Building Client Connections and Chasing the Perfect Bowling Game with Evan Sotiriou
Inspired by the IP firm’s distinctive fly-to-client service approach, The Flight Crew highlights the people who shape the firm and deliver the in-person relationships that define Burris Law.
For Burris Law IP attorney Evan Sotiriou, more than 25 years of practicing patent law have only deepened his appreciation for new technologies, complex innovations, and the inventors and engineers behind them. That same curiosity fuels the people side of his practice — the long-term friendships and relationships he has built with colleagues, peers, clients, inventors, and engineers. Evan puts it simply: “I am a people person.”
“Relationships mean everything to me: my colleagues at Burris Law, my longtime clients, and every new inventor, engineer, fellow attorney, or in-house counsel that I meet,” said Evan, who leads Burris Law’s St. Louis office. “In any business, it’s how you relate to people, and I feel my people skills have made me a better attorney.”
Engineering Student Turned Lawyer
Evan was born and raised in Singapore. His family moved to St. Louis when he was in high school, and he has lived and built his career there ever since. He earned his bachelor of science in electrical engineering with a minor in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and received his juris doctorate from Washington University School of Law.
Evan’s career path from engineering to law was the result of advice from his parents.
“My dad always told me to get an engineering degree because it teaches you how to think and solve problems, and people always need engineers. But in engineering school, I realized being an engineer was not the right career path for me,” Evan said. “At the same time, I was working on the side at a law firm, and the combination of the attorney I worked for becoming a mentor and my mom encouraging me to try the legal field landed me in law. I realized I could get a law degree and still use what I learned in engineering school.”
For nearly 30 years, Evan has represented clients in the IP field, focused primarily on counseling and procurement, particularly patent preparation and prosecution. He has worked and continues to work across some of the most sophisticated areas of innovation, including electrical, software, electromechanical, and mechanical inventions. Evan also has experience with trademark matters and has represented clients before both the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
When Evan thinks about memorable patent work, one story goes back to his early years as an associate working with diagnostic medical imaging technology.
“I was drafting patent applications for diagnostic medical imaging devices that allowed safer imaging with earlier diagnosis. It was one of the first moments that I realized my work had real-world consequences,” Evan said. “I truly felt like I was helping people, and I really enjoyed that. In a certain sense I felt like I was saving lives (not life and death like a doctor, I could not handle the blood), but by supporting medical innovation that improved diagnostic capabilities.”
That same sense of purpose shows up in Evan’s work with companies building patent portfolios as part of their growth strategy. He described one client relationship that started with a single pending patent application and grew into a worldwide patent portfolio. The company did not have in-house IP counsel, so Evan became, in his words, its “de facto in-house IP counsel.”
“As they have grown, we have built and had in place the necessary protections through focused patent strategies over the years,” Evan said. “It’s been an honor to partner with them as they continue to expand their business.”
A People-First Approach at Burris Law
Evan’s people-first approach makes him a natural fit for Burris Law, where attorneys are known for getting close to clients’ technologies, businesses, and teams. The firm has built a distinctive niche in the legal industry through its fly-to-client service model, traveling directly to client sites to see inventions firsthand, understanding how technology works in the real world, and building stronger patent strategies and client relationships.
“What makes Burris Law special is the combination of great people, great clients, a true team approach, and our commitment to showing up for clients,” Evan said. “It is about how we can best serve the client in a way that makes business sense. We have former engineers, scientists, inventors, patent owners, and longtime attorneys, and I truly believe that diversity of backgrounds and professionals leads to a better product for our clients.”
When Detroit-founded Burris Law expanded to St. Louis in 2025, Evan’s roots there made him a natural fit to help lead the office.
“I love St. Louis, and we have a strong client base here, so the expansion made sense,” he said. “Like Detroit, St. Louis has a broad base of different innovation and growing technology, with a highly diversified economy in health care, education, manufacturing, financial services. We have been excited to build the Burris Law brand here.”
The Near-Perfect Bowling Game and Evan’s Love for Golf
Outside the office, Evan is a husband, father of four, bowler, and avid golfer, but, apparently never again a putt-putt player, at least with his family.
“One year, we chose to play putt-putt as a family for Father’s Day, and it turned into one of those “competitive” family days. It was not the casual afternoon family event I expected,” Evan laughed. “So now it’s a running family joke when I’m asked, ‘What do you want to do for Father’s Day?’ I know it’s not putt-putt.”
Evan enjoys playing golf, which these days is mostly scrambles to support organizations and gives him an opportunity to reconnect with folks. Evan also likes to bowl. He bowls in a local league with friends he met through the legal world. “I went from a sub to full time, and now these guys have become some of my best friends,” Evan said.
Evan is still chasing the dream of a perfect game. His highest score is 297. “I got close once. Eleven strikes in, and people are gathering around,” Evan said. “I get up there nervous, and I’m like, ‘Just don’t throw a gutter.’ It was a seven, and I almost had a perfect game. One day.”
Still Learning, Still Building, Still Showing Up
Evan has been practicing patent law longer than many attorneys have been practicing law at all. He jokes that Kelly Burris reminds him that his patent bar number is lower than hers. But after nearly three decades, he is still here for a simple reason.
“I still enjoy it, so I’m still doing it,” Evan said. “For me, what I still enjoy probably the most is learning from the people behind the patents, and I truly believe you need that old-school, face-to-face interaction in this business. Whether it’s technology or the practice of law, I’m always learning something new, and I greatly enjoy that.”
Whether he is helping a client build a worldwide patent portfolio, advising a growing company without in-house IP counsel, mentoring younger attorneys, or leading Burris Law’s St. Louis office, Evan brings the same approach to the work.
“I still find the technologies and patents cool, but more so, it’s the people behind those innovations,” Evan said. “Everyone has a story to tell. I enjoy listening to them, understanding the technology, strategizing on how to protect their innovation, building a relationship with them, and then partnering with them to continue to grow their business.”