Richard is a diplomatic and intellectual presence in Rutberg Personal Injury Law, a firm in which courtroom battle is a way of life. Known for intense trial preparation and attention to detail, Mr. Greenblatt has a professional style which combines fierce tenacity with a deeply held desire to resolve conflict. When it serves his client’s best interests, he is as willing to accept a proper settlement – which he calls “winning without total war” – as he is capable of presenting the case to a jury. “As long as our
client prevails, I have done my job, whether by settlement or trial. A good trial lawyer doesn’t put a fair settlement at risk. I may like the process of trial, but whatever is best for the client has to come first.”

It is no accident that Richard emphasizes guiding principles when speaking of his commitment to law and client. In and out of the courtroom he enjoys a reputation for fairness and honesty. As the son of a trial lawyer who was “larger than life and my mentor,” Richard learned about the moral obligations of attorneys and the challenges of their work, from an early age. He began working with his father after graduating college. “It was there that I formed my passion for the principles and practice of law. I learned that living up to the lawyer’s true standards of character is as important as winning my cases, so I work hard at both.” After graduating law school and gaining legal experience in New York City, he returned to the Hudson Valley to work with his father again, now as his law partner.

Richard Greenblatt is not only a winning advocate of his client’s case. His professional responsibilities also include service on the Grievance Committee for the 9th Judicial District, which oversees the ethical conduct of all attorneys in Westchester, Dutchess, Rockland, Putnam and Orange Counties. He is a past president of the Orange County Bar Association and of the Legal Aid Society of Orange County.

During 25 years of practicing side-by-side with his father, Richard gained rich experience in many areas of trial law, including matrimonial, criminal, commercial and personal injury law. Ultimately he concluded that his desire to help others and to use the law to resolve conflict was best fulfilled in personal injury practice. After his father’s passing, it was natural for Richard to join Rutberg Personal Injury Law as a senior member. He had attended Brooklyn Law School with Marty Rutberg where “we both learned that, for the privilege of practicing law, we owe the profession, our community and our clients a life of dedicated, effective and ethical service.” They also share a desire, born of experience, to handle cases that really matter and to take to trial only cases which they personally believe are worthy of the jury’s time and attention.

“The courtroom is about truth,” Richard maintains. “As a courtroom lawyer, you must first believe in the case, in order to be believable. Otherwise you are acting. We are not actors. If we sometimes sense drama in the courtroom, it is because the facts of the case are dramatic. The trial lawyer is simply the messenger of the truth.”