Robert attended Rice University in Houston, Texas, majoring in Chemical Engineering. During the summer before his senior year, Robert interned at the Clorox Pioneering Research Center near San Francisco, California, performing research in the area of enzyme stabilization. Robert worked for several international engineering and construction firms where he designed refineries and chemical plants, as well as performed multiple simulations of plants to optimize production.
After practicing as a Process Engineer for 12 years, Robert became a Patent Agent and began working at Howrey Simon Arnold & White in Houston, Texas. One year later, Robert started law school at the University of Houston Law Center, initially attending the evening program while working full time.
After the first year in law school, Robert was invited onto the Houston Law Review, eventually becoming an Articles Editor. Robert decided to attend law school full time and work in-house as a part time Law Clerk for an international oil and gas service corporation where he reviewed thousands of intellectual property agreements and assisted in drafting new agreements for various research groups.
Following graduation from law school, Robert became in-house intellectual property counsel in the corporation, where he drafted and negotiated various agreements including patent licenses, joint-development agreements, university research agreements and government grant proposals.
When an opportunity to return to California presented itself, Robert left the corporate environment for private practice, first at an intellectual property law boutique and later at a large international law firm. Robert’s practice was a blend of prosecution and litigation. He prosecuted patent applications relating to batteries, fuel cells, plasma screens, polymer films, nanotechnology, bio-fuels, printer inks, vascular stents, medical devices for drug delivery, and consumer products. In addition to drafting patent applications, office action responses, and freedom-to-operate/non-infringement opinions, Robert argued an appeal before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. His litigation experience includes drafting bench memos, position papers, expert witness evaluation, strategy documents, general legal research, and IP support for antitrust litigation. Additional activities have included drafting international IP agreements, and conducting due diligence studies of general agreements, including consulting, master service, confidentiality, and development agreements.
Robert currently resides in Seattle, WA, and is a member
of the USPTO, Texas Bar, District of Columbia Bar, and California Bar. Washington Bar membership is pending.