Thomas Ritchie, Esq.

Thomas Ritchie has extensive experience handling procedurally complex civil cases in trial and appellate courts throughout the country, as well as having an impressive practice specializing in intellectual property matters with an emphasis on high-technology patent litigation.

He possesses vast expertise in matters involving standard-essential patents that must be licensed on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, as well as representing clients before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board for appeals proceedings.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Ritchie, 40, of Peabody passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family at Kaplan Family Hospice in Danvers after an heroic five-year fight against Ewing Sarcoma cancer. He was married to Melissa (Shambarger) Ritchie and was father to Mason and Gavin; furthermore he leaves a brother, sister and two brothers-in-law behind.

Law and medicine were his professions of choice before he set up a bookstore in 1803. By 1804 he purchased and ran Richmond Enquirer Republican newspaper for 41 years as editor and publisher – turning both into financial and political successes in both financial terms and politics.

The Enquirer strongly supported states’ rights and was an outspoken champion of Jacksonian Democrats and Martin Van Buren. When the Democratic-Republicans merged into the Democratic Party, Ritchie became one of its chief national spokespersons for Jeffersonian states’ rights tradition.

Professional Career

Tom specializes in international transactions, such as antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings; Section 201; GSP agreements, as well as any related import proceedings. In addition, he has extensive experience with complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters.

After dabbling briefly in law and medicine, Ritchie purchased the Richmond Enquirer newspaper in 1804 and transformed it into the state Republican organ – Thomas Jefferson called it the best ever published. Ritchie wrote stirring partisan editorials, clipped news from Washington and New York papers, conducted state printing services, earned money for both himself and his newspaper while providing ample partisan coverage.

He was the leader of the “Richmond Junto”, which controlled the Republican state committee and advocated restrictions on free blacks as well as slave manumission. Additionally, he supported public schools and internal improvements throughout his state.

Achievement and Honors

Ritchie became the inaugural IU Jacobs School of Music faculty member to receive Early Music America’s Howard Mayer Brown Lifetime Achievement Award during Boston Early Music Festival 2009.

Ritchie became actively involved with the St Andrew’s Club during his time in Nova Scotia, an immigration-friendly benevolent society. Additionally, he supported women’s rights; indeed his daughter Mary established the first Girl Guide company in Canada.

Today, he serves as a professor of crop science and agronomy at Texas Tech University, conducting research that seeks to address local, regional, and global plant production and environmental challenges. An active member of both the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America, his work can also be found published widely online.

Personal Life

Thomas Ritchie was an individual devoted to family values. As the father and husband to three children (Derrick Ritchie, Stephanie Crane, and Nicholas Ritchie), he also enjoyed spending time with friends over coffee.

He established the Richmond Enquirer, becoming one of the most influential newspapers of antebellum America. He wrote powerful editorials, provided national and Washington news for publication, and handled most of its printing himself.

As Jackson’s presidential running mate and an advocate of gradual emancipation of slaves, he supported gradual emancipation through gradual nullification policies of Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun that divided parties further; political rivals found themselves being excoriated in his editorial columns as Henry Clay supported democracy reform in western states as well as extensive state internal improvements.

Net Worth

He has extensive experience representing clients before both US district courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in cases covering an array of technologies. In particular, he possesses expertise in matters related to high-technology patent licensing under fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory terms.

Politically, he championed the “Old Republican” principles espoused by Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson. He opposed Henry Clay’s attempts at using national government power for economic gain and supported state’s rights faction leaders such as John C. Calhoun.

He strongly denounced the Real Property Act and land titles based on false principles that made them expensive, complex, and time consuming for both his land in Scone near Perth and shipping grain from Sydney to other markets. He advocated legal reform with wide ranging reform proposals.