraLight, which is developing a software-based platform for eye movement analysis, on IP issues surrounding AI, open source software and due diligence, as well as drafting their patent applications.

“I like to be challenged, and they give us that.”

Over in trial and appellate, this group covers matters including district court litigation, international trade commission, federal circuit appeals, and anything coming out of the patent office. “People that thrive here are looking to be the jack of all trades of litigation,” posited one insider, “there’s not a lot of compartmentalization in the department.” Those with technical knowledge and science degrees also seem to gel well in this team as one junior relayed that “everyone is very intelligent in this group and at this firm as a whole.”

Discovery work was said to be the bread and butter of what juniors do, but associates noted that it wasn’t all they did. “There’s a lot of opportunity to do higher level work and get involved in the strategy of things,” one insider outlined, “I like to be challenged, and they give us that.” Other responsibilities included disclosure work, reviewing documents, working on briefings, and attending hearings.

Trial and appellate clients: BTL Industries, Deckers Outdoor, Teva Pharmaceuticals. The firm represented American Regent, a manufacturer of sterile injectables for healthcare providers, clinics, and hospitals, in more than two dozen litigations against a range of defendants involving three products.

Career Development

Juniors reported having plenty of “pretty robust formal training” along with professional development advisors galore on hand. An online academy also provides an assortment of sessions for newbies, who were left feeling that firm is very much invested in their success. “They offer an appellate series to work on your skills for example,” one source revealed, “you learn something new every time you go.”

While there is plenty of training to go round, some preferred the opportunities to learn by doing, with one source proclaiming that “in terms of what’s actually helpful, there’s nothing better than the school of hard knocks and experience!”

Partnership (or directorship) becomes eligible once an associate has billed 1,900 hours for seven years, but our interviewees weren’t too fixated on that at this stage; “it’s all transparent but they discourage you thinking about it until your fifth year when you start working with a director as a mentor.” Associates were optimistic however, musing that “it’s a good firm to establish your career, many people have their careers here.”

Pro Bono

Up to 100 hours of pro bono work can count as billable, although associates cautioned that reaching the ceiling of that is less than likely. “There’s less opportunities on the litigation side,” one junior revealed, “for a great many years it was immigration work, and I don’t think it’s controversial to say that there’s not been a whole lot of work in that area now.” Other causes are still seen too though, with legal aid and veterans’ work popping up.

One notable pro bono event sources cited was a small business owners pro bono clinic held every year where they give legal advice. “It’s five hours total, but it’s one of the highlights of my year,” one junior beamed, “it really feels like you’re connecting with this person and helping them solve real problems.”

Pro bono hours

• For all US offices: 1,832
• Average per US attorney: 18

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: flexible target (between 1,400 and 2,000 in 100-hour increments from second year onwards) 

Sterne Kessler offers a flexible billable hour requirement which ranges depending on practice group but tends to fall to around 1,900 but can be a bit higher (2,000 in litigation). The firm does also offer flexible hours in the instance where “you’re doing online schooling or if you have young kids.” Like hours, working patterns seemed to vary too: “9am – 6pm is the standard but no one is keeping track of when you come and leave.”

“9am – 6pm is the standard but no one is keeping track of when you come and leave.”

In terms of pay, this follows the market scale so long as the individual’s target is met. Though, the bonus was a factor which juniors did express a desire for more clarity around in practice: “The bonus is a little more mysterious to me, we’re not really sure how it’s calculated.”

Culture

What are people at Sterne Kessler like? Well, if you haven’t guessed by now, associates are proudly on the academic side and are “just a little bit nerdy and enjoy thinking and talking about technology.” While plenty of our insiders heralded their colleagues as great people and co-workers, the one caveat is they don’t get to see them all that much in person.

Sterne Kessler encourages three days in the office a week, but this is not a hard rule, and the result is that a great deal of associates work remotely most of the time. “There’s no set days to be in, so sometimes I go in and there’s no one I know there,” one junior began, “it’s easy to meet and interact with people, the majority of the face time is just virtual.”

This doesn’t mean there’s a lack of social activities though, interviewees recalled Holiday parties, baseball games, happy hours, and a special shoutout to the famed weekly summer trivia lunches where “all the groups go against each other, it’s a real blast!” For those that do venture into the office often, it was found to more than meet their needs with offices you can book on the day, a barista, free lunch, and a wellness center with an on-site nurse practitioner. “It’s covered through insurance so you can have your annual exams and everything, it’s great!” gleamed one source.

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is recognized as a Strong Performer for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

Juniors felt the firm “puts a lot of emphasis on diversity and it’s valued at the firm,” which reflects in the variety of DEI events and affinity groups on offer, such as around Black History Month. Associates particularly noted that the firm has “always made a point to promote inclusion” in the wake of recent political developments and that they were proud to see that there were no signs of slowing down on that front.

Insiders did elaborate that there was a “separate challenge in terms of diverse talent at the firm.” While some praised the amount of female and minority partners they were working for, others acknowledged that “it would be better if there was slightly more diversity at the associate level, even if it is an industry-wide issue.”

