How Sterne Kessler Uses Patent White Space Analysis to Strengthen Business Development

Sophisticated competitive analysis that previously required significant time and resources now takes minutes, not days — and is winning pitches.

Customer: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox. Speaker: Dan Block, Director (title to confirm). Product: Juristat Data Layer (MCP), used inside Claude. Based on a recorded customer interview, August 2026.

Sterne Kessler Director Dan Block saw an opportunity to use competitive white space analysis to make client pitches more tailored and persuasive. Producing that level of analysis, however, has historically required significant time and resources.

At Sterne Kessler, business development intelligence, including where a prospect files its patents, how large its portfolio is, and how it stacks up against competitors, was managed by a small in-house team fielding pitch and RFP requests across the firm. Producing a competitive patent white space analysis took heavy manual research, setup, and attorney judgment. For a large, multi-product client, it was not something the firm could deliver efficiently.

The Juristat Data Layer changed that. Through Juristat's MCP connection to the full USPTO prosecution record running within Claude, Block can now produce a client-ready white space report in about ten minutes. The quality and utility of the reports generated enough interest among directors at the firm that it stood up a Claude pilot involving nearly 70 users.

Block credits the Juristat Data Layer with expanding what the firm can deliver efficiently for business and client development. For him, the value extends beyond speed — it enables sophisticated and tailored analysis that was previously impractical for many time-sensitive opportunities.

What a patent white space analysis shows a prospect

A patent white space analysis maps where a prospect and its competitors file, how large the portfolio is, and where potential gaps relative to competitors may exist. These insights can help a firm develop a more informed, tailored pitch to a current or prospective client.

Before the Juristat Data Layer, a dedicated in-house team handled this work alongside RFP responses and other business development priorities. Given the time required, Block generally reserved in-depth analysis for well-developed opportunities where the investment of the team’s resources was most appropriate.

This resource threshold was especially apparent after conferences, when Block wanted to follow up with a prospective client using tailored insights to earn an initial meeting. Previously, the firm might provide a general follow-up email and conduct a preliminary search using publicly available tools. With the Data Layer in Claude, Block can now bring customized portfolio intelligence to a much broader range of prospective clients and open the door to new opportunities and conversations, no matter the size of the company.

“The resources, they're finite. I can't, for every prospect that I might have, just have them spin up their gears and spend hours pulling back information when it might not work out.”

From a resource-intensive project to a ten-minute report in Claude

Using the white space analysis skill through the Juristat Data Layer in Claude, Block can now produce a client-ready report in about ten minutes. The technology does more than accelerate an existing process — it makes sophisticated analysis practical for a wider range of opportunities.

The firm can send the report directly to a client or use its findings to develop a pitch that is tailored to the company’s industry. Block also uses the Data Layer to summarize a prospect's portfolio and prosecution history, providing substantive insights that demonstrate the firm’s understanding of the client’s business.

“You can run a white space analysis in Claude and have an answer in about ten minutes.”

Demonstrating to a prospect that you have a deep understanding of its portfolio can build credibility in a pitch. The report provides a practical way to bring that depth of insight into the conversation and react quickly to new opportunities.

Why access to the full USPTO prosecution record matters

The Juristat Data Layer provides the AI with the full underlying prosecution record, with prior art already classified, instead of processing everything inside a closed agent. Access to the full record allows Block to build multi-step workflows and maintain visibility and control throughout the process.

For Block, this approach is an important distinction from other patent data providers. When a request is processed entirely within a vendor’s own agent, the user may have limited visibility into the intermediate steps. The Juristat Data Layer instead supplies the underlying data for the AI to analyze, allowing the firm to shape the workflow and review the output at each stage.

“Your MCP server returns the full data. That context is what lets you build the multi-step workflows like the white space analysis and do the things other vendors can't.”

The classified, full-text record helps turn a single data pull into a repeatable business development asset.

See a white space analysis run on your own prospect list.

How a white space report can deepen a client relationship

Block was the first person at the firm to use the tool. After sharing the report with other directors at the firm, interest grew and the firm rolled out a Claude pilot for approximately 70 users.

The analysis was then tested with a large multinational client whose in-house team has deep knowledge in its highly specialized field, including how their portfolio compares to its competitors. The client’s initial reaction was that the results aligned with its own understanding of the company’s competitors and filing activity. That response generated broader interest within the client team, and several in-house counsel requested more tailored analyses. Block has since had conversations with nearly a half dozen stakeholders at the organization.

The firm was seeking to strengthen its relationship with the client, as work had slowed down in recent years. The AI-enabled offerings, supported directly by the Juristat Data Layer, helped renew engagement with the client and connected the firm to new contacts and decision makers at the organization, creating opportunities for new work. Although Block does not attribute a specific revenue figure to this initiative, he views the ability to deliver this level of analysis efficiently as a meaningful measure of its value.

“The Juristat MCP Server was the reason we deployed Claude across the firm.”

For Block, the payoff is not a single metric. It is the ability to walk into a pitch with tailored intelligence that can differentiate Sterne Kessler from its competitors and demonstrate a deeper understanding of the prospective client’s portfolio.

“I love the Juristat MCP Server. I talk about it as much as I can in front of clients. I'm a big supporter of it.”