Richard began his legal career in New York City at Kelley Drye & Warren where he focused on the development and permitting of combined cycle cogeneration power plants designated by FERC as a “Qualifying Facility.” He moved back to his home state of Rhode Island and joined the law firm Adler, Pollock & Sheehan. There he focused on that firm’s energy project development, legislative, permitting, and commercial real estate development practice. Richard then joined the Rhode Island Development Corporation and served as its in-house General Counsel for four years before taking an in-house General Counsel position for a venture-funded, internet start-up company. Richard spent the balance of his legal career as a solo attorney focusing on technology transfer, renewable energy development, commercial real estate, and municipal zoning, and permitting.
Richard volunteers as the Lecturer for the Westport Grange where he develops and facilitates presentations, seminars, and programs on topics such as permaculture design, composting, seed saving, reducing, reusing, and recycling consumer plastic waste, and living a regenerative lifestyle based on local community mutual aid and self-reliance.
In his free time, Richard likes to spend time with his wife and three children, two pet dogs, cat, and rabbit, or working with his chickens in “Billy” – the suburban permaculture food forest at his home in Westport, Massachusetts.