Our people
The rarest combination in patent law — engineering fluency and the ability to claim every inch of what the prior art will allow..
Jim Huffman
BS, Electrical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
Founding Member
JD
Texas Tech University School of Law and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
Jim began his legal career in patent boutiques and a large general practice firm before being recruited by Dell Computer Corporation as its first Director of Intellectual Property. At Dell, he designed and built the company's patent program from the ground up — creating the processes for invention disclosure, review, approval, preparation, and prosecution that generated hundreds of filings annually and supported cross-licensing with major technology companies.
After leaving Dell, Jim founded HLG and has since served as de facto in-house IP counsel for dozens of technology companies — owning their patent strategy, budget, and execution from inception through issuance. The portfolios he has built have defeated competitors in litigation, driven acquisition premiums, and in cases where companies did not survive, became their most valuable remaining asset — returning significantly more than their cost.
For thirty years, clients have trusted Jim not just to file patents, but to build IP programs that hold their value under any circumstance.
Alan Davis
BS, Electrical Engineering
Texas A&M University
Patent Attorney
JD
University of Texas School of Law
MS, Electrical Engineering
Stanford University
Before entering private practice, Alan spent ten years as an electrical engineer at Bell Laboratories and Dell Computer Corporation, designing and developing mass-storage subsystems and system software. That engineering foundation shapes everything about how he works — he understands what an inventor has built before he writes a single claim.
Alan specializes in patent preparation and prosecution across telecommunications, microprocessor and computer-system architecture, mass-storage subsystems, and audio system design. He is admitted to practice before the USPTO, 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.
His first office action allowance rate is among the highest in the field — a reflection of the technical accuracy and claim precision he brings to every application. His clients prefer to stay with him for the duration of their careers.
Gary Stanford
BS, Electrical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
Patent Attorney
JD
University of Texas
Gary began his career as an electrical engineer before entering patent practice in 1990. He has worked in patent boutiques, larger general practice firms, and as co-founder of Stanford and Bennett, before joining Huffman Law Group.
His technical strengths run deep in mixed signal circuits and power supply design — areas that demand an attorney who can follow the engineering precisely, not approximate it. He practices across network communications, analog circuitry, power systems, integrated circuits, microprocessor-based systems, and computer software.
Gary has written and prosecuted several hundred patent applications for clients ranging from startups to large corporations. He is among the most efficient drafters at HLG in terms of both time and cost — a combination that matters when budget discipline is part of the program.
Beyond his client work, Gary has devoted considerable effort to providing IP counsel charitably for organizations that hold a special place in his heart and his community.
Eric Cernyar
BS, Electrical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Patent Attorney
JD
The University of Texas
Eric brings an unusually deep legal pedigree to patent practice. Before entering private practice, he served as a briefing attorney for two Texas Supreme Court justices, including Alberto Gonzales, who later served as U.S. Attorney General. He has argued Markman hearings, presented appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit, and the Fifth Circuit, and was named a Texas Rising Star in intellectual property law by Texas Monthly and Super Lawyers in 2004.
He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the USPTO, and the United States District Courts for the Western, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas, as well as the state courts of Texas and Colorado.
What defines Eric in practice is his commitment to understanding an invention completely before writing a single word. That thoroughness — driven by an unrelenting standard for his own work and a genuine devotion to his clients — means the work product he delivers routinely exceeds what the budget would suggest is possible.