Michael Bryant set down his drumsticks to support his gadget habit. He has a genuine interest in the intersection of technology and law, second to Aggie football. 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.
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.
AnTu “James” 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.
Gregg Peacock retired his NBA dreams after being on the same juco squad as a future NBA All-Star. Instead, 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.
Katherine Koebrich joins our team from the midwest. She is another member of the team who has exposed herself to different subject matter in her studies and projects. Besides being an exemplary professional, she is a musician. She has a background in Computer Science and Biology.
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.
Jangwoo “Jake” Myung brings an upbeat attitude from California along with a surprisingly diverse technical background. With experiences ranging from engineering, quantitative biology, and computer science, he quickly digests innovations from different fields. We think this knowledge can also be helpful in making great coffee beverages in the office. He has a background in Bioengineering and Material Science Engineering.
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.
Katie Uppfalt is another midwesterner joining us from Indiana. She joins our team after researching applications of plasma physics. When not in the office, she can often be found in the pool where she continues to compete at the national level. She has a background in Physics.
Chris Kennedy has zig zagged from Arizona to New Jersey to Texas. Fortunately for the firm, he likes Austin. He has a background in Mathematics and Computer Science.
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.