Overview
(August 19, 2026, Chicago, IL) – Steptoe partner Robert Kappers has been named a 2026 Law360 Rising Star in Intellectual Property. The list recognizes attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
Robert earned his spot on the list due in large part to his role in helping Express Mobile revive a patent infringement case and subsequently win $170 million at trial. Additionally, for the last decade, Robert has represented American Axle in a landmark patent-eligibility dispute, eventually helping the company obtain a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against its competitor.
Robert credits his interests in engineering, science, and law, and the opportunities to work closely with new technologies and innovations, with leading him to become a patent lawyer. While he enjoys the technical aspects of his intellectual property practice, he cites one of the most rewarding moments of his career as coming in the form of a pro bono case he spearheaded helping an immigrant and her family to obtain a "U visa."
Looking to the future, he acknowledges that the legal industry’s partnership with AI will "change the game with respect to how our profession navigates cases."
Read Robert’s complete profile at Law360.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients and innovative thinking before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
