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 USA, Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500 United States, WIPR 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
- Co-author (with John Pueschel, Richard Raleigh, and Lee Van Voorhis), “FTC Issues New Rule—But Not the Final Chapter—on Non-Competes: What Employers Need to Know”, Les Nouvelles, June 2024
- Co-author (with Lisa Rushton), "Energy Transition Faces Challenges, Will Need Greater Investment," Offshore Magazine, February 13, 2024
- Co-presenter, "Challenges & Opportunities with Intellectual Property & Technology Innovation in Muslim-Majority Countries,” George Mason University Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy, January 12, 2023
- Co-author, “Op-ed: Is the Jones Act Out of Time?” Oil and Gas Investor, July 8, 2022
- Co-author (with Mike Dow, Jesse Reyes, and Lisa Rushton), “The Greening of America: New Executive Order Aims to Strengthen Advanced Battery Supply Chain,” June 17, 2021
- Co-presenter (with Sanjiv Shah), “Technology Revolution & Investment Toward “Greener” Energy Resourcing,” World IP Forum, May 5, 2021
- Co-presenter (with Ben Bourke and Michael O’Shaughnessy), “Expanding Patent Rights During a Pandemic,” May 7, 2021
- Co-presenter, “Licensing for Success in Global Market Change,” Licensing Executives Society International (LESI)-Brazil and LESI-Americas Conference, August 7, 2020
- Co-author (with Samuel Savanich), “USPTO Makes the Patent “Fast-Track” Faster,” July 6, 2020
- Co-author (with Barry Herman), “IP Enforcement Can Pay Unexpected Dividends in a Downturn,” Law360, April 2020
- Co-author, “Retaining Federal Jurisdiction After Fed. Circ. License Ruling,” Law360, November 2019
- Author, “Walking the Jurisdictional Line: Cashing in on Federal Jurisdiction in Patent Licensing Disputes," October 2019
- Author, “Ostriches Beware: Hiding Head in the Sand Causes Willful Blindness in Patent Infringement,” October 2019
- Author, “Ignoring Patents Not A Willful Infringement Free Pass In EDTX,” Law360, October 2019
- Presenter, “Strategic Intellectual Asset Commercialization," LES South Africa Advanced Licensing Course, October 2019
- Presenter, “Innovation and Technology Collaboration Leading to Commercialization in KSA,” Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, October 2019
- Author, “State Sovereignty 101: State Universities Not Immune to IPR Proceedings,” June 2019
- Presenter, “Collaboration Between Universities and Large Corporations,” Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, March 2019
- Author, “To tariff or not to tariff,” Intellectual Property Magazine, November 2018
- Featured Speaker, “Monetizing IP in your M&A Transactions,” Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, September 2018
- Author, “Problems with Patents,” Oil & Gas Technology, Autumn 2017
Media Mentions
- “US fast-tracks green tech under new scheme,” World IP Review, June 15, 2022.
- "Jeffrey Whittle on Oil and Gas Industry Leaders Podcast," Oil and Gas Global Network, November 15, 2022
- “DVT Challenges and Ways to Apply the Chatham House Rule,” Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, October 2019
- “Womble Bond Dickinson Opens Office in Houston,” Law360, February 2019
- “Houston Gets Another Law Firm as Womble Bond Dickinson Opens 27th Office,” Texas Lawyer/Law.com, January 2019
- “Another Big Law Firm Sets Up Shop in Houston,” Houston Chronicle/Texas Lawbook, January 2019
- “Energy Disputes Global Trends and Perspectives,” July 20, 2017
- Author, “Patents or Trade Secrets? Yes, Please,” June 14, 2017
- “3 Things You Should Know About the Nominee for IP Czar,” Law360, May 17, 2017
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