Two Fish Principals Named Energy & Environmental Trailblazers

Fish Principals Terry Stalford and Carl Bruce have been named "Energy and Environmental Trailblazers" by The National Law Journal (NLJ). According to The NLJ, each of these trailblazers has "shown a deep passion and perseverance in pursuit of their mission, having achieved remarkable successes along the way."

Mr. Stalford and Mr. Bruce have pioneered many new approaches to patenting and enforcing the cutting-edge technologies their high-profile oil and gas clients develop. For example, they have spent the past four years building a patent portfolio for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), the most valuable company in the world, to protect the company's new technologies that deliver greater levels of operational efficiency, enhanced performance, and environmental benefits. They have each contributed significantly to Saudi Aramco obtaining 175 issued patents in 2016.

Mr. Stalford's practice emphases patent litigation, infringement risk management, patent procurement, and licensing in the communications, mobile, energy, software, and electronics fields. He helps clients in the U.S., Europe, and Asia develop and manage comprehensive IP programs that protect the company's products and markets, and add capital value to the bottom line. Mr. Stalford spent 15 years building, licensing, and monetizing a patent portfolio for a small company in the gas industry that was ranked by the Wall Street Journal's Patent Scorecard as one of the strongest in the energy and environmental industry. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1993 and his B.S. in engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1986.

Mr. Bruce helps large and small clients throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia protect their innovations with strong IP programs, patent portfolios, and strategic management of their patent litigation matters. He uses his chemical engineering and polymer composites background, combined with experience in oil & gas, software and the internet, electrical, petrochemical, and optoelectrical technologies, to build legal strategies for clients that take technological realities into account. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2002, his M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in 1999, and his B.S. in chemical engineering from Oklahoma State University in 1997.

Visit the NLJ's website for a full list of the 2017 Energy and Environmental Trailblazers.