Richard focuses his practice on federal and state income tax planning for corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other taxable and nontaxable entities, including domestic and international tax planning, exempt organization tax planning, and tax planning in connection with equity-based compensation.
Richard's practice includes structuring of corporate and business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, redemptions, liquidations, affiliations, joint ventures, business formations, venture capital financing, security issuances, and equity-based compensation arrangements. He also has extensive experience handling tax audits and controversy matters.
In the course of his practice, Richard advises a broad range of clients in various industries, including technology, consumer products, manufacturing, healthcare, cannabis, financial services, snack food and gaming businesses. Richard handled the business combination transaction between Utz Quality Foods and Collier Creek Holdings, a consumer goods special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to form publicly traded Utz Brands, Inc.; a reverse takeover transaction through which shares of Acreage Holdings, Inc. – a large, multistate owner of cannabis licenses and assets in the United States – became listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, and an agreement under which Acreage will be acquired by Canada-based Canopy Growth Corporation once federal prohibition of marijuana is lifted in the United States; the $2.9 billion sale of John Middleton, Inc., a cigar company, to Altira,Group, and the $500 million sale of a steel pipe and tubular company to The Carlyle Group. He is experienced in a broad range of executive compensation matters, including public and private companies and Section 501(c)(3) charitable organizations with respect to intermediate sanction safe harbor compliance, the formation of joint venture arrangements, and the restructuring and recapitalization transactions for public and private companies. Richard has also handled numerous investments in domestic and international private equity and hedge funds.
Richard was ranked by Chambers & Partners USA in 2021, and he frequently lectures at seminars and writes on various topics of federal and state income taxation and exempt organization tax matters. Prior to earning his law degree, Richard practiced as a certified public accountant.
Richard received his undergraduate degree from Emory University, and earned his law degree, cum laude, at Villanova University School of Law where he was a law review editor and was elected to Order of the Coif.