matthew baca
Matt Baca is almost as passionate about the practice of intellectual property law as he is about fishing on his boat. He has gained broad intellectual property experience as in-house counsel and as outside counsel. Fortunately, he has many more years of using that broad experience to provide quality counsel and work product to our clients before fishing full time. He has a background in Electrical Engineering and Navy Nuclear Power.
michael bryant
Michael Bryant brings his relatively youthful exuberance for technology and Aggie football to the firm. During his undergraduate and law school summers, he did application development, obtained a security clearance, and evaluated patent assertion targets. He has a background in Computer Engineering.
elie ferdman
Elie Ferdman joins our team after considering careers as a bicycle mechanic, firefighter, and quantum physicist. His diverse studies have prepared him for the highly technical and rapidly evolving world of patent law. He reads equations as easily as other people read sentences. If there are too many seahorses, we just walk to his office. Elie enjoys whiteboards a little too much, so we limit him to two. He has a background in Physics and Applied Mathematics.
steven gilliam
Steven Gilliam started as a computer nerd with his dad's C64 and continued studying CS as a Commodore at Vandy. Now, he explores the newest technology from inventors and helps clients develop and manage patent portfolios. He has a background in Computer Science and has gained knowledge in a variety of software and processor technologies.
rodney lacy
Rodney Lacy worked in industry for more than a decade as a software engineer and consultant before deciding to become a patent attorney. In each firm he has worked, he has been chosen as a primary client contact due to his technical knowledge and legal insight. Rod is the jolliest patent attorney that any of us know. Becoming a grandparent seems to have exacerbated that condition. He has a background in Computer Science and Mathematics.
neilesh patel
Neilesh Patel has acquired a diversity of experiences that is not easily found. In addition to transitioning from engineering to lawyering, he practiced for multiple years in patent prosecution and then multiple years in litigation. Equipped with this experience, he joined a high-tech company to help substantially grow its patent portfolio, and then also handled the array of other tasks that fall upon in-house counsel. He has a background in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
gregg peacock
Gregg Peacock retired his NBA dreams after being on the same juco squad as "Grandmama." Instead of developing as a forward, he has developed skills in domestic and international patent portfolio development and management. Between responses and Foreign Associate instructions, he packs food for homeless persons and helps refugees move. He has a background in Electrical Engineering.
antu xie
AnTu Xie has become the firm's walking encyclopedia in a short amount of time. His constant knowledge absorption allows him to easily engage inventors across diverse technology backgrounds. He has also learned how to address some of the blank looks we give him when he discusses an article he recently read. He has a background in everything, but formally in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Petroleum Engineering.