CARTER ARNETT - Key Persons
Alexis Ritzer is an Associate at Carter Arnett. Alexis is a registered patent attorney with a background in the energy industry and various scientific fields such as chemistry, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics. Alexis' wide background enables her to represent both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving patent infringement and validity in different technologies involving telecommunications, semiconductors, circuitry, pharmaceuticals, and mechanical engineering.
Prior to joining Carter Arnett, Alexis served as a judicial extern to Judge Jane J. Boyle at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and a Judicial Law Clerk for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In law school, Alexis served as a Senior Articles Editor for the Texas A&M University Law Review and the teaching assistant for the Texas A&M University of Law Patent Clinic. Alexis also participated in her law school's Tax Dispute Resolution Clinic and Trademark and Copyright Clinic.
Ana is a partner at Carter Arnett and is both a trial lawyer and an appellate advocate with over 25 years of experience. As a former Assistant District Attorney, Assistant Attorney General, and Assistant City Attorney, Ana has handled on behalf of her government clients numerous trials and evidentiary hearings in federal and state trial courts across Texas. These litigation matters involved a broad range of issues and include cases involving multiple parties and complex claims.
Ana is the proud daughter of an entrepreneurial small-business owner and therefor utilizes a no-nonsense approach when assisting small-business clients manage their litigation. Ana strives to gain a comprehensive understanding of her client's business so she can communicate effectively, assist with identifying potential legal pitfalls, and respond quickly to adverse legal claims.
Bradley D. Liddle is a partner at Carter Arnett. Brad has extensive experience representing and advising clients in patent litigation matters. Brad's significant litigation experience covers all phases of litigation. Brad also represents clients in Inter-Partes Review proceedings. He has also helped clients obtain patent licenses, perform portfolio mining, assess the value of their patents, and evaluate the strength of infringement allegations. Brad has also advised clients on the acquisition of patent portfolios. Brad's practice also includes assisting litigation finance entities to identify opportunities for investment in intellectual property.
Brad has been involved with patents and technology for over 15 years. Prior to practicing with Carter Arnett, Brad ran a multi-million dollar patent licensing company which successfully licensed dozens of companies to its patent portfolio. Brad started his legal career at a patent litigation boutique firm in Houston, TX where he was involved in patent infringement cases spanning a wide range of technologies. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University. He obtained his law degree from Texas A&M University School of Law.
Prior to attending law school, Brad worked as an engineer at the Boeing Company where he supported the International Space Station program. He worked extensively with the Japanese and European Space Agencies to further NASA's cooperative venture.
Brad is licensed to practice law before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, federal district court for the Eastern District of Texas, and Texas state courts.
Courtney Barksdale Perez is a partner at Carter Arnett. Courtney has a vast array of litigation experience having tried cases to jury in state and federal court. She has represented plaintiffs and defendants in employment-related claims, complex commercial disputes involving allegations of fraud, negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of covenants not to compete, tortious interference with contracts, civil conspiracy, antitrust and in intellectual property disputes alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark infringement, and patent infringement. In addition, Courtney is a trained mediator and assists litigants in resolving employment, business, commercial, consumer, personal injury and civil rights disputes.
Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law, Courtney has specialized knowledge representing individuals, corporations, and government entities in all phases of commercial and employment-related litigation from the risk-management phase through trial and on appeal. Courtney regularly advises clients concerning compliance with employment-related statutes and has served as lead counsel in cases involving claims asserted under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Federal Labor Standards Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Texas Whistleblower Act, the Texas Payday Act, the Texas Labor Code and employment agreements. She also conducts internal investigations, reviews and prepares policies and procedures, and provides training for employers.
Courtney is a frequent author and speaker on topics involving her subject-matter expertise as well as issues surrounding diversity, inclusion, equity and wellness in the profession.
Prior to joining Carter Arnett, Courtney was an associate at an international law firm and served as Law Clerk to the Honorable James A. Beaty, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
E. Leon Carter is a principal of Carter Arnett. Leon was recognized as the Dallas Bar Association's Trial Lawyer of the Year. Leon has over 25 years of trial and litigation experience working with an impressive client list. Leon is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, the Litigation Counsel of America, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Leon has been named by the Dallas Business Journal to "The Defenders - One of the Top 15 Business-Defense Lawyers in the DFW Metroplex in 2019." Since 2007, Leon has been selected as one of Lawdragon's 500 Leading Lawyers in America. Since 2010, Leon has been selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters' Super Lawyers® Top 100 Lawyers in Texas.
Leon has served as a Dallas County Assistant District Attorney and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas. He has also served as an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and SMU's Dedman School of Law. He has provided legal analysis for Court TV, a CBS affiliate and a FOX affiliate.
After serving as Assistant District Attorney, Leon joined the law firm of Jackson Walker, L.L.P. where he became an equity partner in the litigation section. His experience includes representing plaintiffs and defendants in the areas of commercial litigation, products liability, patent litigation, First Amendment, labor and employment, and redistricting. He has appeared in a variety of state and federal courts and has tried more than 100 civil and criminal cases to a jury.
