Represents investment funds and private equity firm clients in relation to compliance advice; civil litigation, including portfolio company disputes and investment-related actions; and regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings.
Advises private and multinational companies and individuals in white collar investigations, complex commercial disputes and bankruptcy litigation.

Rick represents investment funds and other corporate and individual clients in a broad range of litigation matters, including complex civil litigation, securities litigation, bankruptcy and restructuring litigation, and corporate governance and compliance matters.

Prior to joining Akin, Richard was a litigation associate at another leading global law firm. He also clerked for the Honorable Brenda Sannes of the Northern District of New York.

Rick earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he served as a notes editor for the Columbia Law Review. He was involved in Columbia’s National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition Team, as a participant and later as a coach and editor. While in law school, Richard worked as a legal intern in the Felony Major Crimes Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. He was also involved in Columbia Law’s Prisoners and Families Clinic, where he assisted incarcerated and formerly incarcerated clients facing collateral consequences resulting from their imprisonment.

Representative Work

Representing an investor in trust instruction proceedings in New York and California concerning the treatment of hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds kept in dozens of residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) deals.
Defending investment firms in federal securities actions claiming tens of millions of dollars in profits for alleged “short-swing” profits under Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act.
Representing investment firms and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in multi-million dollar contractual disputes in the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division and Delaware Chancery Court.
Counseling multinational companies and investment firms in government investigations, including by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Representing official committees of unsecured and tort claimants, including states, municipalities, native American tribes, hospitals, insurance carriers, personal injury plaintiffs, putative plaintiff classes and others, in the bankruptcy proceedings of three major opioid manufacturers and distributors, = with respect to claims arising from the opioid crisis, including fraudulent conveyance, breach of fiduciary duty and others. Representing a major manufacturing company in a working capital purchase price adjustment dispute in Delaware Chancery Court, resulting in successfully obtaining summary judgment requiring submission of various disputes to an independent accountant for adjudication.