Hon. Richard Licht

Hon. Richard A. Licht is an associate justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Lincoln Chafee on May 22, 2014.  During his judicial tenure, Licht has presided over the Trial Calendar in Providence County, as well as the Kugel Mesh, Opioid, and Municipal Tax Calendars.

Prior to his appointment, he was the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Administration since 2011.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 1968. Licht went on to complete a J.D. at Harvard Law School (1972) and an LL.M. in taxation from Boston University School of Law (1975).

He was admitted to practice in Rhode Island (1972), the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (1973), the United States Supreme Court (1976), and Massachusetts (1996).

After graduating from law school, Licht began his legal career as a law clerk for the Hon. Thomas Roberts, former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court (1973 to 1974). Then, upon completing his clerkship, he entered into private practice. He was a partner at Letts, Quinn & Licht; Licht & Semonoff; and Tillinghast Licht.

His areas of practice included corporate and real estate law. Licht also served as general counsel for the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, handling negotiations with federal authorities and major airline tenants. He was also credited with serving as the principal member of the legal team representing the developers of the regional shopping mall, Providence Place, as well as playing a central role in the representation of the subsidiary of one of the world’s largest supermarket chains in a divesture of its Rhode Island and Massachusetts stores as ordered by the Federal Trade Commission.

In the political arena, Licht served as a senator in the Rhode Island Senate (1974 to 1983) and was the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island (1985 to 1989).

He has been involved with the Anti-Defamation League (Rhode Island chairman), the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Rhode Island Council chairman), the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island (Board of Directors), and the Urban League.

Licht was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and is the nephew of former Governor Frank Licht. He is married to the Hon. Roanne Sragow, former first justice of the Cambridge District Court in Massachusetts. They have four children.