John Bustamante

Professional Experience

John began his legal career at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper) in Austin, where he focused on intellectual property litigation under the Honorable Alan D. Albright, now a judge in the Western District of Texas. In 2005, he joined Fish & Richardson as the first associate in its newly opened Austin office, where he spent more than four years representing Fortune 100 companies in patent cases in federal courts nationwide and before the International Trade Commission. He later practiced with several Austin-based IP boutiques, including one he co-founded with a former Fish partner, before joining Grable Martin in 2025 to help build the firm’s patent litigation practice.

John is a passionate and principled leader with more than 20 years of experience as an intellectual property litigator and advisor. After years in Big Law handling high-dollar IP cases for Fortune 100 technology companies, he founded his own patent-law practice while also dedicating time to indigent criminal defense and child protection matters in Bexar County. He later consulted with and co-founded a boutique IP firm in Austin.

Personal Story

Born in San Antonio, John is the son of a migrant farm worker who went on to become a teacher, county judge, and ultimately a congressman, and a mother who began her career as a teacher before later becoming a lawyer. He spent much of his childhood split between San Antonio and Arlington, Virginia—attending school in Virginia during the year and returning home to Texas each summer. While living in Virginia, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and once he reached high school, he returned to Texas full time. He later graduated from MIT with a degree in brain and cognitive sciences and went on to earn his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of The Review of Litigation.

Outside of work, John remains active in community service in San Antonio, enjoys spending time with his two daughters, reads constantly, and proudly roots for the Texas Longhorns.

Community Engagement and Associations

John is an active advocate for the City of San Antonio  as a commissioner and Chair on the Zoning Commission, city liaison for the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, and co-founder of the Friends of Roosevelt Park, a non-profit community organization.