Vincent Allen, JD '99, has been named the 2012 Baylor Young Lawyer of the Year award. Allen, partner at Carstens & Cahoon LLP in Dallas, has made an outsanding impact on the legal profession and on our Law School community. In 2010, Allen, with the support of the Law School, established the Dallas Baylor Lawyer Network and has served as the Chair of the Dallas Baylor Lawyer Steering Committee since its inception. Because of Allen's strong and dedicated leadership, the Dallas Baylor Lawyer Network has successfully connected and engaged Baylor Lawyers through quarterly networking receptions. The Dallas Baylor Lawyer Network has proven to be such a successful model that Baylor Lawyers in Houston and Austin have started networks in their cities. Allen also serves as an Executive Committee Member of the Baylor Law Alumni Association. Baylor Law School is deeply grateful for Vincent Allen's steadfast commitment to the Law School and to the legal profession.
Baylor Law is proud of the many successes Allen has achieved throughout his professional career. Allen focuses his practice on intellectual property law and aviation law. He is responsible for rendering opinions, prosecuting patent applications, negotiating license agreements, and litigating disputes.
He is the head of Carstens & Cahoon LLP's aviation practice group and counsels clients on the intricacies of aviation law, including product liability lawsuits, FAA compliance and enforcement, and aircraft transactions. Allen uses his training and experience to successfully resolve litigation matters relating to aircraft disasters, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. His litigation experience enables him to understand what issues are important in both intellectual property transactions and aircraft transactions. As creator and editor of the firm's intellectual property newsletter, The Umbrella, he makes a special effort to stay abreast of recent developments and proposed changes in the law.
Committed to technical knowledge, Allen built a rare foundation in both aviation and electrical engineering prior to joining the firm. He graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in aircraft maintenance and earned his A&P license from the FAA. A short time later, he received his Inspection Authorization from the FAA. While working as an aircraft inspector at Southeast Aviation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Allen earned a degree in electrical engineering, graduating magna cum laude from Mississippi State University. Concurrently, he obtained his private pilot license in his restored 1946 Cessna 140. He continued on to earn his instrument rating and operate an aircraft leasing business during law school.
Allen holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV peer review rating, the highest available, and is a member of The College of the State Bar of Texas, an honor society of lawyers chartered by the Supreme Court of Texas. Allen is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Dallas-Fort Worth Intellectual Property Law Association, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, the Fifth Circuit Bar Association, the Lawyer-Pilot Bar Association, the Dallas-Fort Worth Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Dallas Bar Association. He is active in a number of committees within the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, and the Dallas Bar Association. He also serves as a panel attorney for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Allen is a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is a member of the State Bar of Texas. In addition, Allen is licensed to practice before the Federal and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Federal District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, and several federal courts outside of Texas.
At Baylor Law School, Allen was a member of the Baylor Law Review and served as president of his law school class. Baylor Law is proud of Vincent Allen and honored to name him as the 2012 Baylor Lawyer of the Year.
Criteria for the Baylor Young Lawyer of the Year
The Baylor Young Lawyer of the Year Award is given annually to an outstanding alumnus/a who has brought honor and distinction to the Law School and to the legal profession. The recipient must not reach age 41 before January 1 of the award year. Recipients are selected based upon the following criteria:
1. The nominee's legal ability and achievements as a lawyer;
2. The nominee's contributions to the legal profession;
3. The nominee's standing in the profession;
4. The nominee's Christian character;
5. The nominee's civic, religious and other attainments; and
6. The nominee's active interest in Baylor Law School.
To nominate a Baylor Young Lawyer of the Year, please email the below information to:
Berkley Knas
Nominee's Name
Reasons Nominee is a Qualified Recipient
