Terril Lewis

I have practiced intellectual property (IP) law (with an emphasis on patents) for 23 years, and have been fortunate to have had a number of unique experiences that inform my practice.

After finishing my Electrical Engineering degree in 1988, I worked as an engineer at Texas Instruments (TI), where I was involved with integrated circuit design and manufacturing. During my six-year tenure at TI, I received a Masters in Electrical Engineering and started law school, where I was an Articles Editor for the Houston Law Review.

I graduated from law school in 1996, second in my class, and received the second-highest grade on the Texas 1996 summer bar exam. I worked at Arnold, White & Durkee, P.C., then Houston’s largest IP firm, from 1995 to 1997. I clerked for Judge Alan D. Lourie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, from 1997 to 1999, which court hears appeals from patent infringement suits and from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. I have a Masters of Law in IP.

In 1999, I returned to Arnold, White & Durkee, which soon merged with the international law firm of Howrey, LLP. I was fortunate to join an excellent group of IP practitioners at the firm of Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford, and Brucculeri, LLP, where I was a partner from 2004 to 2014 before founding Lewis & Reese, PLLC.   I’m also from time to time an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, my alma mater, where I have taught a variety of IP subjects.

I enjoy the practice of intellectual property law, and am glad to have built upon earlier technical aspects of my career via this trajectory.  My practice is largely transactional, and typically involves a significant involvement in the technical aspects of clients’ businesses.  I also assist with litigation matters, usually in the capacity of research and writing, and in appeals and oral argument at both the Federal Circuit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

- Master of Law in Intellectual Property (2001, highest honors), George Washington University

- Doctor of Jurisprudence (1996, highest honors), University of Houston Law Center

- Master of Electrical Engineering (1992), Rice University

- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (1988) University of Notre Dame

- Lewis & Reese, PLLC -  Founder (2014-present)

- Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford & Brucculeri, LLP - Partner (2004-2014)

- Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford & Brucculeri, LLP - Of Counsel (2003-2004)

- Howrey, LLP - Associate (1999-2003)

- U.S.  Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - Law Clerk (1997-99)

- Arnold, White & Durkee, PC - Law Clerk (1995); Associate (1996-1997)

- Texas Instruments, Inc. - Engineering manager (1993-1995); Semiconductor engineer (1989-1993)

- University of Houston Law Center - Adjunct Professor (2003-2013) - Courses taught include Patent Law, Advanced Topics in Patent Law, Intellectual Property Survey, IP licensing.

- State of Texas

- U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

- U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas

- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal and Fifth Circuits

- University of Texas Health Science Center, “Software Intellectual Property Issues" (2013).

- Texas Super Lawyers, “Rising Star” (2006, 2008, 2009).

- Texas Bar CLE, “Electronic Filing of Trademark of Patent Applications” (2005).

- “Reverse Engineering of Software: An Assessment of the Legality of Intermediate Copying,” 20 Loyola of L.A. Entertainment L. Rev. 561 (2000).

- “Collateral Estoppel as Applied to the Construction of Patent Claims,” J. Patent & Trademark Vol. 83, pg. 851 (2001) (Part I), Vol. 84, pg. 47 (2002) (Part II).

- “Towards Implementation of the Madrid Protocol in the United States,” 89 Trademark Reporter 918 (1999).

- “Semiconductor Chip Process Protection,” 32 Hous. L. Rev. 555 (1995), reprinted in 28 Intellectual Prop. L. Rev. 451 (1996).