30 Years of Experience

Richard Righi has been practicing law since 1992. As a seasoned trial lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in the civil practice, he is known amongst his peers and the industry alike as fair minded advocate who is no stranger to the Courtroom. Mr. Righi has tried over 70 cases to jury verdict in a wide variety of subject areas, and has taken hundreds of cases through the arbitration and mediation process. Rick has achieved prevailing party status for his clients in over 95% of cases he has tried and arbitrated, but has never lost sight of the value of alternate dispute resolution. His practice is focused on the defense of a wide range of licensed professionals, including lawyers, engineers, architects, contractors, and builders. Mr. Righi’s practice includes the defense of large, multi-national companies and small, local businesses.

Rick is a mediator and arbitrator. Since 2004, Rick has mediated cases on a volunteer basis for the Maricopa County Superior Court as a Judge Pro Tempore. After realizing that mediation was a calling, Rick began to focus his practice in the area of alternative dispute resolution. He was recently selected as an arbitration and mediation panelist for the American Arbitration Association, and is a sought after mediator and arbitrator by plaintiffs and defendants alike in all matters of civil litigation.

Mr. Righi has received numerous awards and accolades through his 30 years in practice, including the prestigious AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell (since 2013), selection as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), recognition as a Southwest Super Lawyer from 2012 to the present, selection as one of Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, and was the recipient of the America’s Top 100 Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2010, Rick was honored by the Defense Research Institute (DRI) for his work in the advancement of the profession as the Past-President of the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel (AADC). Rick is also a founder and Past-President of the Phoenix Chapter of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), and teaches regularly at the CLM Claims College. Rick has published several works including the Arizona Tort Law Handbook Chapter on Construction Defect for the State Bar of Arizona. He is sought as an expert witness on subjects relating to the standard of care of lawyers and the reasonableness of settlements in complex Morris/Damron consent judgment assignments.

Mr. Righi is a founding member of Righi Fitch Law Group and is licensed to practice in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Ohio and Utah.

Education

• Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio
  • J.D., 1992
  • Honors: Delta Theta Phi
  • Honors: Moot Court
• Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
  • B.S., 1989
  • Rugby Club
  • Major: Business

Bar Admissions

• Ohio, 1992
• Arizona, 1993
• U.S. District Court of Arizona, 2001
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2001
• New Mexico, 2018
• U.S. District Court of New Mexico, 2018
• Utah, 2018
• U.S. District Court of Utah, 2018
• Hawaii, 2018
• U.S. District Court of Hawaii, 2018
• Colorado, 2020
• U.S. District Court of Colorado, 2022

Published Works

• “The Argument for ADR,” CLM, published in the inaugural Litigation Management magazine, 2011
• Construction Defect Chapter in 2019 Arizona Tort Law Handbook, co-author
• “Extending Warranties,” CLM, published in the Winter 2013 Litigation Management magazine

Honors & Awards

• Southwest Super Lawyer 2012-2024 (recipient of the 10 year milestone award)
• Arizona’s Finest Lawyers 2015-2021
• Defense Research Institute (DRI) – Administration of Justice Award, 2010
• Nation’s Top One Percent 2015-2021

Professional Associations & Memberships

• State Bar of Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, Ohio, New Mexico, and Utah
• United States District Court, Districts of Arizona, Hawaii, New Mexico and Utah
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), 2012 to present
• American Arbitration Association, Arbitration Panelist – Construction Section; Mediation Panelist
• Judge Pro-Tempore, Maricopa County Superior Court: 2005 – 2015; 2018 to present
• Themis Advocates Group, Member
• Arizona Supreme Court – Attorney Disciplinary Commission Hearing Panelist, 2006 - 2009
• Past-President, Arizona Association of Defense Counsel (AADC)
• Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
• Past-President and co-founder of the Phoenix Chapter of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
• Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP)
• Maricopa County Bar Association, Former Board Member – Construction Law Section
• Fiesta Bowl Committee, Former Member and Past-Chair of the Fiesta Bowl/Phoenix Suns 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament, Rookie of the Year, 1995

With Righi Fitch Law Group, you can maintain control while our seasoned trial lawyers protect your interests. Call (602) 483-6352 today to get started.