Recently, Leon was selected by Thomson Reuters "Super Lawyers as one of the Top 10 lawyers in Texas".
Howard Lim is a Counsel at Carter Arnett where his practice focuses on patent litigation and IP counseling. Howard has extensive experience in matters related to lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, LCD and OLED display technologies, gaming software, and video streaming. Howard holds a J.D. and M.S. Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University. Prior to practicing law, he developed lithium-ion battery technology for electric vehicle and energy storage applications at Panasonic Corporation. He is fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
Bob Arnett is a principal of Carter Arnett. Bob is AV® rated, achieving the highest possible rating, and has been named repeatedly to Thomson Reuters' Super Lawyers® list.
Bob has more than 35 years of experience in all aspects of civil litigation at trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts, as well as before domestic and international arbitration tribunals. Bob has represented businesses in the hospitality, commercial and residential real estate, construction, insurance, finance, medical services, corporate services, telecommunications, entertainment, and retail marketing industries. Bob also has significant experience in bankruptcy cases, representing debtors, creditors, creditors' committees, and other parties in interest. Bob has represented all types and sizes of clients, from individuals and small, family-owned businesses to publicly traded Fortune 500® companies.
Bob received his Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law, where he achieved the Order of the Coif, received multiple American Jurisprudence awards, and served as the Managing Editor of the UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal for two years. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Martin Pence, Senior District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Bob received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University in Houston, Texas. He also served a four-year assignment as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps.
Jeffrey Stephens is Of Counsel at Carter Arnett. Jeff focuses on cases involving patents, including patent litigation in federal district courts, post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), and appeals at the Federal Circuit. Jeff has represented intellectual property owners and accused infringers in a wide range of technology areas, including medical devices, industrial devices such as fiber lasers and centrifugal separators, consumer products, oil and gas, and computer and networking technologies.
Jeff has experience in patent preparation and prosecution, due diligence in connection with mergers and acquisitions, and representing clients in a broad array of intellectual property-related disputes, including claims of trademark and trade dress infringement, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, breach of contract, and copyright infringement.
Jeff is a former Administrative Patent Judge (APJ) with PTAB. As an APJ, Jeff served on panels deciding ex parte appeals in computer, electrical, and mechanical technologies and conducting AIA trials. Jeff also previously clerked for the Honorable Pauline Newman of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Jeff began his legal career at Knobbe, Martens, Olson, & Bear in Irvine, California, and has practiced with firms in Utah and Texas.
Prior Experience
Former Administrative Patent Judge
Former Law Clerk to the Honorable Pauline Newman of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Joshua J. Bennett is a partner at Carter Arnett. Josh has represented both individuals and businesses in high-stakes litigation. Josh's significant litigation experience covers all phases of litigation, including appeal. In his practice, Josh focuses on prosecuting and defending claims of civil rights violations, trademark infringement, patent infringement, theft of trade secrets, premises liability, breach of contract and various business torts, breach of fiduciary duty, deceptive trade practices, Dram Shop violations, and RICO violations.
Job Titles:
- IP Inn of Court, Associate 2021 - Present
- IP Inn of Court, Charter Member and Master
- Professional Associations and Community Involvement
Judge Gary Hall is Senior Counsel to Carter Arnett. Judge Hall retired from the 68th Judicial Court in Dallas, Texas, after 20 years of judicial service. He uses his extensive judicial knowledge to help clients settle disputes and avoid the high cost and unnecessary delay of lawsuits. He has served as a judge, mediator, arbitrator, special master and umpire in thousands of lawsuits and legal disputes.
Job Titles:
- Inn of Court, Associate
- Inn of Court, past Member
Job Titles:
- Professional Associations and Community Involvement
Linda R. Stahl is a partner at Carter Arnett. Linda is a commercial litigator who guides companies through complex legal disputes so that they can get down to the business of doing business.
After graduating from Yale Law School and serving as a federal law clerk to the Hon. Sidney A. Fitzwater in the United States Court for the Northern District of Texas, Linda concentrated her law practice on complex commercial litigation. Linda has substantial expertise with disputes over trade secrets and served on the State Bar committee instrumental in the Texas Legislature's adoption in 2013 of the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act. She has litigated a variety of intellectual property matters, including trademark, copyright and trade secret misappropriation claims. Drawing on years of experience in employment-related matters (and in addition to defending discrimination and wrongful termination suits), Linda also assists companies and individuals seeking to enforce or avoid noncompetition agreements.
Linda also has substantial experience litigating disputes arising out of business contracts and real estate transactions. These include lease disputes and suits relating to real estate finance structures. She has handled numerous suits involving mortgage-backed securities and more traditional loans and guarantees. Linda also handles cases involving surface rights, joint interest billings, and a variety of other oil and gas disputes.
