Top-Rated Trial Attorney & Aggressive Defense Lawyer

Richard A. Rice

Richard Rice is a former Assistant United States Attorney, former counsel in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps) and a former trial attorney at two of the nation's largest law firms. Richard Rice has prosecuted and defended civil and criminal cases in federal and state courts across the nation.

Richard Rice received his law degree at the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he was the managing editor of the Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia.

As an Assistant United States Attorney, Richard Rice was a federal prosecutor in the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) section where he investigated and prosecuted large scale drug trafficking and money laundering organizations operating nationally and internationally. Richard Rice conducted some of the most extensive Title III (wiretap) investigations in the United States, and coordinated multi-jurisdictional and interagency investigations. He investigated and prosecuted the full spectrum of federal crimes, including public corruption, fraud schemes, firearm offenses, bank robberies and internet crimes. He also prepared and argued numerous appeals before the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

As a trial attorney with the Special Litigation Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Richard Rice worked on the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the twelfth hijacker. He also investigated and litigated civil enforcement actions against state and local police departments alleged to have engaged in a pattern of civil rights abuses and state and local detention facilities alleged to have had unconstitutional conditions of confinement.

As an officer in the Navy JAG Corps, Richard Rice achieved an acquittal rate of over 80%. He tried more cases than any other defense counsel in the second largest military district, and served as appellate defense counsel for defendants in the Navy and Marine Corps located throughout the world.

As an attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis, Richard Rice specialized in commercial litigation and products liability litigation, representing Fortune 50 companies in complex and high-dollar civil matters. In one case, he served as the senior associate on the trial team defending an international company in a multi-billion dollar class action trial in federal court that resulted in a full defense verdict.

As an attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Hunton & Williams, Richard Rice specialized in white collar criminal defense and commercial and environmental litigation. His work included successfully defeating a federal health care investigation prior to indictment and without any publicity and defending utility companies against E.P.A. enforcement actions.

 

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Contact Me:

Atlanta, GA

Practice Areas

  • Criminal Defense
  • Criminal Tax
  • Labor and employment issues
  • Whistleblower
  • Workers’ compensation
  • Tax law
  • Estate planning
  • Business and civil fraud
  • Forfeiture
  • Sentencing and appeals
  • White collar criminal defense
  • Civil litigation
  • Probate

Education

  • Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, Indiana
    • Juris Doctorate - 1994
    • Honors: Managing Editor, Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy
    • Honors: White Scholar at the Thomas J. White Center on Law and Government
    • Honors: The Sorin Society
  • University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
    • B.A., Bachelor of Arts - 1990

Honors

  • “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine
  • Georgia Super Lawyers® list
  • An Avvo Rating of 10.0 Superb
  • Top 100 Trial Lawyers

Professional Associations

  • The American Bar Association
  • The Atlanta Bar
  • The Federal Bar Association (Atlanta Chapter)
  • The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • The Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Bar Admissions

  • United States Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia

Past Positions

  • Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) section, Assistant United States Attorney, Federal prosecutor
  • The United States Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps
  • Navy JAG Corps, Officer
  • The United States Navy, Lieutenant Commander

Pro Bono Activities

  • The Lawyers Club of Atlanta
  • The Army Navy Club of Washington, D.C.