Coke Morgan Stewart

Coke Morgan Stewart is a nationally recognized intellectual property lawyer and policy expert. She joins C4IP after serving as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office–where she also served as Acting Director from January to September 2025. In addition to her work at the USPTO in 2025 and 2026, Coke held numerous senior positions at the agency from 2011 to 2021, working under four USPTO directors from four administrations. Her roles included Acting Chief of Staff, Counsel to the Director, Senior Policy Advisor, Acting Deputy Solicitor, and Associate Solicitor. In these roles, she defended agency decisions in federal court and advised multiple administrations on a broad range of IP issues, including patent eligibility, drug pricing, and artificial intelligence. As Acting Director, Coke oversaw significant legal, policy, and procedural developments affecting patent examination and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Coke has extensive experience in IP litigation and appellate advocacy. She has handled dozens of appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has advised the Department of Justice and Office of the Solicitor General on patent, trademark, and copyright matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. She previously practiced in the Intellectual Property and Technology group at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and served as Deputy Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Coke graduated cum laude from Duke University and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Following law school, she clerked on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.