Rich is a nationally recognized intellectual property litigation attorney, with nearly 30 years of experience helping clients protect, enforce, and defend their most valuable IP assets in high-stakes disputes. He has served as global co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and spent a decade leading the firm’s Intellectual Property Group, advising clients at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and complex litigation. Rich co-chairs the Semiconductors Industry Group.

A registered patent lawyer, former Federal Circuit clerk, electrical engineer, and seasoned trial lawyer, Rich brings a rare combination of technical training and litigation experience to every matter. He represents clients across the full spectrum of intellectual property law, including patent, copyrights, trademark, and trade secret litigation and has handled over 150 IP matters over the course of his career. Rich has tried over a dozen cases to verdict or final award and regularly represents clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and in arbitration proceedings.

Rich’s practice spans a wide range of advanced technologies, including software, cryptography, semiconductors, consumer electronics, and medical devices. In addition to litigation, he frequently advises clients on strategic offensive and defensive patent licensing and acquisition issues.

Rich earned dual bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and economics from Stanford University and received his law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a James Kent Scholar, a recipient of the Carroll G. Harper Prize, and a moot court editor. During law school, he clerked for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, then of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. After graduating, Rich clerked for the Honorable Paul R. Michel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

He maintains an active pro bono practice and is deeply engaged in public service. Since 2014, Rich has served as a Neutral Commissioner on the San Francisco Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board. He also served two terms as president of the Asian Law Alliance and continues to serve on its board of directors. The organization provides pro bono legal assistance to the Asian and Pacific Islander community in Silicon Valley. Rich is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Earlier in his career, Rich tried multiple criminal cases—all to favorable verdicts—while serving with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

Outside of his legal practice, Rich is an avid endurance athlete and has completed five Ironman triathlons. His training reflects the same discipline, preparation, and resilience that characterize his approach to complex litigation.

Representative Matters

• Smartphone Litigation. Member of team that successfully tried a high-profile smartphone case, leading to a jury verdict of over $1 billion.
• Whirlpool Corp. v. TST Water LLC (Eastern District of Texas). Led Whirlpool team that obtained $7.6 million jury verdict and willfulness finding against TST Water in a patent case involving refrigerator water filters.
• Good Technology Corp. v. AirWatch, LLC (Northern District of California). Defended AirWatch against assertions of four patents by a competitor. The case settled after expert discovery.
• Data Speed Technology LLC v. VMware, Inc. (District of Delaware). After every other defendant settled or was dismissed, convinced plaintiff to walk away and dismiss case against client VMware with prejudice.
• Unified Messaging Solutions v. VMware, Inc. (Northern District of Illinois). Represented VMware in a patent infringement suit brought by a non-practicing entity alleging infringement by VMware’s Zimbra webmail product.
• Augme Technologies LLC v. Yahoo!, Inc. (Northern District of California). Represented Yahoo! in a patent infringement suit involving Internet display advertising and media playback. Won summary judgment of non-infringement on Augme’s two asserted patents, and Augme stipulated to infringement of one of Yahoo!’s patents. The case was affirmed on appeal.
• Discovery Communications, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. (District of Delaware). Represented Discovery Communications in a patent infringement suit against Amazon.com alleging infringement by Amazon’s Kindle of Discovery’s patents for e-book reader technology. The case settled after a favorable claim construction ruling.
• Medtronic Spine LLC v. Cozmed, LLC (Northern District of California). Obtained consent judgments of patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation against infringers in a matter involving balloon kyphoplasty.
• Waugh v. Doyle, et al. (Northern District of California). Represented plaintiff in civil rights lawsuit. Court entered substantial monetary judgment in plaintiff’s favor prior to trial.