Get Hired 

Summer Associate Hiring

For Sterne Kessler, the summer associate program is not just a summer experience—it is a primary method for identifying and developing future associates. The firm's recruiting timeline aligns with the market and law school recruiting policies.

Law students should apply directly to each position they are qualified and interested in being considered for on the firm's careers page here. Summer associates are hired into specific practice groups: Biotechnology & Chemical, Electronics, Mechanical & Design, or Trial & Appellate. Candidates can apply for multiple groups simultaneously. Unless the summer class is full or otherwise noted, Sterne Kessler consider both 1Ls and 2Ls for summer associate opportunities. Students are required to submit a resume, law school transcript, undergraduate/graduate school transcript and a writing sample.

The firm also participates in OCI programs at select schools and IP specific job fairs but the firm encourages law students to apply directly.

For direct applicants, screening interviews are conducted by the practice group for which they applied. For OCI and Job Fair interviews, a candidate may have up to two screening interviews.

After an initial interview, candidates may be invited for a callback/full round interview with several attorneys from the practice group. 

Callbacks  

At the next stage, students have one-to-one or group interviews with a few directors and associates within the practice group. Historically, the firm offers in-person callback interviews in their Washington, DC office (travel and accommodation covered by the firm). Given the earlier recruiting timeline, the firm expects that most callback interviews will be held virtually, but if a candidate prefers an in-person interview, they will accommodate that request if timing allows.

Questions at this stage further drill down into a candidate’s background, their analytical ability, and how their qualifications match the technical work of the group. One junior we spoke to had done this by already taking the patent bar. Passing the patent bar is a crucial step for anyone who wants to work as a patent attorney or patent agent, as it demonstrates the necessary expertise to represent inventors and navigate the patent application process – officially it’s called the United States Patent and Trademark Office registration examination. This associate remembered that their interviewer was impressed: “Having already passed the Patent Bar adds value to your resume or interview. It shows everything is moving on the right track.” 

Interview with Mike Ray, managing director

Commercial strategy, market position and trends

Chambers Associate: How would you define your firm’s current position and identity in the legal market? What differentiates your firm from your peer firms in the market?

Mike Ray: OK, so it’s a two-part answer. First, we're an intellectual property (IP) specialty firm, so that distinguishes us from most firms. We don't try to be all things to all people. We do IP, and we try to do IP really well for our clients. Every few years, one of the big firms will say: ‘Clients want one-stop shopping. They want to come to a firm for everything.’ My response to that is: ‘If you need brain surgery, are you going to go to your family practice doctor who does everything?’ You're not. You're going to go to a specialist. We're that specialist in IP.

I think what also makes us unique in the IP space is we try to strike a 50/50 balance between litigation and prosecution. We think it’s really important to have that mix as an IP firm. It distinguishes us. For litigation, we compete with the biggest firms. For prosecution, we compete with some of the smaller boutique firms. But by doing both, we can take lessons learned on one side and take it to the other. For example, when we staff a litigation, we will have at least one person on the team that maybe has a PhD in the particular technology being litigated, and they're an experienced prosecutor. So, they know how to analyze a patent, right? They know how to analyze claims. They know the procedure, and we think it brings unique insights into the litigation team. On the flip side, if somebody has done some litigation and they're doing prosecution, they can bring some of the lessons learned in litigation to make stronger paths in prosecution. There might be other firms that have tried to achieve that mix, but not a lot. They tend to be mostly prosecution or litigation; most litigation firms have undervalued prosecution as a practice, but we think it's critical as an IP firm to have both practices and have them be strong. And when I say litigation, it's District Court litigation; litigation before the U.S. International Trade Commission; and importantly, litigation before the Patent Trial Appeals Board of USPTO, where we are a leader. It’s very important to have that PTAB expertise as well.

The firm was founded in 1978, so we’re coming up on 50 years. We're 47 years old. I joined in 1989. I've been here a long time. I've been managing partner for the last 18 years. So, I do have a good sense of the history of the firm. I've been here over 35 years. The firm started out fairly modestly with a couple of people who would do anything. Back in the day, Rob Sterne – director of our electronics practice and co-chair of the PTAB practice – used to joke that he would do anything for $35.00 an hour as long as it was legal! So, it's always been a mix of work, but we were primarily known as a prosecution firm until the mid-2000s. We had always done litigation, but we weren't known as a litigation firm. In the mid-2000s, we formed a separate litigation group, which we now call our trial and appellate group, just to focus on inter partes matters. Since then, we've grown so that half of our revenue comes from inter partes matters.

It's absolutely by design, and it's by design that we aim for about 50/50 in terms of the revenue between the inter partes and the non inter partes because we think that balance is important. We're also very scientific and engineering heavy. We're just over 500 employees in total; let's say 170 are attorneys. We have patent agents and technical specialists, and we have around 200 timekeepers. Of those, we have more than 65 with PhDs, another additional number have master’s degrees. We have over 100 people that have advanced degrees in science or engineering in addition to their law degrees. So, we think again it helps really distinguish us, but again – by design.

CA: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you’d like law students to know about?

