Richard R. Heath, Jr.

Richard "Richie" Heath, Jr. concentrates his practice in the area of government relations and serves as leader of the firm's Government Relations team. Richie's practice also includes work in the hospitality, gaming and tourism industry, industrial hemp and medical cannabis fields, as well as the state's burgeoning renewable energy industry.  Prior to joining the firm, he was Chief Legal Counsel and Chief of Staff for West Virginia Senate Presidents Mitch B. Carmichael and William P. Cole. He also served as a Deputy Attorney General to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. 

Richie's experience in public policy, government relations and executive management is extensive. From legislative drafting and in-depth legal analysis to research and communications, his background in the public, private and non-profit sectors provides the ability to offer clients measured, insightful results. In addition, Richie has significant practice in the areas of economic development, constitutional law and civil justice reform, and he regularly assists on campaign finance and election law matters.

Richie's practice also includes work in the hospitality, gaming and tourism industry as well as the state's burgeoning industrial hemp and medical cannabis field. He is the primary author of State of Affairs, the official blog of the Bowles Rice Government Relations team. 

A 2002 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law, Richie was selected a National Member of the Order of the Barristers, an honorary organization limited to graduating law students and practicing lawyers who demonstrate exceptional skill in trial advocacy, oral advocacy and brief writing.  He earned his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in political science from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

• Chief Legal Counsel to the West Virginia Senate (December 2014 - December 2017)
• As Chief Legal Counsel to the West Virginia Senate, co-authored several significant pieces of legislation, including, but not limited to:
• SB 1 - Establishing the West Virginia Workplace Freedom Act (2016)
• SB 7 - Establishing the Wrongful Conduct Rule (2016)
• SB 13 - Reinstating the “open and obvious” doctrine for premises liability (2015)
• SB 15 - Adopting the learned intermediary doctrine as a defense to civil actions (2016)
• SB 411 - Creating the Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act and Asbestos and Silica Claims Priorities Act (2016)
• As Chief Legal Counsel to the West Virginia Senate, assisted in significant litigation, most notably in the case of State ex rel. Biafore v. Tomblin and the recent legal challenge to West Virginia’s Workplace Freedom Act (2016)
• Deputy Attorney General to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (January 2013 - December 2014)
• Executive Director, West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (May 2009 - January 2013)

Published in:

• State ex rel. Blankenship v. Warner, No. 18-0712 (2018)

• Named Best Lawyers' Lawyer of the Year in the southern West Virginia region (Government Relations Practice - 2023)
• Named to The Best Lawyers in America ® (Government Relations) 2021
• National Member of the Order of the Barristers
• Named to “Generation Next: 40 Under 40" by The State Journal (2015)
• Recipient of CALI Awards (recognition for achieving the highest grade in a particular subject) at Wake Forest University School of Law:
• Legal Research and Writing

• Deacon – First Presbyterian Church, Charleston, WV
• Past President – Fund for the Arts West Virginia