MEMBERS OF FIRM
Louis T. Pirkey (Partner) born Fort Worth, Texas; admitted to bar, 1964, Texas; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: University of Texas at Austin (B.S.Ch.E., 1960); George Washington University (J.D., 1964). Member of Staff, George Washington Law Review, 1963-1964. Examiner, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 1962-1964. Board of Directors, 1981-1983, and Trademark Review Commission, 1985-1988, International Trademark Association. Chair, Intellectual Property Law Section, State Bar of Texas, 1982-1983. Member: U.S. Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference for Revision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 1982-1984; President, Austin Intellectual Property Law Association, 1986-1987. Adjunct Professor, Trademark Law, University of Texas School of Law, 1992. Advisor to U.S. Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference for Adoption of the Trademark Law Treaty, 1994; Member, CPR/INTA Panel of Neutrals, 1994. Member, Governing Committee, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, 1991-1992. President, American Intellectual Property Law Association, 1999-2000. Member, Engineering Advisory Board, University of Texas at Austin, 1994. Member, Board of Advisors, The George Washington University Law School, 1997. Member, Trademark Public Advisory Committee, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2000-2002. Recipient: State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Law Section, Chair's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Section and to the Intellectual Property Profession, 1994; Distinguished Alumnus Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement, The George Washington University Law Alumni Association, 2000. Member: Austin and American Bar Associations; , Austin Intellectual Property Law Association; American Intellectual Property Law Association; Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit. Fellow: American Intellectual Property Law Association Fellow; Texas Bar Foundation (Life). Practice Areas: Trademarks; Trademark Litigation; Trademark Infringement; Trademark Protection; Mediation of Trademark Cases.
William G. Barber (Managing Partner) born Austin, Texas, May 3, 1962; admitted to bar, 1987, Texas; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: University of Texas at Austin (B.S.Ch.E., with highest honors, 1984; J.D., with high honors, 1987). Order of the Coif; Phi Kappa Phi. Co-author, The Franchise Trademark Handbook, American Bar Association, 1994. Member, Editorial Board of The Trademark Reporter, International Trademark Association, 1995. Editor, Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal, 1995-2004. Adjunct Professor, The University of Texas School of Law, 1999. Member: State Bar of Texas (Chair, Intellectual Property Law Section, 2003-2004); American Intellectual Property Law Association (Board of Directors, 2003; Secretary, 2006-2008); International Trademark Association. Fellow: Texas Bar Foundation. Practice Areas: Trademark Litigation; Trade Dress; Lanham Act; Trademark Protection; Trademark Prosecution; Unfair Competition; Appellate Practice; Intellectual Property; Litigation.Email: William G. Barber
Stephen P. Meleen (Partner) admitted to bar, 1996, Texas; registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Education: Oral Roberts University (B.S., cum laude, 1989); University of Texas School of Law (J.D., with honors, 1995). Texas Law Review, 1994-95; Order of the Coif, Texas Chapter, 1995; Texas Rising Star, 2004. Member: Travis County Bar Association; American Intellectual Property Law Association (Chair, Trademark Litigation); Austin Intellectual Property Law Association; American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Practice Areas: Trademark Litigation; Trademark Protection; Unfair Competition; Internet Law.Email: Stephen P. Meleen
Shannon Timothy Vale (Partner) admitted to bar, 1981, Texas. Education: Rice University (B.A., 1977); Southern Methodist University (J.D., 1981). President, Austin Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, 1986-1987. Member, City of Austin Music Commission, 1989-1993. Past-President, Austin Intellectual Property Law Association, 1999. Member: State Bar of Texas (Council, Entertainment and Sports Law Section, 1996). Practice Areas: Trademarks; Copyrights; International Trademarks.
SENIOR ASSOCIATES
Susan J. Hightower (Senior Associate) admitted to bar, 2000, Texas; 2001, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth and First Circuits; 2003, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas; 2005, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas; 2006, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; 2008, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. Education: Austin College (B.A., 1987); The University of Texas (M.A., 1994); Stanford Law School (J.D., with distinction, 2000). Practice Areas: Trademarks; Trademark Protection; Trademark Litigation; Trademark Infringement; Lanham Act; Unfair Competition; Trade Dress; Appellate Practice.Email: Susan J. Hightower
Alison Davis (Senior Associate) admitted to bar, 1996, New York and Texas. Education: Tulane University (J.D., 1996). Practice Areas: International Law; Latin America Trade; Technology; Emerging Business Law.
Sherri L. Eastley (Senior Associate) born Alton, Illinois; admitted to bar, 2002, Texas. Education: Boston University (B.A., Environmental Policy and Analysis, high honors, 1997); The University of Texas (J.D., with honors, 2002). Member: Austin and American Bar Associations; International Trademark Association; J. Rueben Clark Law Society. Practice Areas: Trademarks; Trademark Protection; Copyrights.
Allison Leigh McDade (Senior Associate) born Shreveport, Louisiana; admitted to bar, 1999, Texas; 2001, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas. Education: University of North Texas (B.A., magna cum laude, 1995); University of Texas School of Law (J.D., with high honors, 1999). Chancellor, Order of the Coif. Member, Texas Law Review, 1997-1999. Briefing Attorney to Justice Greg Abbott, Texas Supreme Court, 1999-2000. Associate, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., 2000-2004. Counsel, Trademarks & Copyrights, Dell Inc., 2004-2008. Member: Travis County Bar Association; State Bar of Texas; American Intellectual Property Law Association; International Trademark Association; Austin Intellectual Property Association; Austin Young Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Trademarks; Copyrights; Unfair Competition.
ASSOCIATE
Wendy C. Larson (Associate) born Redwood City, California, September 15, 1978; admitted to bar, 2004, California and U.S. District Court, Central District of California; 2006, Texas; 2007, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas. Education: Cornell University (B.A., 2000); University of Southern California (J.D., 2004). Formerly with Folger Levin & Kahn LLP. Practice Areas: Intellectual Property; Trademarks; Internet Law; E-Commerce.Email: Wendy C. Larson