Erin Villaseñor represents clients in all aspects of commercial and intellectual property litigation. She has extensive experience in patent, copyright, and trade secret cases and matters involving complex technologies, computer forensic issues, and data theft.  Erin also counsels clients on data protection and privacy and FDA medical device regulatory issues.

Prior to her legal practice, Erin worked as a biomedical engineer/scientific reviewer for the United States Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Office of Device Evaluation. Additionally, she worked as a regulatory specialist at a medical device company specializing in neuromodulation devices and as a medical device regulatory consultant for a prominent consulting firm. Erin’s technical background and industry experience make her uniquely equipped to handle technologically challenging cases.

Honors & Recognitions

The Texas Supreme Court recognized Erin for achieving the third highest score on the February 2010 Texas Bar Examination

  • Nancy Atlas American Inn of Court

Credentials

Education

J.D., South Texas College of Law, summa cum laude, 2009

Graduated first in class
South Texas Law Review, Member

B.S.E., Tulane University, with honors, Biomedical Engineering, 2003

Admissions

Texas

United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas

Experience

  • Second-chair trial counsel in the Eastern District of Texas for a defendant in patent infringement suit. Obtained a winning jury verdict of non-infringement and invalidity of two patents (“Texas Jury Invalidates Greenies Dog Treat Patents,” Law360, May 9, 2016; “How True Science Won a Dog (and Cat) Fight Against Mars,” The Texas Lawbook, May 16, 2016).
  • Second-chair counsel in FINRA arbitration for claims of mismanagement of investments, resulting in an award with no findings against client, a respected wealth resource firm.
  • Trial counsel for the nation’s largest supplier of concrete post-tensioning systems for high-rise buildings in a copyright and trade secret theft case that resulted in a $24.5 million jury verdict in favor of the client (The National Law Journal’s Top 100 Verdicts of 2015).
  • Represented large oil and gas service company in several patent, trade secret, and non-compete cases in state and federal courts and arbitration.
  • Represented drilling company in a lawsuit in the 215th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas against six former employees and two corporate defendants involving products and services in the horizontal directional drilling industry. Successfully obtained a temporary restraining order, expedited discovery, and temporary injunction against defendants.

Newsroom

Publications

Speaking Engagements

  • "Day in the Life of a Litigator," South Texas College of Law Houston Practice Panel
    Speaking Engagement, 09.29.2022
  • “How to React to Know-How Violations,” TerraLex Webinar
    Speaking Engagement, 10.28.2020
  • "Best Practices to Conduct a Trade Secret Theft Investigation," Porter Hedges Intellectual Property CLE
    Speaking Engagement, 10.13.2020

Affiliations

Nancy F. Atlas Inn of Court, Barrister

Houston Bar Association, Member

Houston Intellectual Property Law Association, Member

Intellectual Property Owner's Association, Member

Houston Technology Center’s Life Sciences Acceleration Committee, Member, 2011-2015