Job Titles:
- Panel for Magistrate Judge, Chair, 2013
Appointed by Chief Judge of Northern District of Texas to chair merit selection panel to evaluate magistrate judge for reappointment
Michael Pomeroy is an Associate at Carter Arnett. Michael has experience representing clients in intellectual property and commercial litigation matters. Michael has represented plaintiffs and defendants in disputes involving patent infringement, copyright infringement, breach of contract, and theft of trade secrets. As a registered patent attorney, Michael has also represented clients at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, as well as in appeals at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Prior to joining Carter Arnett, Michael was an Associate at a patent litigation boutique in Dallas, TX, where he was involved in patent infringement cases spanning a range of technologies, including but not limited to graphics rendering, near frequency communication, and distributed speech recognition architectures.
Monica Litle Goff is an Associate at Carter Arnett. Monica has experience in civil ligation in both state and federal court. Monica has represented plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving employment disputes, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, negligence, civil rights violations, patent infringement, and various business torts.
Prior to joining Carter Arnett, Monica served as a judicial intern to Judge Catharina Haynes at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Career Law Clerk to the Honorable Amos L. Mazzant, III in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and Law Clerk to the Honorable K. Nicole Mitchell, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. During her time with the court, Monica was exposed to a variety of criminal and civil cases, including Title VII, § 1983, patent, and complex commercial litigation.
Nichol John is an Associate at Carter Arnett. Nichol is a registered patent attorney with experience representing clients in intellectual property and commercial litigation matters.
Prior to joining Carter Arnett, Nichol was an associate at a boutique litigation firm in Dallas, TX, where she represented clients in cases involving construction defects, breach of contract, personal injury, premises liability, and Dram Shop violations. In law school, Nichol received a Special Distinction in Intellectual Property for her meaningful contributions to the IP program. Nichol also served as student counsel in her law school's Intellectual Property Law Clinic.
Omer Salik is a Partner at Carter Arnett in the firm's patent litigation group. Omer, a registered patent attorney with an electrical engineering background, has over twenty years of experience in high stakes litigation ranging from intellectual property matters, securities and derivative suits, consumer class actions and commercial disputes. Omer began his career as an attorney with the law firms of Jones Day and Hennigan Bennett and Dorman (now McKool Smith) where his practice focused on patent litigation in a wide range of technologies, including LEDs, signal processing, software, chipsets and processors.
Omer then became in-house counsel for Activision Blizzard, Inc., one of the world's most successful videogame companies, becoming its Global Head of Litigation and Intellectual Property. In that role, Omer oversaw the company's global IP portfolio, including patent, trademark and copyright filings, patent acquisitions and IP clearance and licensing transactions. Omer also managed all aspects of the company's litigation docket in a variety of jurisdictions and subject matters, driving successful outcomes in a multitude of high-profile matters. Omer has deep experience managing every stage of global litigation matters from strategic evaluation to trial, with many noteworthy results, including multiple summary judgment wins in complex patent and trademark litigations, dismissals in shareholder class actions, derivative suits and First Amendment issues and a trial win in a copyright matter in the Eastern District of Texas.
By serving as both in-house counsel for over a decade and outside counsel, Omer brings a unique perspective and ability to deliver value and achieve clients' strategic objectives.
Scott Breedlove is a partner at Carter Arnett and heads the firm's patent litigation group. A registered patent attorney trained in electrical engineering, Scott is a trial lawyer who has represented clients in trial courts across the country and in the ITC. Before joining Carter Arnett, Scott practiced for more than 20 years with international law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP, both in commercial litigation and as a partner in intellectual property.
In commercial litigation, Scott has handled significant contract and fraud cases and a variety of business torts and unfair competition claims. He sees each judge and jury as a unique audience and tailors his communication accordingly, in both oral advocacy and legal briefing. Scott strives to be succinct, precise, and persuasive, and has managed to obtain summary judgment and other early relief in favor of his clients in courts not known for granting it.
Scott's patent enforcement and patent litigation success spans a wide range of technologies. He has led litigation teams representing clients large and small. In one patent case, with his client facing a damages claim exceeding $200 million, Scott helped to obtain one of the only defense jury verdicts in a patent case in the Northern District of Texas in the last twenty years. More recently, following extensive discussions with plaintiff's counsel about their client's infringement theory, he secured a take- nothing voluntary dismissal for his client, while numerous other defendants paid royalties in settlement of patent infringement claims filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division. Scott has also had outstanding success representing patent owners seeking to enforce their patents to ensure fair competition and compensation for unauthorized use of patented technology. Recently, Scott has been leading Carter Arnett patent teams and directing patent enforcement campaigns for clients with premium patent portfolios.
Scott has been active in the intellectual property bar as a speaker and a leader, having chaired the Intellectual Property Law sections of both the Dallas Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas. And he was a founding member of, and remains active in, the Hon. Barbara M.G. Lynn American Inn of Court.
At the University of Texas, Scott was an editor of the Texas Law Review and a member of Chancellors, the most prestigious honorary society of the School of Law. Following law school, he was a judicial clerk to the Honorable Robert E. Payne of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Stacey Cho Hernandez is a partner at Carter Arnett. Stacey represents businesses, companies, governmental entities, corporate officers, and individuals across a range of employment and complex civil and business litigation matters. Stacey has tried cases to verdict in state and federal court and represented clients in appeals before the Texas Courts of Appeals and United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.