Sterne Kessler and 13 Directors Earn Top Rankings in Managing IP’s 2025 “IP Stars” Guide

Washington, D.C. (June 30, 2025) – Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is honored to announce that Managing IP has ranked the firm and 13 directors among the best IP firms and practitioners in its 2025 “IP Stars” guide. These rankings closely follow the recognition of Director Eldora L. Ellison, Ph.D. to Managing IP’s 2025 Top 250 Women in IP list for the ninth time.

Sterne Kessler once again received a “Tier 1” ranking for Patent Prosecution and PTAB Litigation nationally. The firm also earned a new “Tier 1” national ranking for Life Sciences IP, and a “Tier 3” ranking for ITC Litigation. In the District of Columbia rankings, which use a different scale, Sterne Kessler is “Highly Recommended” for Patent Prosecution and Patent Disputes and “Recommended” for Trademark Prosecution.

The guide covers “six IP practice areas and more than 70 jurisdictions, making it the most comprehensive, leading specialist rankings publication for the IP profession.”

Sterne Kessler’s 2025 firm and individual “IP Stars” rankings are:

National:

• Patent prosecution – Tier 1
• PTAB litigation – Tier 1
• Life Sciences IP – Tier 1
• ITC – Tier 3

District of Columbia:

• Patent disputes – Highly Recommended
• Patent prosecution – Highly Recommended
• Trademark prosecution – Recommended

Patent Stars:

• Tracy-Gene G. Durkin, director and chair of the Mechanical & Design Practice Group
• Eldora L. Ellison, Ph.D., director in the Biotechnology & Chemical and Trial & Appellate Practice Groups, co-chair of the PTAB Trials Practice
• Jorge A. Goldstein, Ph.D., director in the Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group
• Michael Joffre, Ph.D., director in the Trial & Appellate Practice Group and co-chair of the Appellate Practice
• Carla Ji-Eun Kim, director in the Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group and co-chair of the Patent Prosecution Practice
• Michael Q. Lee, director in the Electronics Practice Group
• Michael B. Ray, managing director of Sterne Kessler and member of the Electronics Practice Group
• J.C. Rozendaal, director and chair of Sterne Kessler’s Trial & Appellate Practice Group
• Eric K. Steffe, director in the Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group
• Deborah Sterling, Ph.D., director in the Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group
• Robert Greene Sterne, director in the Electronics Practice Group
• Daniel E. Yonan, director in the Trial & Appellate Practice Group and chair of the US ITC Practice Group

Trademark Star:

• Monica Riva Talley, director and chair of the Trademark & Brand Protection Practice

About “IP Stars”

Research for Managing IP’s annual “IP Stars” list covers contentious and non-contentious IP work and is carried out over a six-month period by an experienced team of research analysts and journalists who interview IP practitioners and their clients and assess information gathered through a comprehensive online survey. The results are based on a weighted system of peer and client feedback, combined with submissions analysis and independent research. The full “IP Stars” rankings are available here.

About Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox

Based in Washington, D.C. and renowned for more than four decades for dedication to the protection, enhancement, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is one of the most highly regarded intellectual property specialty law firms in the world. Its team of attorneys, registered patent agents, technical specialists, specialized trademark paralegals, and law clerks include some of the country’s most respected practitioners of IP law, tackling innovations across a broad spectrum of industries. The firm’s practitioners represent Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities in a client service driven environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. Visit the firm online at sternekessler.com.