  2011 annual meeting issue

  aipla

  bulletin 7

  AIPLA’s 104th President is unique, but he has much in

  common with prior leaders of the Association. Bill Barber

  becomes the first member of AIPLA’s “Trademark Mafia” to

  become President of the Association. As a young lawyer

  who has earned his distinguished reputation in trademark

  law, Bill is a first. But in many ways he upholds the heritage

  of past leaders of AIPLA.
  Many do not know that Bill is also a registered patent attorney,

  although he no longer practices in that field. In that respect

  he joins almost every Past President of the Association. He

  is also one of a countless number of chemical engineers to

  assume the presidency. He is the 8th Texan in roughly the

  last half century to become President. And like at least four

  other presidents, he is a graduate of the University of Texas

  and an avid fan of the Texas Longhorns.
  Bill entered the profession in the firm founded by Tom

  Arnold, AIPLA’s 71st President. Like many other leaders of

  the Association, Bill was a beneficiary of the Arnold legacy

  that shaped many aspects of intellectual property law and of

  this association. After a brief but successful stint in patent

  law, Bill found even greater success in trademark law, and

  it is trademark law that has defined his outstanding career.

  Having represented both plaintiffs and defendants, big and

  small, in some 500 trademark actions primarily in the federal

  courts, Bill is in an elite circle of experienced trademark

  experts.
  Bill was born in Austin into a family of high achievers. His

  father went from a small Texas town to Harvard Law School

  and became an outstanding trial lawyer in Austin. His brother

  and two sisters all graduated from the University of Texas

  (UT) at the top of their classes and have many achievements

  of their own.

  Bill received his chemical engineering degree with highest

  honors from the UT in 1984, and his law degree from UT,

  with high honors, in 1987.
  Bill entered the profession as a law clerk at Texas-based

  Arnold, White & Durkee while still in law school and, upon

  his graduation, joined that firm where he eventually became

  a shareholder. When Arnold, White & Durkee merged into

  another firm in 2000, Bill joined many of his Austin colleagues

  as a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski. Then, in 2006, he

  became a founding and name partner of the trademark

  boutique, Pirkey Barber LLP, where he practices today.
  Bill’s partners at Pirkey Barber LLP know him as a person

  who always seems to have a good answer for the toughest of

  questions. Knowledgeable, studious, thorough, thoughtful

  and detail-oriented, while still understanding the big picture,

  Bill is the perfect colleague.

  The sparkle in Bill’s life comes from his vivacious wife

  Melinda, a west Texas girl with a smile as big as the Lone

  Star State. He and Melinda are the proud parents of three

  daughters, Robyn, Elyse, and Melynn. Both Bill and Melinda

  are close to their large families, and despite his many

  professional duties Bill manages to spend a lot of quality

  time with the families.
  AIPLA is not the only organization Bill has blessed with his

  talents. He has served in various capacities with a number

  of other professional associations, written numerous articles

  and given many lectures on topics in trademark law. He also

  served for many years as an adjunct professor of Trademark

  Law at the University of Texas School of Law.
  Our Association is fortunate to be able to borrow the talents

  of Bill Barber during 2011-2012 as he serves as its 104th

  President.

  The 104th President of the AIPLA

  William G. Barber

  by Louis T. Pirkey

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