Feras Mousilli

About

About Feras

Feras Mousilli is an American attorney, intellectual property expert, professor and civil rights advocate. He is the managing partner of Mousilli Legal, an intellectual property and technology firm that advises companies from early startups to the Fortune 500, across the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Before Mousilli Legal he practised intellectual property litigation at DLA Piper as a registered U.S. patent attorney, served as Senior Corporate Counsel at Dell, and was then recruited by Apple as Senior Corporate Counsel for the Apple Watch and the MFi program.

He teaches as much as he practises. As a Fulbright Visiting Professor of Law and Entrepreneurship he teaches in Medellín, Colombia, and he has taught at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and lectured at the University of Texas School of Law, UC Berkeley and Istanbul University. Through Damask Ventures he backs early stage technology founders, especially in emerging markets.

His story, in chapters

From engineer to professor

1. 1996 to 2001

   An engineer first

   Feras grew up carrying the values of a Damascus family: study hard, work honestly, help others. He went to Johns Hopkins University for a degree in biomedical engineering and computer science, then stayed for a master's in computer science engineering.

   That engineering training is still how he reads a patent today: as a description of something real that somebody worked hard to invent.

2. 2001 to 2006

   From engineer to patent attorney

   He earned his law degree at the University of Texas School of Law, clerking along the way at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas.

   He began practising at DLA Piper in Austin, in patent litigation and IP due diligence, and became a registered U.S. patent attorney.

3. 2006 to 2016

   Inside Dell and Apple

   For eight years at Dell he was Senior Corporate Counsel for global software licensing, IP ownership and marketing compliance. On an executive leadership assignment he led Dell's first IP audit, across more than 17 countries, and the company recognised him with CFO Silver Awards in 2011 and 2012 and a General Counsel Gold Award in 2013.

   Apple then recruited him as Senior Corporate Counsel for the Apple Watch and the MFi program, the lead counsel for hardware development, engineering, operations and supplier strategy.

4. Today

   Building Mousilli Legal

   He leads Mousilli Legal, an intellectual property and technology firm for startups, growing companies and established enterprises, with clients across the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

   The firm's promise is simple: big firm skills without big firm fees, and a lawyer who feels like part of the team. It offers fixed fees and a general counsel subscription so founders can call without watching the clock, and the firm says 90 percent of its business comes from referrals.

5. 2020 to today

   The professor

   Feras teaches as much as he practises. From 2020 to 2023 he was a visiting professor in the Faculty of International Law and Economics at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine.

   Since 2023 he has taught in Medellín as a Fulbright Visiting Professor of Law and Entrepreneurship at the University of Antioquia, under a U.S. Department of State grant. He has also lectured at the University of Texas School of Law, UC Berkeley and Istanbul University.

6. 2025

   Home to Damascus

   In July 2025, after his father passed, Feras returned to Damascus for the first time in fifteen years to speak at SYNC, a gathering of the country's founders. It was his most loved post of the year, and it ended with three words: God bless Syria.

   He now advises the EBLA Ventures Network and supports the Syria Angels Network, and through Damask Ventures he backs seed and early stage technology founders in emerging markets. Helping rebuild Syria's startup community has become a way of honouring his father.

7. Always

   Service and a full life

   He has served on the boards of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Syrian American Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and on the board of the Association of Corporate Counsel in Austin, including as President-Elect. His pro bono work earned the Judge Suzanne Covington Pro Bono Award from Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas.

   Away from work he reads, plays chess, trains in martial arts, cycles, sails and learns languages, and he travels widely. His motto is on his own site: live a life you don't need a holiday to escape.

Honours and awards

Recognition, received with thanks

• U.S. Department of State, Fulbright Program, 2023Fulbright Visiting Professor of Law and EntrepreneurshipA Fulbright grant to teach law and entrepreneurship at the University of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia.
• Texas Super Lawyers, published by Texas Monthly, 2010Texas Rising StarNamed a Texas Rising Star by Texas Super Lawyers in 2010.
• Volunteer Legal Services of Central TexasJudge Suzanne Covington Pro Bono AwardRecognised by Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas for pro bono work for people who could not afford a lawyer.
• Association of Corporate Counsel, 2013Education Chair, National IP CommitteeChosen to lead education for the Association of Corporate Counsel's national intellectual property committee.
• Dell, 2011 to 2013Dell General Counsel Gold Award and CFO Silver AwardsRecognised inside Dell with CFO Silver Awards in 2011 and 2012 and a General Counsel Gold Award in 2013.
• United States Patent and Trademark OfficeRegistered U.S. Patent AttorneyAdmitted to practise before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a registration open only to lawyers with a science or engineering background.