Steven M. Pappas

Steven M. Pappas is an associate in Sterne Kessler’s Electronics Practice Group, specializing in software, database, computer networking, and financial technologies. Steve’s practice focuses on patent litigation and patent prosecution. Steve has been involved in dozens of post-grant proceedings (inter partes review and covered business method review proceedings) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, representing both patent owners and petitioners.

Steve is a PTAB Legal Experience and Advancement Program (LEAP) participant. The program provides associates with training and development opportunities in PTAB proceedings, including oral argument.

Prior to joining Sterne Kessler, Steve worked as a financial technology consultant at GFT USA, where he specialized in the implementation and customization of portfolio accounting systems for hedge funds and prime brokerage firms. He also worked as a software engineer for ZocDoc, where he developed and monitored internal automation tools to improve overall continuous integration efforts.

During his graduate studies at Columbia University, Steve focused on practical software systems, including modern operating systems, database management systems, and web applications. Steve conducted his research on software reliability concerning client-side code within web applications, in which he developed an open-source tool for web developers that provides feedback on common bugs associated with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code in order to ensure best practices are being employed. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, his M.S. in computer science from Columbia University, and his B.S.E. in computer science, cum laude, from the University of Michigan.