Ray: We have a leading PTAB practice. A couple years ago, we hired our first administrative patent judge from the PTAB to join us, and that's Jennifer Chagnon. In 2025, we hired our second and third, including Melissa Haapala and Jackie Wright Bonilla. Melissa was the former vice chief and acting deputy chief judge at the PTAB. Jackie was the deputy chief administrative patent judge. She was also acting director of the Patent Office's Central Reexamination Unit. All three of our former PTAB judges bring phenomenal experience to our PTAB practice, so that was significant.

Everyone recognizes that AI has the potential to change the practice of the law. The only question is, is it going to happen months from now or five years from now? We all know it's coming, and there are some firms just standing back and watching to see what's going to happen. They'll jump on at the appropriate time. We think that's a really bad strategy. We’ve surveyed, tested, and evaluated some of the AI tools out in the marketplace and decided that it's early stage. There's no perfect tool out there yet, so we've actually been developing our own generative AI tools in house.

We like to say we're kind of nerdy and techy at the firm. Our patent lawyers and agents developed a patent application drafting tool that we rolled out inside the firm and did a press release on earlier this year. We're starting to use those internally, and we have more in the pipeline. So, we're developing our own tools. Why? Not because we want to be a software development house, but because we know our needs; we know how these tools are used; we know what they need to do. So, we're developing our own and with great success so far. We've had many discussions outside the firm with potential partners who may want to take our products and make them available to other firms. We are having those discussions, and that's a possibility going forward. We are really excited about our investment in AI, and it is starting to change how we practice. It's still early, but we expect it will have a significant impact, and we want to lead in that area. We're going to bring these tools to our practice to provide more value for our clients, which will allow us to work more efficiently and continue to do really quality work. But our lawyers will spend less time on these tasks because they have these tools that they can leverage. That's pretty exciting.

CA: Are there any domestic or international events/trends that are affecting any of the firm’s practices at the moment? Are there any trends that you think are affecting the business of law firms more generally, and how is that playing out with your firm?

Ray: The current administration is making some significant changes at the Patent Office, specifically regarding the rules at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of how inter partes review proceedings are handled. These changes are significant. They've been occurring all year, but just within the last week, they announced some proposed changes that are extremely significant. We issued an alert to our clients to alert them that this was happening. It will affect how people use the PTAB to challenge patents – whether they use the PTAB and how they use the PTAB. But our clients are going to need really good counsel on what to do here, so we're very focused on that right now. That is a very significant change at the PTAB. The one other thing happening is the government shutdown; we watched that very closely. It's had minimal impact on us because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has stayed open, which is the agency we primarily deal with. The district courts continue to hear cases, so it hasn't slowed down any of our litigations. We’re watching very closely to see how it may affect things.

CA: How have your clients responded to AI, and how do you approach using it with them?

Ray: Yeah, that's a great question. At the beginning, most clients had no idea what to do with this. Many clients came out and said: Do not use AI on our stuff. That was the initial reaction from most large companies. They didn't know what to do with it, and the attitude was: Don't touch it. That’s changed today. Some of the same big companies are saying, ‘Please tell us how you're going to use AI to be more efficient for us. We'd like you to use it on our projects and tell us what your plan is going forward.’ Our clients have really adjusted and changed their expectations. For example, with our patent application drafting tool, we have several clients that have given us permission to use the AI tool to draft their applications, and we're charging ahead and doing that.

We have one new client that came to us because they saw the press release on our tool and said, ‘Wow, we're very impressed that you guys did that. We'd like to try you out.’ Now, they're sending us a higher volume of work that they want us to do for them leveraging AI. There are some pretty good general legal AI tools out there, and we're in the process of evaluating several of those to decide which ones we're going to roll out to the firm. We're starting a pilot test with one of the major players out there: a general AI tool for legal research and drafting. Certainly, there are some of the larger firms that are ahead of us there. They rolled these products out internally. The question is how they're using them. It's one thing to roll it out, but we think it's critical to provide good training to show our attorneys how to use these tools and then encourage you to use them. We want to change how people work and that's our focus. We’ve been very deliberate on selecting the right tools, and that will be our focus in 2026.

Inside the Firm

CA: How is the firm evolving to accommodate the needs/expectations of the next generation of lawyers?

Ray: I’m super excited to have the next generation of associates coming in. They grew up with technology, so when it comes to embracing generative AI and those changes, we think that they are the ones best positioned. We were in a different office for 30 years, and we moved two years ago because our old space was designed for how we used to work. Lots of our support staff work from home. They have the option to come in, but they primarily work from home. We want our space to be vibrant and energetic, to have flexible schedules. We deliberately have no requirement to be in the office. We do encourage it though, and every office is set up the same; you just reserve it for the day, and you’re good to go. Our offices are usually full. We want it to feel like maximum capacity all the time. We provide lunch every day: people can go down to our common area, eat, and get to know each other. Something unique for a firm our size is we have a medical clinic here in our space. It's staffed by a full-time nurse practitioner. Checkups, vaccinations, sick calls. She can help with insurance issues and referrals. She can telemedicine in doctors as needed, and it's just fabulous. I think she’s really helped some people health-wise. Wellness is very important to us.