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Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza: The San Antonio Trial Firm Whose Co-Founder Handles Patent Litigation Alongside Bet-the-Company Cases

Ricardo Cedillo didn’t build his reputation as a patent litigator specifically — he built it as one of Texas’s most decorated commercial trial lawyers, named to Texas Lawyer’s list of the 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century. But patent litigation has remained a documented, sustained part of his docket for decades at the firm he co-founded.

Origin and Background

Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, Inc. is located at McCombs Plaza, 755 East Mulberry Avenue, Suite 250, San Antonio, TX 78212, confirmed through the firm’s own website and Martindale-Hubbell’s office listing, with nine attorneys at this location. Co-founder Ricardo G. Cedillo received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Trinity University and St. Mary’s University and his Juris Doctor from Harvard University in 1979, and has been licensed in Texas for more than 45 years. The firm was founded in 1986 by Russell Davis and Ricardo Cedillo.

Practice Concentration

Cedillo’s practice is predominantly commercial and complex litigation, with intellectual property disputes and patent litigation as a documented, recurring component alongside contract disputes, estate and probate disputes, insurance defense, partnership litigation, and product liability defense. Independent attorney-profile data shows intellectual property representing roughly 15 percent of his practice by volume, a substantial and sustained secondary specialization rather than an occasional matter. See this San Antonio Intellectual Property directory for how this trial-focused commercial litigation practice compares to dedicated IP boutiques and large-firm satellite offices also serving Bexar County.

Notable Work / Track Record

Cedillo was named to Texas Lawyer’s list of the 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century in 2010, was recognized among Texas Super Lawyers’ Top 100 Attorneys in Texas from 2003 to 2014, and was named San Antonio’s Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year by Corporate Counsel Magazine’s San Antonio edition in 2011. He was also recognized for Top Texas Verdicts of 2010 in the contract verdicts category by VerdictSearch. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a published table of intellectual property-specific settlement or verdict figures distinct from his broader litigation practice.

Client Voice

Cedillo holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the platform’s highest peer-review distinction, and a 9.7 rating on Avvo. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a broad, itemized set of platform-based consumer reviews for him specifically, which is typical for a senior commercial litigator whose clients are businesses and institutions rather than individual consumers.

Beyond the Courtroom

Cedillo has served as an author and speaker at numerous Continuing Legal Education courses sponsored by the State Bar of Texas. Awesome Attorneys did not identify additional documented civic or nonprofit board service distinct from his professional legal education contributions.

Recognition for This San Antonio IP Litigator

Awesome Attorneys did not identify Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification for Ricardo Cedillo in intellectual property law specifically, and separately notes that TBLS does not currently certify a distinct intellectual property specialty in Texas at all. His recognition instead rests on a decades-long record of peer- and research-driven distinctions, including continuous Texas Super Lawyers selection from 2003 to 2026, AV Preeminent peer rating, and inclusion among Texas Lawyer’s 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century — credentials earned primarily for his broader commercial litigation career, within which patent litigation is a genuine, documented component.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Patent litigation proceeds under federal law in federal district court rather than Texas state law, while the commercial litigation, contract, and partnership disputes that make up the bulk of Cedillo’s practice are typically governed by Texas state contract and business law. Product liability defense, another documented part of his practice, involves Texas’s own statutory framework for apportioning liability among multiple defendants. None of this is legal advice; a specific patent, commercial litigation, or business dispute matter should be evaluated by a licensed attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Ricardo Cedillo’s clearest differentiator is bringing genuinely elite, decades-proven trial credentials — a Harvard JD, a spot among Texas’s 25 greatest lawyers of a generation, continuous Super Lawyers selection since 2003 — to a documented, substantial patent litigation practice rather than treating IP as an afterthought. The honest trade-off is that intellectual property is a meaningful but secondary part of his docket rather than his singular focus, and clients seeking pure patent prosecution work rather than litigation will likely need a dedicated prosecution boutique instead. For a San Antonio company facing high-stakes patent litigation who wants a trial lawyer with an exceptional, broadly proven litigation record and genuine IP case experience, that combination is a reasonable basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza’s own website (attorney biography pages), Martindale-Hubbell’s firm and attorney profiles, Super Lawyers’ attorney directory listing, and America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators’ published profile of Cedillo documenting his awards and case history.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza, Inc. prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.