Biography
John brings a potent combination of skilled advocacy, business acumen, and technical knowledge to representing clients in high-profile, high-stakes patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and commercial litigation matters. John’s clients range from Fortune 500 companies to start-up companies in a broad spectrum of industries. Clients value his ability to distill down complex issues and technologies to assist judges and juries in their decision-making process. John works tirelessly with the client to develop strategies that lead to favorable outcomes.
John’s practice includes serving as national and local trial counsel for computer software companies, energy companies, oilfield service companies, equipment manufacturers, financial services companies, and entertainment industry personnel. Often times in high-stakes litigation, John will seek extraordinary and injunctive relief for clients, including temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.
Prior to his legal career, John worked as an engineer for Northrop Grumman (f/k/a Northrop Corporation) in Southern California. When away from the office, John likes to spend his time running half marathons and traveling.
Representative Matters
- Ansys v. Does 1-211, 6:23-cv-00120 (W.D.Tex.)(brought copyright infringement and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims on behalf of global leader in engineering simulation software against Defendants hiding behind their anonymous IP addresses)
- Ansys, Inc. v. Does 1-351, 6:22-cv-01093 (W.D.Tex.)(brought copyright infringement and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims on behalf of global leader in engineering simulation software against Defendants hiding behind their anonymous IP addresses)
- Zentian, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., 6:22-cv-00122 (W.D.Tex.)(represent patent owner in a patent infringement dispute involving voice recognition technology)
- Zentian, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 6:22-cv-00123 (W.D.Tex.)(represent patent owner in a patent infringement dispute involving voice recognition technology)
- Transocean Sedco Forex Ventures Limited v. The Oilgear Company, 4:22-cv-02477 (S.D.Tex.)(represented patent owner in a patent infringement dispute involving oilfield equipment)
- Lewis, a minor and mother, Trinity Lewis v. Cook Children’s Medical Center, 048-112330-19, 48th District Court, Fort Worth, TX (represented 2-year-old in fight for her life after medical facility invoked a 10-day law to withdraw life sustaining care, obtained a finding by the Second Court of Appeals that the statute violated her procedural due process rights and defeated medical facility’s subsequent petition to the Supreme Court of Texas and certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States)
- Nicholas Usler, et al. v. Vital Farms, Inc., 1:21-cv-00447 (W.D.Tex.)(represent plaintiffs and purported nationwide class alleging fraud and deceptive trade practices by egg seller).
Education
J.D., Syracuse University College of Law, May 1995
Syracuse Law Review
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas, August 1989
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, The George Washington University, May 1987
Pi Tau Sigma (president) and Tau Beta Pi (member)
Honors & Awards
The Best Lawyers in America (2021, 2022, 2023)
Houstonia Magazine – Best Lawyers
The Best Lawyers in America
Court Admissions
Texas
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Federal Claims
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Professional & Community Involvement
Syracuse University Law Alumni Association, Former Board Member
The Nature Conservancy Advisory Board, Houston, Former Board Member
Texas Bar Foundation
Houston Bar Foundation
University of Texas Endowed Scholarship
Previous Affiliations
Texas Star Alliance, Houston & Austin, TX
Principal. An integrated public affairs group. December 2014 to March 2017.
Bracewell, L.L.P., Houston, TX
Partner & Associate. February 2004 to September 2014.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., Houston, TX
Associate Attorney. January 1999 to February 2004.
Pravel, Hewitt, Kimball & Krieger, Houston, TX
Associate Attorney. September 1995 to December 1998