Meet Bob
Bob Richardson grew up in the Town of Tonawanda, where he attended Kenmore East High School, served as president of the National Honor Society, played two varsity sports, and graduated in the top 20 of his class. Service to the community was always important to him from a young age, as indicated by his participation in the Town of Tonawanda Youth Court and Town of Grand Island Youth Court. Both groups aimed to help the community's youth by providing an alternative to formal judicial proceedings for those arrested for minor crimes.
After high school, he attended Colgate University, where he got a degree in Mathematics. Upon graduation, he was admitted to the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he earned his law degree. While at UB Law, he was elected to the Student Bar Association, which allocated resources for various student clubs at the Law School. He then took the New York State Bar exam and passed it on his first attempt.
Upon becoming a lawyer, he began his legal career with the Erie County District Attorney’s office, starting in Buffalo City Court. From there, he moved to the Justice Courts before being promoted to the Special Investigations Bureau, where he handled drug crimes and juvenile cases. During his time in the DA’s office, he handled hundreds of cases of all types and levels.
Supreme Court Justice Frank Caruso then asked Bob to be his Confidential Law Clerk, which he gladly accepted and has been acting in that role since 2007. He routinely handles all types of cases brought to the State Supreme Court, including civil litigation, mental hygiene guardian applications, matrimonial matters, extreme risk protection orders, and more. He conducts conferences with attorneys, performs research on all issues brought before the Court, and prepares draft decisions for Justice Caruso’s review.
This level of experience in the State Supreme Court makes him uniquely qualified to serve as a State Supreme Court Justice.
He has also continued his strong desire to serve the community in his adult life. He was previously on the Board of Directors for the Erie County Aid to Indigent Prisoners Society (Assigned Counsel) and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Ken-Ton Friends of Youth Foundation. A large amount of his volunteer life has been spent in animal rescue. As he had a Basset Hound growing up, he has been involved with All Bassets Cherished Basset Hound Rescue, where he did many long-distance transports for hounds across the country to come to New York to find new homes. He was also selected in 2012 to serve on the Board of Directors of the Niagara County SPCA after it was discovered that more than half the animals entering the shelter were being euthanized. He sat on the Board for 7 years and was elected President for the last 5. He is exceptionally proud of the good work accomplished during his time there, and when he left in 2019, over 14,000 animals had been saved.
Currently, he is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Niagara County Bar Association, having served as its president for the last 4 years. There, he helped the organization support local attorneys, initiate new events, and present on various legal topics to the members for their Continuing Legal Education programs.
