Richard T. Cassidy
Rich Cassidy is a Vermont mediator and arbitrator.
He is the founder of Rich Cassidy Law. Before transitioning to full-time practice as a neutral, Rich practiced for more than 40 years as a litigator and trial lawyer. Over time, his practice changed substantially. As a result, Rich has experience representing all sides in many kinds of disputes: plaintiffs and defendants, employers and employees, injured parties, and insurance companies. He believes that the breadth of his experience benefits his work as a neutral.
He has advocated for individuals, businesses, and governments in a broad range of civil litigation, including construction cases, cases under the Uniform Commercial Code, and contract and business tort claims. He has significant experience with litigation and alternative dispute resolution involving higher education, public education, public safety, health care, municipalities, and manufacturing. His clients have included college students, faculty, and administrators as well as individuals, businesses, governmental agencies, and not-for-profit entities. He represented labor unions, management, and individuals in collective bargaining relationships.
For the last decade of his work as a trial lawyer, Rich’s practice focused on personal injury and labor and employment law.
Since 1994, he has been a member of the Panel of Early Neutral Evaluators for the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. He is also on the early neutral evaluation panels for the Vermont Environmental Court and Vermont Superior Courts.
Rich believes that the legal process can serve the ends of justice and has been active in work to improve the law throughout his career. For details see his curriculum vitae.
When he’s not working or in a committee meeting, Rich enjoys reading, walking his dog, Sophie, skiing, swimming, and rowing his Adirondack Guide Boat on Lake Champlain.
Bar Admissions
Vermont, 1979
New York, 1979
U.S. District Court District of Vermont, 1979
U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1986
U.S. Supreme Court, 1990
Honors and Awards
Jonathon B. Chase Award, ACLU of Vermont, Inc., 1990
Grassroots Award, American Bar Association, 2009
Equal Justice for All Award, American Bar Association , 2008
President’s Award, Vermont Bar Association, 2015
Professional Associations and Memberships
Uniform Law Commission,
Vermont Commissioner, The Uniform Law Commission (formerly known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) 1994 – Current -- Appointed by Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Reappointed by Governors Douglas, Shumlin, and Scott.
Officer: President, 2015-2017
Chair, Executive Committee 2013-2015
Chair, Scope and Program Committee, 2011-2013
Secretary, 2009-2010.
Former Member, Committee on Liaison with the American Bar Association.
Lead Commissioner, Vermont adoption effort on the Uniform Mediation Act
Lead Commissioner, Vermont adoption effort on the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act
Drafting Committees
Member, Drafting Committee on the Model Punitive Damages Act.
Member, Drafting Committee on the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act
Member, Drafting Committee on the Apportionment of Tort Responsibility Act
Chair, Drafting Committee on the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act.
Current Chair, Drafting Committee on the Uniform Restrictive Employment Act
American Bar Association, Member, 1979 -Present
American Bar Association, Board of Governors, 2005 - 2008
American Bar Association, House of Delegates, 1999 - 2015
American Law Institute, Elected Member, 2015 - Present
Vermont Association for Justice, Member
Vermont Board of Bar Examiners
Associate Examiner 1991 –1993
Examiner, 1993 –1996
Chair, 1996-2004
Vermont Bar Association, Member 1979 - Present
Board of Managers, 2021- Present
Vermont Trial Lawyers' Association, Member 2014 - Present
Past Employment
Hon. Robert W. Larrow of the Vermont Supreme Court, Law Clerk, 1978 - 1979
Chief Justice Albert W. Barney, Jr., Vermont Supreme Court, Chief Law Clerk, 1979 - 1980
Law Office of David C. Drew, Associate Attorney, 1980 - 1982
Hoff, Wilson, Powell and Lang, P.C., 1982 – 1986
Hoff, Wilson, Powell and Lang, P.C., Shareholder, 1986 - 1989
Vermont Law School, Adjunct Faculty, Spring Semester,1991
Hoff Curtis, President and Shareholder, 1989 – 2016
Richard is a frequent writer and speaker on legal topics. He is the author of “Civil and Human Rights,” (The University of Vermont and The Center for Research on Vermont: Burlington, VT, 1999), and has lectured on trial practice, employment, arbitration, mediation, and construction law and other subjects before the American Bar Association, the National Employment Lawyers' Association, the Vermont Bar Association, the Vermont Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association of Law Schools, and the Vermont Employment Lawyers' Association.
He has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers® and New England Super Lawyers® by his peers. (Listing in The Best Lawyers in America® or Super Lawyers® does not guarantee a desired result in a legal case or that listed lawyers are necessarily more skilled than lawyers who are not listed in such publications.) He was the 2013 "Best Lawyer of the Year" for Employment Law - Individuals and the 2015 "Best Mediator of the Year."
His blog, On Lawyering.net is widely read by legal professionals.