Lawyer Richard Guerriero | Top Attorney Criminal Defense

Richard has been a trial lawyer for 40 years. He is based in Keene but practices statewide in both state and federal court. He represents clients in all types of criminal cases and in government investigations, with a specific focus on difficult and complex felonies.

Richard has represented many clients in the New Hampshire trial courts (Circuit and Superior Court) and in the United States District Court for New Hampshire. He has handled appeals at the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the Louisiana Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeal for the First and Fifth Circuits, and United States Supreme Court. He has briefed and argued a case at the United States Supreme Court, and filed many petitions for certiorari there.

Richard has been regularly recognized for his legal skills and for his community service. In 2007, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The College is an invitation-only fellowship of exceptional trial lawyers from the United States and Canada who have demonstrated the very highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality. Richard is the current chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers' New Hampshire State Committee.

Richard also served as the President of the New Hampshire Bar Association for the 2021-2022 year. He previously served one-year terms as President-Elect and Vice President. He served for many years on the bar's Board of Governors, both as a Governor at Large and as the Cheshire County Governor. He also served for years on the bar's Ethics and Continuing Legal Education Committees. Richard has chaired the bar's Annual Ethics CLE for the last twelve years. In 2024, Richard received the Bar Association's annual Award for Distinguished Service to the Legal Profession.

  • New Hampshire Bar Foundation - In 2009, the New Hampshire Bar Foundation recognized Richard's public service with the Frank Rowe Kenison Award.
  • New Hampshire and Louisiana Associations of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Richard has been twice recognized as a Champion of Justice. In 2005, the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers bestowed that honor on him. He had previously received the same recognition from the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 1993.

Richard graduated magna cum laude from Louisiana State University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, completing his undergraduate study in three years and being inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. He earned his law degree from LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1984, where his notes and articles were published in the school’s Law Review.

Richard began his legal career in 1984 at the Supreme Court of Louisiana, as law clerk to Justice James L. Dennis, who was later elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. After his clerkship, Richard was in private practice in Baton Rouge, Louisiana until 1993. In 1994, he moved to New Hampshire, where he has practiced for over three decades. Because of his experience and skill, Richard was selected to serve as the Litigation Director of the New Hampshire Public Defender, coordinating the training and litigation support for 100+ public defenders and 50+ criminal contract attorneys, from 2000 to 2012. Richard left NHPD in 2013 to become partners with fellow former public defender, Ted Lothstein.

Education
  • Louisiana State University, B.A. magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1981
  • Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, J.D., 1984
Licensure and Admissions
  • New Hampshire
  • Louisiana (Inactive Status)
  • United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
  • United States Courts of Appeals for the First and Fifth Circuits
  • United States Supreme Court
Professional Associations
  • New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NHCADL)
  • National College of DUI Defense
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
  • New Hampshire Bar Association (past President and Vice-President)
  • American College of Trial Lawyers New Hampshire State Committee
Honors and Recognitions
Speaking Engagements
  • Chair of annual Ethics CLE, New Hampshire Bar Association
  • Presenter and mentor for trial and appellate training programs at NH Public Defender