Richard Sybert is a senior partner and co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property, International and Antitrust practice groups, working nationally out of the firm’s Western regional offices. He has a national and international practice representing and counseling major U.S. and foreign businesses in complex commercial litigation and arbitration of all kinds in state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies. His areas of expertise include all aspects of intellectual property including trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets; unfair competition including antitrust and trade secrets; and complex commercial litigation and counseling including product labeling, franchise, contract, and securities litigation. He has substantial and successful jury trial experience. He has also been certified as a commercial arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and formerly a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law.
Mr. Sybert has extensive foreign experience and a significant part of his practice involves consulting on doing business abroad, especially Asia. He is fluent in various languages and is admitted as a solicitor to the High Court of Hong Kong. Prior to joining GRSM in 2001, Mr. Sybert served as General Counsel and Vice President of Lanard Toys, a Hong Kong based, U.S.-owned toy company with global operations, where he was responsible for the company’s legal affairs worldwide as well as business management of its U.S. operations.
From 1978 to 1990, Mr. Sybert was an associate and partner at the Sheppard Mullin firm in Los Angeles and a columnist for various Southern California newspapers before leaving for public service. In 1990 he became Southern California Director for U.S. Senator Pete Wilson, and was then appointed by the newly-elected Governor Wilson as California's Director of Planning and Research, where he served for three years and was responsible for strategic and long-range policy development for the State of California. He was also Chair of the State's Growth Management Commission, the Interagency Commission on Geographical Information Standards, and a member of the Commission on State Mandates. From 1993 to 1998 Mr. Sybert served as the Public Member on the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in Southern California, and was the Republican nominee in California's 24th Congressional District in 1994 and 1996. He served for 10 years as a U.S. Naval Reserve intelligence officer, and was a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration.
Admissions
- California
- Washington
- Oregon
- Hawaii
- Arizona
- Hong Kong
Memberships
- Bruin Professionals
- The New Majority
Community Involvement
- Mr. Sybert has served as President of the Southern California Harvard Law School Association, on the Alumni Board in San Diego for the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, and was a founder of the San Diego chapter of UCLA Bruin Professionals. He is on the Board of New Majority California, a group dedicated to fiscal responsibility in government, and served as Chair of its San Diego chapter.