Jeff Whittle provides nearly 30 years of legal experience to clients in the energy and high-tech industries. He advises on strategic and complex technology merger & acquisition transactions, licensing, patent, trademark, and copyright protection, intellectual property portfolio analysis, and various other contentious and transactional matters, including inter partes reexaminations, post-grant reviews, and derivation proceedings, among other disputed cases. Jeffrey is Head of Womble Bond Dickinson’s Global Energy and Natural Resources Industry Sector and serves as Managing Partner of the firm’s Houston office.

Jeffrey has been recognized by Chambers USABest Lawyers in AmericaThe Legal 500 United StatesWIPR Leaders, and Client Choice, among others, for his outstanding work, career and contributions to law, technology, and intellectual property.  Additionally, he was awarded the Texas Trailblazer Award as a Texas Lawyer in 2019, he was the Frank Barnes Award Winner for LES USA/Canada in 2019, and he was named Global IP Attorney of the Year by Legal Era in 2018.

Jeffrey is the past president and chair of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) for the USA and Canada (2015-2016) and served on the LES Board for over seven years. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Americas Committee for Licensing Executives Society International (LESI). He also currently serves as Chair of the Certified License Professionals (CLP), a licensing certifying professional society. Jeffrey is a frequent and highly sought-after speaker and author, nationally and internationally, on various intellectual property/licensing/technology topics.

Jeffrey keeps up with the always changing intellectual property field through memberships in various legal and professional associations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association, Federal Circuit Bar Association, and Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Certified Licensing Professionals, Inc., the Board of Visitors for Wake Forest University School of Law, the Advisory Council for the University of Houston Law Center Intellectual Property Institute, and the Advisory Board of the Institute for Energy Law. He also has served on the International Advisory Board of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's Technology Review Committee, IP Law360's Advisory Board, as well as on boards of various charitable organizations. Jeffrey is also a member of the Texas Bar College and the Texas Bar Foundation.

Professional & Civic Engagement

  • Certified Licensing Professional - Board of Governors, 2018 – 2023
  • Institute for Energy Law, Advisory Board, 2021
  • Licensing Executives Society International, Americas Committee, Co-Chair, 2019 – Present
  • Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), International Advisory Board, 2019 – 2020
  • Wake Forest University School of Law, Board of Visitors, 2019 – Present
  • University of Houston Law Center, Intellectual Property Law Institute, Advisory Council, 2010 – Present
  • Licensing Executives Society USA & Canada; Chair and President, 2015 – 2016
  • IP Law 360 Advisory Board, 2010
  • M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Technology Review Committee, 2008 – 2009
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Texas Bar College
  • Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow
  • Federal Circuit Bar Association 
  • Houston Bar Association
  • Houston Intellectual Property Law Association
  • Institute for Electronic and Electrical Engineers
  • North Carolina Bar Association
  • Florida Bar Association 

Thought Leadership

Media Mentions

Honors & Awards

  • Chambers USA Ranked Lawyer, Intellectual Property, Texas, 2009 – Present
  • IAM Global Leaders, IAM Magazine, 2020 – 2022
  • The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), Technology Law, 2016 – Present; Lawyer of the Year, Technology Law, 2020
  • IAM Strategy 350, IAM Magazine, 2021 – 2022
  • IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Magazine, 2012 – present
  • Lexology Client Choice Award, Intellectual Property—Designs & Trade Secrets, 2021
  • IEEE Senior Member, 2020
  • Texas Trailblazer Award, Texas Lawyer, 2019
  • Frank Barnes Award Winner, Licensing Executives Society USA/Canada, 2019
  • WIPR Leaders, World Intellectual Property Review, 2016 – 2020
  • Named to Managing Intellectual Property’s list of IP Stars, Patent Star, Trademark Star, 2017 – 2020
  • Who's Who Legal, Patents, 2020, 2022
  • NC Pro Bono Honor Society, 2023