Elected in November 2015 and re-elected in 2018, 2021 and 2024, Richard is chair of the board. Richard was the inaugural chair of the Committee for the Hunter from 2019 to 2024 and remains a director. He is a life member of Business Hunter, was director from 2008 to 2018 and president from 2011 to 2014.
Richard is a consultant to Sparke Helmore Lawyers. He is a Conjoint Professor of Practice in the School of Law and Justice at the University of Newcastle. He is a director of Healthy Communities Foundation Australia Ltd (Chair 2019 to 2024) and a member of the Venues NSW Hunter Committee.
In 2018, Richard was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "significant service to the community of the Hunter, to business development and medical research and to the law".