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Promise Legal: A Computer Science Degree Before the Law Degree, Built for Trademark and Tech IP

Alex Shahrestani founded the Journal of Law & Technology at UT Austin before he ever practiced law, and his firm’s approach reflects that dual background directly — a proprietary “Recursive” methodology the firm says cleared a fatal trademark conflict for a SaaS client’s rebrand in two days rather than the two-to-three weeks a conventional search typically takes.

Origin and Background

Promise Legal PLLC is based at 2028 East Ben White Boulevard, Suite 240, PMB 7210, Austin, TX 78741, with additional hubs in San Antonio and Houston. Managing Partner Alex Shahrestani holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and an undergraduate background from the University of California, Irvine combining philosophy and computer science, and founded the Journal of Law & Technology while at UT Austin.

Practice Concentration

The firm’s trademark practice covers registration and clearance work, supported by the firm’s own “Recursive” methodology platform — the firm cites a specific example of clearing three potential SaaS company rebrand names for trademark conflicts in two days rather than the conventional two-to-three-week timeline, after identifying a fatal conflict and clearing a backup name. Trademark work sits alongside a broader business, technology transactions, media and advertising, and nonprofit-organizations practice built specifically for startups and tech companies. Shahrestani speaks on AI and legal technology at ABA TECHSHOW and SXSW. See this Austin Intellectual Property directory for how this technology-methodology-driven trademark practice compares to traditional IP boutiques.

Notable Work / Track Record

As a boutique trademark and technology practice, Promise Legal does not publish a running table of case-specific outcome figures, and Awesome Attorneys did not identify one. The firm’s published SaaS rebrand clearance example — reducing a trademark clearance timeline from two-to-three weeks to two days while identifying a fatal conflict for one proposed name and clearing a backup — is a specific, verifiable case example rather than an aggregate results claim.

Client Voice

Awesome Attorneys did not locate a large-volume independent consumer review platform sample for this firm; its public reputation is built substantially around press coverage (the Daily Texan, Spectrum News, Texas Bar Practice) describing its technology-driven legal model rather than a high-volume review aggregator presence. Awesome Attorneys discloses this gap directly.

Beyond the Courtroom

Alex Shahrestani has contributed to industry conversations through roles at SXSW, EFF-Austin (the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Austin chapter), and the State Bar of Texas, reflecting sustained public engagement in the tech-legal community beyond direct client representation.

Recognition for This Austin IP Firm

Awesome Attorneys did not identify formal peer-review board certification for Alex Shahrestani in trademark or intellectual property law specifically. His documented speaking engagements at ABA TECHSHOW and SXSW, founding of the Journal of Law & Technology at UT Austin, and involvement with EFF-Austin are independently verifiable professional credentials distinct from formal board certification.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Federal trademark registration through the USPTO is available nationwide, but Texas businesses can also pursue state-level trademark registration through the Texas Secretary of State, which is faster and less expensive but offers protection limited to Texas rather than nationwide priority. Trademark clearance searches — the firm’s specific stated specialty — are particularly important before a Texas business commits to a rebrand, since using a confusingly similar mark can expose a company to infringement liability even without registering the conflicting mark itself. None of this is legal advice; a specific trademark or IP matter should be evaluated by a licensed attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Promise Legal’s clearest differentiator is a genuinely technology-driven trademark clearance process, backed by a specific documented example of compressing a multi-week clearance timeline into two days, from a managing partner whose computer science background predates his law degree. The honest trade-off is that Awesome Attorneys did not locate a large independent consumer review sample to verify client satisfaction at scale, and the firm’s practice spans well beyond trademark into broader technology and business law rather than functioning as an IP-exclusive specialist. For a tech startup or SaaS company that wants trademark clearance handled with genuine technical efficiency alongside broader startup legal support, that combination is a strong basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Promise Legal’s own website (firm methodology, attorney biography for Alex Shahrestani, and published case example), the State Bar of Texas attorney directory, and the Cornell Legal Information Institute’s attorney directory listing.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Promise Legal PLLC or Alex Shahrestani prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.