People
Exceptional People. Exceptional Results.
Jim Huffman
PRESIDENT
BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
JD, Texas Tech University School of Law and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
Jim has worked as an engineer, lawyer, and consultant for more than three decades. Before founding Huffman Law Group, he served as the first Director of Intellectual Property for Dell Computer Corporation, where he designed and implemented a patent process that generated hundreds of invention disclosures per year and supported cross‑licensing with major technology companies.
Since leaving Dell, Jim has acted as de facto in‑house IP counsel for dozens of technology startups and primary outside patent counsel for many more. His focus is on securing strong, business‑relevant protection while keeping technical, legal, and financial considerations in balance. Jim’s commitment to clear communication and state‑of‑the‑art electronic systems has helped position Huffman Law Group as a trusted boutique patent firm for advanced computing and chip‑architecture clients.
Alan Davis
BS, Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University
MS, Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
JD, University of Texas School of Law
Alan specializes in patent procurement and counseling in the electrical and software arts, with an emphasis on telecommunications, microprocessor and computer‑system architecture, mass‑storage subsystems, and audio system design (including amplifiers, CODECs, and noise‑cancellation technologies). He has over 30 years of experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications in these areas.
Before entering private practice, Alan spent 10 years as an electrical engineer at Bell Laboratories and Dell Computer Corporation, where he designed and developed mass‑storage subsystems and system software. He is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Texas state courts, and he is the principal of the Law Office of Alan Davis in Austin, Texas.
Alan Davis is an independent contractor to Huffman Law Group, LLC
Gary Stanford
BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
JD, University of Texas at Austin
Gary specializes in intellectual property law with an emphasis on patent prosecution and counseling in the electrical arts, including network communications, analog circuitry, power systems (such as switching regulators), integrated circuits, microprocessor‑based systems, and computer software.
He began his career as an electrical engineer and has practiced patent law since 1990, working in both smaller patent boutiques and larger general‑practice firms, as well as as a sole practitioner and co‑founder of the law firm of Stanford and Bennett. Gary joined Huffman Law Group in 2009 and has written and prosecuted several hundred patent applications for clients ranging from startups to large corporations.
Gary Stanford, P.C. is an independent contractor to Huffman Law Group, LLC
Eric Cernyar
BS, Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
JD, University of Texas School of Law
Eric specializes in patent prosecution in the electrical, software, mechanical, and medical‑device arts. He has also argued Markman hearings in patent‑infringement cases and presented appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit, and the Fifth Circuit. In 2004, he was named a “Texas Rising Star” in intellectual property law by Texas Monthly and Super Lawyers magazines.
Between 1997 and 1999, Eric served as a briefing attorney for two Texas Supreme Court justices, Raul Gonzales and Alberto Gonzales (who later became U.S. Attorney General). At the University of Texas School of Law, he was a member of the Texas Law Review, a Chancellor, and a member of the Order of the Coif. Eric is admitted to practice in Texas and Colorado and before the United States Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the United States District Courts for the Western, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas.
Eric W. Cernyar, P.C. is an independent contractor to Huffman Law Group, LLC
“I have had the pleasure of working with Jim off and on for the past 15 years or so. Jim is an outstanding patent attorney who performs the highest quality work for his clients. He is very detail oriented, well versed in the law, and very knowledgeable in the electrical arts. I highly recommend Jim for any patent related services.”