District of Columbia

Firm overview

Kelly IP is an innovative boutique focused on all aspects of trademark, trade dress, copyright, design, domain name, and unfair competition law. The founding partners – Dave Kelly, Rob Litowitz, Linda McLeod, Lynn Jordan, and Stephanie Bald – all are recognised leaders in the trademark field and are known for their creative, practical, responsive, and cost-effective advice. They believe that brand owners deserve lawyers who are as passionate as they are about nurturing and protecting their brands and creative works, and they brought this vision to fruition by opening Kelly IP in May 2013. In doing so, the partners leveraged their 110 combined years of 'big law' IP experience – including leading hundreds of civil litigations and thousands of oppositions and cancellations, sending thousands of demand letters, filing hundreds of UDRP complaints, clearing thousands of marks, and filing, prosecuting and maintaining tens of thousands of trademark applications and registrations – and created a firm with a collaborative, team-oriented approach.
The firm immediately established an international reputation by scoring significant litigation victories in trademark cases before the courts and the TTAB, counselling on cutting-edge issues for many of the world's leading brands, and being recognized as a leading firm for online enforcement. Kelly IP has been consistently ranked as a top firm nationally for both contentious and non-contentious trademark work by IP Stars and others (e.g., Legal 500, World Trademark Review 1000, Managing Intellectual Property) and has received national awards for both trademark litigation and prosecution. We believe that the following client feedback from a prominent publication best sums up Kelly IP: "What makes its group of all-stars super-competitive is that you receive a world-class service at a significantly reduced rate – you get so much for your money."

Firm overview

Firm overview

Founded in 1978 and based in Washington, DC, Sterne Kessler is a premier law firm dedicated to intellectual property, focusing on the full range of IP services globally, including litigation, patent and trademark prosecution, design patents, IP strategy, post-grant proceedings, opinions, and transactional support.

The firm works with some of the most innovative clients in the world, including Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities. Whether prosecuting a patent or trademark, managing a worldwide portfolio, or litigating a bet-the-company case at trial, Sterne Kessler is committed to delivering practical solutions and excellent client service.

Sterne Kessler delivers innovative solutions that are tailored to its clients’ businesses. With deep technical knowledge and IP experience, the firm develops targeted and effective strategies to protect and enforce valuable IP assets. The team includes more than 200 lawyers, patent agents, and technical specialists who hold over 100 advanced degrees, including 60+ Ph.D.s, in science and engineering disciplines. The firm supports clients across a broad range of industries and technologies, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, electronics, artificial intelligence, software, innovative materials, consumer products, food & beverage, medical devices, automotive and heavy equipment, manufacturing, and industrial products, amongst many others.

In the last five years, Sterne Kessler has served as litigation counsel in 200+ patent cases across more than two dozen federal district courts. The firm is one of the top five most active firms for patent cases at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and among the top 10% of most active firms at the U.S. International Trade Commission. The firm is particularly skilled at coordinating across multiple venues, representing clients in patent litigation in district court, before the ITC, and at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), pivoting between venues to efficiently and favorably resolve disputes.

The PTAB Trials team has been a leader since the inception of the PTAB and continues to be a dominant force in the industry today. Sterne Kessler has been counsel in more than 1,300 proceedings and counting, and its results are among the very best. Patexia consistently ranks the firm among the top 10 most active overall and the top 25 best performing firm overall in its PTAB Intelligence Report.
FIRM ACCOLADES:
• Band 1, Patent Prosecution, Washington, D.C., Chambers USA (2025)
• Tier 1, Patent Prosecution, PTAB Litigation, and Life Sciences IP, and Tier 3 ITC Litigation, National, Managing IP’s IP Stars (2025)
• “Highly Recommended” Patent Prosecution and Patent Disputes and “Recommended” Trademark Prosecution, District of Columbia, Managing IP’s IP Stars (2025)
• Tier 1, IP Litigation, Patent Litigation, Patent Law, and Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice (D.C.), U.S. News – Best Lawyers – “Best Law Firms” (2025)
• Highly Recommended, Patent Prosecution and Transactions, IAM Patent 1000 (2025)
• Recognized for Trademark Prosecution & Strategy and Enforcement & Litigation, DC Metro Area, World Trademark 1000 (2025)
• 12 Years in a Row - Top Workplaces Recognition, The Washington Post (2025)

Firm overview

From our offices in strategic hubs of commerce, law, and government across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, we work with clients ranging from established, global Fortune 100 companies to enterprising startups.

Our team of more than 2,200 lawyers and legal professionals provides comprehensive corporate, transactional, litigation, and regulatory services in major industries, including energy, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, retail and ecommerce, sports, technology, and transportation. We focus on both immediate and long-term goals with our clients, helping them address and anticipate challenges across vast and rapidly changing landscapes.

We approach every representation with an equal commitment to first understanding, and then efficiently and effectively advancing, the interests of our clients and arriving at the best results. If a client has a question, we’ll immediately find the person in our global network with the answer. If there’s a shift in the legal landscape, we’re on top of it, and our clients will be too.

Founded in 1873, we stand on the shoulders of more than 150 years of achievement, but we never rest on our reputation.