DAVID G. HENRY, SR.
registered patent attorney, patent litigator, trademark litigator Intellectual property consultant patent law & litigation law school professor CERTIFIED mediator - PATENT AND TRADEMARK MATTERS pilot
about me
A rather unique past, and a multi-faceted present
From 12 Year Old Eagle Scout, to High School Drop-out, to Qualifying for Medical School, to the Present Mix of "Hats" That I Wear....
My history is anything but "typical" of those in law (and particularly in "top level" IP law), but I believe that my wide mix of experiences and perspectives aid me in everything from empathizing with any client's needs and concerns, to communicating effectively with most anyone on a jury panel, to bringing a holelistic approach to advising start-ups to Fortune 50 companies in dealing with wide arrays of IP issues and challenges while always considering the impact of any advice on the client's broader business concerns.
After being something of an over-achiever very early in life (becoming the 5th boy in Scouting history to reach the rank of Eagle while still 12 years of age), I effectively dropped out of high school as a result of a number of family and other circumstances. For a time, I worked in a variety of jobs, including in restaurants, loading docks, and other, similar contexts. Ultimately, my dream of "mattering" (as I saw it for me) led me to seek the nearly impossible - to gain admission to Baylor University and to have more to offer to society.
Baylor University gave me a wholly undeserved "second chance", and with that, and by way of a circuitous path that included a "temporary" detour from medical school, I ultmately qualified as, and became a Registered Patent Attorney.
Combined with the rigorous litigation training about which Baylor Law School is legendary, I developed into a "first-chair" (lead counsel) Patent, Trademark and Trade Secret ("IP") litigator, with clients and cases throughout the United States.
After stints in multple cities, incuding as a Partner in the once-famed Washington, D.C. lawfirm of Patton Boggs, I now serve as Managing Partner of the new Waco, Texas office of Munck, Wilson & Mandela, LLP (www.munckwilson.com), with a focus on IP litigation. The firm also has other offices throughout the U.S. The combination my law practice (mostly IP prosecution and litigation), my consulting and mediation practices (limited to patent mediation and trademark mediation), and my on-going "give-back" to Baylor occupy most of my professional and personal time, though the time saved by my piloting myself to all of my destinations still allows me a rich family and social life.
My Baylor involvements include teaching patent and IP-related litigation courses at Baylor Law School, sponsoring several student organizations, including one fraternity and one sorority, and serving as the co-director for the United State Patent & Trademark Office's IP Clinic Program at Baylor.
With clients and cases throughout the nation, I could only combine my Baylor involvement with my nation-wide practice by way of being able to fly myself to and from my various commitments.
What started as just that - a way to get to where I needed to go from a city (Waco, Texas) with limited airline service - evolved into a competitive advantage that benefits me and my clients alike.
Flying privately is certainly more expensive than flying via the airlines, but only (in my case) if one looks at the direct costs in isolation. Particularly in litigation where, because of the ability to quickly reach destinations that my opponents must allow extra day(s) to reach (especially in the current airline context), I and my single litigation team can cover such things as tightly-scheduled depositions in diverse cities and states while our opponents must often use multiple teams to cover the same tasks (at far greater expense to the client). Likewise, I can reach most any U.S. city, at most any time, to deal with client emergencies - my slogan has long been "Geography is Never an Issue".
On the personal front: Priscilla and I have now been married for 47 years (yes, we married very young), and have two children and three wonderful grandchildren. A few of Priscilla's words may be seen at www.this-art-of-mine.com)