Legal Experience

      

Stephen's legal career began with Wong, Cabello, Rutherford, Lutsch, Bruculleri, LLP ("Wong Cabello"), a highly respected and nationally recognized intellectual property boutique in Houston, Texas. The founding partners of Wong Cabello, brought enormous experience as in-house counsel for large technology companies, including Compaq. Under their tutelage, Stephen learned how to better understand and view litigation from the perspective of the clients, who have unique financial and business considerations that are not apparent to many attorneys. 

​

At Wong Cabello, Stephen gained experience in all areas of intellectual property law, including litigation, licensing, patent portfolio review, due diligence, patent prosecution, opinion work, mediation, and inter partes reviews.  Stephen ran cases from start to finish, which provided him with an in-depth understanding of all aspects of litigation, such as pre-suit investigations, brief drafting, document collection and review, depositions, oral arguments, pre-trial preparation, settlement negotiations and license drafting.

​

In 2015, Wong Cabello was acquired by Blank Rome, LLP, a large national law firm that had a small presence in Houston. With the addition of Wong Cabello, Blank Rome's intellectual property group nearly doubled in size over night. At Blank Rome, Stephen continued to build on his past experience, including in the areas of architectural copyright, trademark and trade dress law, and with Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DCMA") and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA").

  

Throughout his career Stephen has represented clients in diverse areas, such as down hole oil and gas tools, digital rock analysis, semiconductor fabrication, Fibre Channel networking, computer systems, software, security systems, and wireless communications technology. On one end of the spectrum he has represented large telecommunication and cell phone companies against well funded patent assertion entities, and on the other end he has represented small, local businesses against against much larger competitors.

​

Legal Philosophy

​

Stephen continues to represent clients in these technological fields while placing the clients' needs above all else. Most disputes have a reasonable solution that does not involve scorched-earth litigation, but too often attorneys place all emphasis on "win at all costs" without regard to the clients' business or financial considerations. Stephen's unique ability to place himself in the clients' shoes, while recognizing that the clients' needs are often much different than the needs of outside counsel, is what differentiates him and the other attorneys at Cabello Hall Zinda.

​

Admissions

​

• Texas

• U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court - Southern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court - Western District of Texas

• U.S. District Court - Northern District of Texas

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

• Federal Circuit Court of Appeals

• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

​

Professional Activities

 

• Member of Houston Intellectual Property Association

• Former (termed out) Member of the Houston Intellectual Property Inn of Court

​

Recognitions

​

• 2021, “Rising Star” in Intellectual Property Litigation, listed in Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters)

• 2022, “Rising Star” in Intellectual Property Litigation, listed in Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters)

• 2023, “Rising Star” in Intellectual Property Litigation, listed in Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters)