Richard earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Rhode Island and his law degree from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. His entire legal career has been in the area of public service. He served as a law clerk for the Cook County Public Defender and for the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing. After law school, Richard had the honor to serve as a law clerk to the late Judge Jean Prendergast Rooney in both Mortgage Foreclosure and Chancery before becoming an Administrative Law Judge with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. He joined the Department of Human Services in February 2016, as a Supervising Administrative Law Judge and has served as the Chief ALJ since July 2016.