After serving as a Judge of the Nebraska Court of Appeals from January of 1992, including as the Court’s first Chief Judge, Richard became Of Counsel to the firm following his retirement from the court in May of 2013.

Richard’s focus at the firm will be on mediation, arbitration, as well as writing and consultation on appeals. He completed the Nebraska Mediation Association’s Basic Mediation Training, as well as its Parenting/Family Mediation Training in September and November 2012. He is approved by the Supreme Court’s Office of Dispute Resolution as a parenting plan mediator.

Richard’s undergraduate degree is from Kearney State College and he is a 1972 graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Law. He practiced exclusively civil trial law with a Lincoln law firm for 19 years. His practice included personal injury, products liability, and worker’s compensation cases as both plaintiff and defense counsel. Richard also did medical malpractice cases, asbestos litigation, and extensive jury trial work in federal court defending police officers in civil rights litigation, as well as commercial and divorce litigation. Richard currently is a Martindale AV-Preeminent rated lawyer.

Richard served on the Court of Appeals from its inception in late 1991 until his retirement from the bench. He authored approximately 1600 opinions covering virtually all types and aspects of civil and criminal litigation. He authored nearly 400 permanently published precedential opinions. His published opinions reflect his particular knowledge and expertise in the areas of professional liability, product liability, water law, insurance coverage, and divorce actions involving complex property division and alimony issues. His leadership in the initial start-up and operation of the new Nebraska appellate court was acknowledged by the Nebraska Bar Association when he was given its Award of Special Merit in October 1996.

While on the Court, Richard was involved from 2001 to 2012 in the effort to insure access to the court system by people who were attempting to represent themselves. He served during this time as the Chairperson of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s committee on assistance to self-represented litigants. The committee was responsible for the development of a number of innovative and effective strategies and tools to assist self-represented litigants. His efforts and leadership in this regard were recognized by the Nebraska Supreme Court when he received the Court’s award in 2005 as Outstanding Judge for Community Service.

Richard is a panelist for the American Arbitration Association, and has particular skill in mediating or arbitrating complex matters involving virtually any subject matter.