Richard Horning

Richard Allan Horning practices law as a member of the Emerging Growth / Venture Capital Group in the Silicon Valley office of Reed Smith LLP, a global law firm.  Honored by his peers as a Northern California “IP Super Lawyer” and recognized in the International Who’s Who of Internet and E-Commerce Lawyers 2009 as the “most highly nominated lawyer in the US”,

Richard has been representing technology companies in Silicon Valley, and globally, since 1970. He works with a wide spectrum of clients, from the classic “garage-based” start-up to Fortune 500 multi-nationals. He specializes in counseling high technology companies in all stages of development on domestic and international issues, including securing, protecting and licensing intellectual property rights, international growth and development, venture capital financing, venture fund formation, supply and distribution relationships including antitrust and unfair competition considerations, and dispute resolution affecting technology driven industries. De Facto, a Finnish publication covering the Nordic legal community, labeled him “Mr. Consigliere” in recognition of his work as a close adviser to venture backed start-ups.
He has been a guest lecturer at Universities of Lausanne, Modena, UCLA, NYU, Columbia, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), University of San Francisco Graduate School of Management, Fuqua Graduate School of Business at Duke University, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Chalmers University Center for Intellectual Property (Goteborg), Webster University (Geneva), Swedish Institute of Management Executive Program (Stanford), Uppsala Executive MBA Program (Stanford), Catholic University of Argentina (Buenos Aires), International Institute for Innovation Journalism (Stanford), Center for American Legal Studies (Seoul) and the Center for International Legal Studies (Salzberg).  He has also spoken at and chaired programs at a wide variety of industry conferences, such as the RSA Data Security Conference, SD Forum, SVASE, Tech Coast Angels Forum, Central Coast Angel Network, IP Society, Silicon Valley Center for International Trade Development, Swedish Venture Capital Association, Danish Venture Capital Society, Silicon Valley Association Switzerland, Chalmers University Innovation Centre, Danish Innovation Centre, Uppsala University Innovation Centre, Innovationsbron, Finnpro, Wireless Alliance, Seoul National University Technology Innovation Network, Instituto de Tecnologia de Software (Sao Paolo), Handong Law School International Conference, California State Bar Association, Computers Freedom and Privacy Forum, ABDI, IFCLA, AIPLA, AEA, WIPO, ICC, IBA, ABA and the International Technology Law Association.

He is a Past President of the International Technology Law Association, served on the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of California,  and has served on the Advisory Boards of Chalmers University Center for Intellectual Property, BNA Electronic Information & Policy Law Reporter, Vinnova-Stanford Center for Research in Innovation Journalism, International Institute for Innovation Journalism, MentoNet, the Technology Innovation Network at Seoul National University, and H5 Technologies.

He serves as Honorary Consul for the Republic of Estonia in Silicon Valley.
He has authored numerous articles on Internet law, including “Legal Recognition of Digital Signatures: A Global Progress Report”, 20 COMM/ENT 101 (2000), “Contracting Over the Internet” in ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN PRACTICE: THE WORLD BUSINESS AGENDA FOR ELECTRONIC COMMERCE (ICC 1997), “The Enforceability of Contracts Negotiated in Cyberspace,” 5 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LAW AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 109 (1997), and “Has HAL Signed a Contract: The Statute of Frauds in Cyberspace”, 12 SANTA CLARA COMPUTER AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY LAW JOURNAL 253 (1996), and international arbitration, including “The Use of New Means of Communication in Aid of the Acceleration of International Arbitration”, IMPROVING INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION: THE NEED FOR SPEED AND TRUST (ICC 1998), “Interim Measures of Protection: Security for Claims and Costs; And Commentary on the WIPO Emergency Relief Rules (In Toto)”, 9 AMERICAN REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 155 (1998), “Interim Relief in International Intellectual Property Arbitration”, 22 NEW MATTER [No. 1/2] 32 (1997), and “Deferral of Enforcement of New York Convention Awards for Prudential Reasons”, [1997] INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION LAW REVIEW No. 1.


Education: University of California, Berkeley (B.A., 1966); Duke University School of Law (J.D., 1969). Law Clerk to Judge Oliver D. Hamlin, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1969-1970.

Website: www.reedsmith.com