Bill Hulsey, Esq., Hulsey Calhoun
Mr. Hulsey has prepared and prosecuted over 1700 U.S. and foreign patent applications while representing over 500 start-up and emerging growth companies in a career spanning nearly 30 years in service to a global entrepreneurial community. He is listed on the Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys, rated “AV—Preeminent” by the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory, and a recipient of the Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award. On www.Avvo.com, the largest on-line directory of attorneys in the U.S., Mr. Hulsey has maintained the highest ranking in the U.S. for patent application services, with a “10 out of 10—Superb” lawyer rating. In addition, he has twice been recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Commercial Service Agency for excellence in patent, trademark and related intellectual property services to foreign clients seeking U.S. patents and trademarks.
Bill holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree from the Vanderbilt School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif honorary scholastic society, served as Senior Managing Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review, and assisted two professors in the editing, preparation, and publishing of their legal treatises. While a law student at Vanderbilt, he formed the by-laws and corporate charter for the Nashville Business Incubation Center, one of the nation’s first such entities and through which he began his career of serving the technology law needs of early-stage and emerging growth companies.
Bill also has earned a Masters of Arts degree in economics from the University of Virginia, where he studied mathematical and theoretical economics. His graduate thesis was to research and describe salient factors determining the growth of regional technology centers, such as Austin, Texas; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; the Route 128 Area near Boston, Massachusetts; and Silicon Valley, California.
The technical areas of his patents include semiconductor devices, electronics, software and Internet technologies, as well as medical devices, mechanical inventions for energy and other industries, and aerospace technologies. A significant number of the patents he has obtained for clients have been deemed critical to their receiving venture investments, winning government contracts, and achieving either lucrative settlement agreements or decisions of others infringing their patents.
Mr. Hulsey is a graduate of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear program, which is widely acknowledged as having the most demanding academic program in the U.S. military. Through this training and his hands-on work as a commissioned nuclear trained naval officer, he has a deep understanding of nuclear physics, electrical power theory and generating equipment, nuclear reactor technology, thermodynamics, chemistry, materials science and metallurgy, and health physics.
As a commissioned Naval Officer, he attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. Bill served first as a member of the USS Jacksonville (SSN699) nuclear submarine pre-commissioning and initial sea trials crew and then later as an Engineering Duty Officer, completing his naval service as Commanding Officer of a engineering unit supporting Submarine Base Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While in graduate school, Bill worked as a Scientific & Technical Intelligence Analyst for the United States Army’s Foreign Science & Technology Center in Charlottesville, Virginia and Electronics Research & Development Command in Adelphi, Maryland. From this work, he maintains a Secret Security Clearance and frequently assists clients in classified matters before the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and contractors to these federal agencies.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in theoretical mathematics from Rhodes College, where he graduated With Distinction and now serves on the Rhodes College National Alumni Executive Board.
Monica Emilienburg
Partner, Richards Rodriguez & Skeith LLP
Monica Emilienburg advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, contract related issues, strategic and operational matters, including corporate governance, day-to day operations, and risk management. Monica assists businesses with employment matters, the legal aspects of due diligence in corporate and real estate transactions and also counsels start-ups in areas related to entity formation, contractual matters and managing other legal concerns.
Monica’s diverse practice encompasses a breadth of corporate law practice areas, including the purchase, sale and development of commercial and residential real estate; the purchase and sale of businesses, assets and equity ownership rights; structuring and documentation of private financing transactions; and preparation of intellectual property filings, including trademark applications (state, federal and international), as well as related matters, including responses to USTPO office actions, statement of use filings and section 8 and 15 declarations.
In addition to her practice, Monica regularly lectures to local nonprofits that seek advice for their daily operations. Monica is a Leadership Austin Emerge Alum and currently serves on the Board of Directors of GENaustin, a local nonprofit with the mission of fostering healthy self-esteem in girls by engaging them to explore and define their personal values and to build skills that empower them with confidence and courage to make wise choices. The University of Texas Exes Hispanic Alumni and SCORE Austin also count Monica as a frequent volunteer for their charitable work.
Kirk Cesari is a patent attorney with more than 13 years of experience representing numerous clients including Fortune 100 clients, start-up companies, and individual inventors. Kirk has held multiple in-house counsel positions, including in-house counsel for 6 years for Seagate Technology (the largest manufacturer of hard disc drives), and represented clients at two well respected patent law firms prior to starting his own law firm in 2010.
Typical matters he represents for his clients include patent preparation and prosecution, patent opinions, copyright issues, trademark filings, licensing negotiations, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, software licenses, and development agreements, in addition to other intellectual property-related matters.
Kirk has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Dakota and his Juris Doctor is from William Mitchell College of Law. Kirk is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Minnesota State Bar, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Ryan McCarthy is an attorney with Fish & Richardson specializing in patent prosecution, litigation support, opinion work, IP due diligence, IP strategy, portfolio management, agreements and licensing. Ryan has developed a particular focus on advising entrepreneurs and emerging companies. This work includes developing short- and long-term IP strategies in view of business goals and resources.
