Richard Riley has devoted nearly two decades of practice to helping those suffering from injury and death receive compensation. After opening his own law practice less than two years out of law school, Riley has handled hundreds of appeals and has written thousands of briefs.
Growing up in a small rural community and doing farm and factory work during high school and college, Riley learned the dangers the poor and underprivileged face daily. He believes it is no coincidence that many that benefit from Marsh, Rickard & Bryan's services are those of modest means. "It is the poor and underprivileged that have to use the cheap products, that have to work the dangerous jobs, that have to live in unsafe apartments, and that have no choice but to receive services from the least credentialed professionals. It is no surprise they are the ones getting hurt and killed."
As more and more court matters are handled through written advocacy, Riley's practice is vital to the firm's mission. A lover of literature and storytelling, the thing Riley finds most fulfilling about his role at Marsh, Rickard & Bryan, P.C., is working with a team of premier attorneys and staff to weave the client's tragedy with the law through legal reasoning to give the court a compelling document why the client should prevail. He believes it is our calling to tell these stories. "The public needs to know who is getting hurt and why. And my favorite stories are those where we have helped a victim to rise up, to take control and to return to a dignified life in spite of what has been done to them."
Areas Of Practice
- Appellate
Bar Admissions
- Alabama, 1998
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama, 1998
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1998
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama, 1998
Education
- Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama
- J.D. - 1998
- Honors: cum laude
- Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee
- B.A. - 1995
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Major: Social Science
Representative Cases
- Banks v. State, 845 So.2d 9 (Ala.Crim.App. 2002)
- Hutchinson v. State, 66 So.3d 220 (Ala.2010)
Classes/Seminars
- Business Law, Samford University, 2001 to 2011
Professional Associations And Memberships
- Alabama Bar Assocation, Member, 1998 to Present
- Birmingham Bar Assocation, Member, 1998 to Present
Past Employment Positions
- Richard J. Riley, P.C., Attorney, 2010 to 2016
- Riley & Riley, P.C., Attorney, 2003 to 2009