Jason A. Fitzsimmons

Jason A. Fitzsimmons is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Mechanical & Design Practice Group and a Co-Chair of the firm’s PTAB Practice. Jason specializes in complex post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where he has served as counsel in more than 150 inter partes review (IPR) cases. Jason represents both petitioners and patent owners and has a keen understanding of the interplay between post-grant proceedings and parallel district court litigation. He also helps clients obtain patent protection for cutting-edge technologies and provides opinions of counsel.

Jason was recognized in the IAM Strategy 300 in 2026 as one of the top practitioners managing patent portfolios. He was a Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch® in America” from 2024 to 2025 and selected to the Washington D.C. Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list in Intellectual Property from 2018 to 2022. He was included in the inaugural Lawdragon 2025 “500 Leading Global IP Lawyers” guide, highlighting his work in intellectual property, litigation, patents, and PTAB matters. Patexia has consistently ranked Jason among its Top 50 Best Performing PTAB Attorneys, including Top 50 Best Performing Attorneys Overall (2023, 2025) and Top 50 Best Performing Attorneys Representing Patent Owners (2023, 2025), based on PTAB data over a rolling five-year period.

Jason’s PTAB experience spans from pre-institution strategies through argument at oral hearing. He understands the challenges faced by both patent owners and petitioners and has unique experience managing and developing strategies for complex, multi-patent proceedings. Jason is a contributing author of the firm’s renowned Patent Office Litigation, Second Edition, published in 2017, which provides a comprehensive exploration of patent office litigation proceedings, including how the proceedings interact with other aspects of patent procurement and enforcement. Jason serves as a co-editor of Sterne Kessler’s annual “PTAB Year in Review: Analysis & Trends” report, which synthesizes key PTAB developments and decisions and provides detailed analysis to serve as a helpful reference for those who practice before or adjacent to the PTAB.

Jason also has broad experience preparing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications and preparing infringement, validity, and patentability opinions. He is a trusted strategic advisor to clients. Jason’s primary areas of technical experience include sporting goods, consumer electronics, clean energy technologies, automotive systems, aerospace and defense systems, physiological sensors, medical devices, communications systems, industrial equipment, optical devices, and image collection and processing.

Additionally, Jason is a member of Sterne Kessler’s Recruiting Committee, and he co-leads the firm’s engagement in the PTAB’s Legal Experience and Advancement Program (LEAP), which provides associates with training and development opportunities in PTAB proceedings, including oral argument.

At The George Washington University Law School, Jason was the student editor-in-chief of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Quarterly Journal, a member of the Moot Court Board Executive Committee, and vice president of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA).

Prior to law school, Jason gained valuable industry experience as an engineer for a defense contractor. He managed the development of innovative, lightweight armor solutions for combat vehicles and oversaw ballistic testing. Additionally, he helped design a system for remote detection of nuclear materials by overcoming natural phenomena such as particle scattering and temporal detection delays.

Jason earned his B.S. in physics-engineering, magna cum laude, from Washington & Lee University.

Technical Publications

• Jeffrey K. Mills, Jason A. Fitzsimmons, and Kevin Rodkey, “Protecting Nanotechnology Inventions: Prosecuting in an Unpredictable World,” 7 Nanotechnology L. & Bus. 223 (2010).