Judge Robert E. Richardson: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Robert E. Richardson is a judge on the 29th Judicial Circuit Court of West Virginia. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin on May 21, 2014, filling a seat vacated by the Hon. Joseph C. Pomponio, Jr.

The 29th Judicial Circuit encompasses Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties. It was previously numbered as the 11th Judicial Circuit.

Prior to his appointment, Richardson worked as an attorney in private practice in Lewisburg. He represented clients in civil, criminal, estate planning, real estate, and business transactions matters, spending most of his time with the Ford Law Firm and Ford & Richardson.

Richardson earned a B.A. in political science from West Virginia University in 1984. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law (1987) and an LL.M. at Georgetown University Law Center (1989). As a law student, he was an editor of the Virginia Law Review.

He is licensed to practice in Virginia (1987) and West Virginia (1990).

After graduating from law school, Richardson began his legal career as an attorney with the Institute for Public Representation in Washington, D.C. During his tenure there, he worked on matters concerning the civil rights of individuals with disabilities, including the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Then, in 1990, he returned to West Virginia, where he was hired as the managing attorney for the Clarksburg office of the West Virginia Legal Services Plan.

His memberships have included the West Virginia Judicial Association. He has also been involved with the boards of Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity of West Virginia, Legal Aid of West Virginia, the Greenbrier Youth Camp, and HospiceCare, and he has served as the director of the West Virginia Older 4-H Members Conference.

Raised in Lewisburg, West Virginia, Richardson attended Greenbrier East High School. He and his wife, Susan, continue to live in Greenbrier County. The couple raised two children.