Richard Henry Abramson
Lecturer in Management
Teaching Statement
Bio
From 2001 to 2015, Richard Abramson served as vice president of legal and business affairs and general counsel of SRI International in Menlo Park, California. In that capacity he managed all of SRI’s legal and intellectual property functions, the office of Corporate Secretary, and other duties in support of SRI’s research, development, and commercialization activities.
Prior to joining SRI in 2001, Abramson was senior director of litigation and intellectual property for Immersion Corporation in San Jose. From 1991 to 1999, he was a partner in Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group in Palo Alto, California. From 1984 to 1991, Abramson was a litigation associate and partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Irell & Manella, where he also specialized in technology-based intellectual property litigation. From 1982 to 84, Abramson was a litigation associate at the San Francisco law firm of Jacobs, Sills and Coblentz.
Abramson served as an adjunct professor of law at the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California/Berkeley from 1999 to 2001, where he taught a course in patent litigation. Since 1998, he has also served as a court-appointed mediator for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Academic Degrees
- Executive Education, Strategic Planning and Organization, Stanford GSB, 2012
- JD, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 1981
- BA, Claremont McKenna College, 1978
Academic Appointments
- Lecturer, Stanford GSB, 2015-present
- Adjunct Professor of Law, University of California/Berkeley Law School, 1998 – 2001
Professional Experience
- VP of Legal & Business Affairs and General Counsel, SRI International, 2001-2015
- Director of IP and Litigation, Immersion Corporation, 1999-2001
- Litigation Partner, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, 1991-1999
- Litigation Associate/Partner, Irell & Manella, 1985-1990
- Law Clerk to the Hon. William H Orrick, United States District Court, 1981-1982
Teaching
Degree Courses
Service to the Profession
- Mediator, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 1998-present
- Member, Bay Area Science and Infrastructure Consortium, Task Force on University-Industry Collaboration, 2005 - 2008