About Hector J.
Hector J. Ribera built a foundation in engineering before turning to the law. He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 1997. He then attended the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, receiving his J.D. in 2002.
Ribera practices at Fenwick & West LLP. He is a lawyer registered at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and appears in a range of federal and state courts. His admissions include the Federal Circuit and the Ninth Circuit, and he is admitted in California. He also has litigated in several U.S. district courts, including the Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California and the Eastern District of Texas.
That technical background guides much of his work. Cases he handles often involve electrical, software and other high-technology matters. He draws on his engineering training when construing technical disclosures, evaluating expert opinions and preparing for Markman proceedings. He regularly counsels clients on claim drafting and prosecution strategy as part of wider litigation planning.
At Fenwick & West, Ribera has been involved in patent litigation matters that move through pretrial dispute resolution, trial and appeals. He has experience preparing pleadings, taking and defending fact and expert depositions, and briefing issues of claim construction and infringement. He also works on invalidity and patentability analyses, and on coordinating litigation strategy when cases span multiple forums.
Colleagues describe him as deliberate in courtroom preparation and attentive to technical detail. He balances written advocacy and oral argument in different phases of a dispute. Outside active litigation, he assists clients in assessing freedom-to-operate risks and in developing approaches to enforcement or licensing of patent portfolios. He has represented both technology companies and individual inventors in matters that require close coordination between outside counsel and in-house engineering teams.
Ribera’s practice combines technical training and courtroom experience. He continues to practice patent litigation and counseling at Fenwick & West LLP.
