Richard W. Hess

Analyst Summary: Richard W. Hess

Richard W. Hess is a partner at the litigation boutique Susman Godfrey L.L.P. with a practice that encompasses a broad range of civil litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants. In the patent sphere, he is noted for his work on behalf of patent holders. His representation of the patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures in a significant litigation campaign is the primary tracked case, indicating a practice that includes prosecuting infringement claims for NPEs. The initial case data shows him exclusively on the plaintiff side.

The most prominent patent litigation result associated with Mr. Hess is the representation of Intellectual Ventures against security software company Trend Micro. That case, involving patents on email and data filtering technology, resulted in a 2015 jury verdict of $17 million in favor of his client, which affirmed the validity of all three asserted patents. Mr. Hess was also listed as counsel on subsequent appeals to the Federal Circuit in the matter. His broader litigation practice includes commercial disputes, class actions, and business torts.

Mr. Hess has spent his career at Susman Godfrey in Houston. There is no publicly available information indicating a regular practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

He earned his J.D. with Honors from The University of Chicago Law School in 2004 and a B.A. from Emory University. He is admitted to practice in Texas and before several federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.