News Post

MONTGOMERY – The Alabama State Bar on Saturday swore in Huntsville attorney Richard J.R. Raleigh Jr. as the 138th president of the 17,600-member organization.

“It is a distinct honor to serve as the next president of the Alabama State Bar, and I’m looking forward to continuing the good work that has already been enacted by leadership before me,” said newly-installed President Richard Raleigh of Wilmer & Lee P.A. (Huntsville).

Raleigh began his service with the bar in 2004 as a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners for the 23rd judicial circuit and has held a number of leadership positions within the organization. In addition to his nine years as a bar commissioner, he has also served on the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission, Disciplinary Panels, Executive Council and various committees and task forces within the bar.

A native of Griffin, Georgia, Raleigh received his undergraduate degree from The University of Alabama in 1992 and law degree from The University of Alabama School of Law in 1995. In addition, Raleigh is a Distinguished Military Graduate and U.S. Army ROTC Scholarship Graduate at The University of Alabama, and entered the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps where he served in Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia.

In 2000, Raleigh returned to Alabama to join Wilmer & Lee P.A. where he is a currently the managing shareholder. Wilmer & Lee represents business, governmental entities and individuals throughout Alabama and the Southeast. Raleigh focuses his practice on litigation including employment litigation, government contract litigation, trade secret litigation and general corporate litigation.

Raleigh is a graduate of the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum, serves on the Council of the Alabama Law Institute, is a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation and received the President’s Award for Meritorious Service to the Alabama State Bar for his work with the Volunteer Lawyers Program. He has worked with several organizations in his local community including the Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association, Downtown Rotary Club, National Children’s Advocacy Center, Downtown Forty-Seven, Boys & Girls Club of America and the Old Town Historic District Association.

Raleigh and his wife, Shannon, live in Huntsville with their twin six-year-olds, Sarah Medders and Tripp.

During the ceremony, Lee Copeland of Copeland, Franco, Screws & Gill (Montgomery) was installed as the bar’s president-elect. Copeland will serve one year in this role before assuming the presidency in July 2015.

###

The Alabama State Bar Press Office can be reached at 334-517-2212 or pressoffice@alabar.org.