About Stephen L.
Stephen L. Keefe combines engineering training, military service and a legal education in a practice focused on intellectual property. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1995 with a degree in civil engineering. He later earned a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics from Columbia University in 2004 and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in 2009.
Keefe began his professional life as an officer in the U.S. Army, serving as a captain upon his graduation from West Point. He moved into engineering roles after active duty, working as an engineer for J. Muller International and as a project engineer for Dewberry around 2000. By 2002 he was registered as a professional engineer and worked for Lichtenstein Consulting Engineers.
In 2006 Keefe joined the United States Patent and Trademark Office as an examiner. That role led him into private practice at Finnegan in 2007 and at Rabin & Berdo in 2011, where he developed experience in patent prosecution and client counseling. He served as patent counsel at Getinge beginning in 2015 and later practiced at Sigma Law Group in 2017. In 2019 he opened Keefe IP Law, PLLC and has practiced under that firm name since.
Keefe is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and holds bar admissions in New Jersey, Virginia and the District of Columbia. He also maintains a professional engineer certification in Virginia. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association. Those credentials reflect the hybrid nature of his background: technical training, government patent work and in-house and firm-side practice.
Over the years Keefe has handled patent-related matters that draw on his engineering background and his USPTO experience. His work has included prosecution before the patent office and advising clients on intellectual property strategy and portfolio management. He has moved between roles in industry and private practice, carrying practical engineering knowledge into patent counseling.
Clients and colleagues describe a practitioner who brings technical literacy and patent-office insight to everyday matters. He maintains an active practice through Keefe IP Law, PLLC, where he handles patent prosecution, counseling and related intellectual property matters.
