KHMRG Firm History

Kowert, Hood, Munyon, Rankin & Goetzel (KHMRG) had its beginnings in May 1994 as the Austin office of the Houston intellectual property firm Conley, Rose & Tayon (CRT) (now Conley Rose). The firm quickly developed a reputation for its highly skilled and technologically savvy patent prosecution practice. From four sublet offices, the firm grew rapidly to serve a broad array of clients. CRT Austin pioneered the use of significant numbers of technical advisors and patent agents, often finding that the relevant technical expertise needed for high-technology clients was best found in non-attorneys.

In 2002, the Houston and Austin offices of CRT amicably separated to resolve a potential conflict issue. As a result, CRT Austin became Meyertons, Hood, Kivlin, Kowert & Goetzel, P.C. on January 1, 2003. In 2011, the firm left downtown for its current home on the 360 corridor. In 2019, after the retirement of two members, MHKKG became KHMRG and continues uninterrupted service to its clients.

KHMRG is currently Austin’s largest home-grown intellectual property firm, having over 70 employees and over 40 attorneys, patent agents, or technical advisors. The owners of the firm have for the most part been working together more than 20 years, which is quite unusual in today’s fast-paced world of law firm break-ups and mergers. We have garnered a number of awards for excellence in various disciplines of intellectual property. But by far the greatest measure of our success is our list of clients we have been privileged to serve, which includes some of the largest and most well-known names in the technology industry. We are also proud of our firm culture—with our friendly, laid-back style and business casual dress code, a visitor to the office is more likely to mistake us for a technology company than a law firm.

The firm represents a wide variety of clients in technical areas including computer equipment and software, semiconductors, biotechnology, medical apparatus, life sciences, automobile products, and oilfield equipment. The firm’s representation of the following clients is a matter of public record:

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.; Amazon.com; Amplify Credit Union; Blackbrush Oil & Gas; Cardax Pharmaceuticals; Coherent Logix; Computer Sciences Corporation; Exactech, Inc.; GECU; IDQ Operating, Inc.; Laduree International S.A.; LifeSize Communications, Inc.; Maximus, Inc.; Microchip, Inc.; National Instruments Corporation; Oracle, Inc.; Petroleum Geo-Services; Planview, Inc.; Relios, Inc.; Rice University; Sailpoint, Inc.; Shell Oil Company; Southern Clay Products; Supercircuits, Inc.; Symantec Corp.; Texas Department of Information Resources; Texas Department of Transportation; Texas Education Agency; Texas Lottery Commission; Texas State University System; Texas Women’s University; The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio; The University of Texas at Austin; Veritas; Vital Farms, Inc.; Water Ride Concepts, Inc.