After enlisting and serving four years in the United States Air Force, Richard attended Boston College. He graduated suma cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science in 1984. He also was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Nation’s oldest academic honor society and Omicron Delta Epsilon , the International Economics Honor Society. Richard then attended Duke University School of Law where he graduated with honors in 1987 and was an Editorial Board Member of the Duke Law Review.

To date, Richard has been lead counsel in a wide variety of litigated matters involving personal injury and wrongful death resulting from product liability, premises liability, and automobile and trucking accidents. He has extensive jury trial experience as well as appellate experience. Representative cases include Powell v. Alan Young Homes, Inc., 251 Ga. App. 71 (2001); Gilliam v. Fletcher Bright Co., 244 Ga. App. 315 (2000); Wells v. Vi-Mac, Inc., 226 Ga. App.261 (1997) and Allen v. ReMax North Atlanta, Inc., 213 Ga. App. 644 (1994).