About Mr. Richard Lyman
Mr. Richard Lyman Hartley is an attorney whose path to the law began in New England classrooms and wound into Maine courtrooms. He earned a B.A. in Russian history from Princeton University in 1989. He returned north for law school and received his J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law in 1994. Those academic years established the groundwork for a practice shaped by courtroom work and appellate filings.
Early in his career Hartley served as an Assistant District Lawyer in Sagadahoc County beginning in 1998. That position placed him on the prosecutorial side of many local matters and gave him regular exposure to jury trials, pretrial practice, and evidentiary disputes. He later moved into private practice as an associate at Billings & Silverstein in 2003, where he broadened his courtroom experience and handled a range of criminal matters and related litigation.
In 2006 he set up his own practice, serving as president and sole lawyer of the Law Office of Richard L. Hartley, P.C. Running a one-lawyer firm requires balancing client work, courtroom preparation, and the administrative tasks of a private practice. For Hartley, that structure has meant direct client contact and control over litigation strategy, from arraignment through appeal.
Hartley has been active in the Maine criminal defense community. He served on the board of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers from 2007 through 2013, moving through officer roles that included vice president for 2011–2012 and president for 2012–2013. Those positions involved organizing educational programs, participating in statewide discussions about criminal justice policy, and representing defense practitioners in professional forums.
His licenses cover the state of Maine and the First Circuit. That dual scope reflects both trial work in state courts and handling appeals in the federal appellate court that serves this region. Colleagues describe him as a lawyer who spends most of his time in criminal matters, from trial practice to post-conviction and appellate work. He continues to serve clients through his firm, focusing his current practice on criminal defense and appellate representation in Maine and the First Circuit.
