About Richard F.
Richard F. Michaelson arrived at law after two undergraduate degrees that blend business and education. He earned a B.B.A. in Marketing and Advertising from Temple University in 1964, then a B.S. in Education from St. Joseph's College in 1968. He finished his legal studies at Temple University, receiving his J.D. in 1969. Those early years show an uncommon mix: marketing, education and law.
His career began in public service. In 1972 he joined the Office of the Philadelphia Public Defender as an assistant public defender. He moved to the prosecutorial side in 1978 when he served in the Homicide Division of the Philadelphia Office of the District Lawyer. That experience exposed him to high-stakes courtroom work on both sides of criminal cases. In 1982 he took on a private practice role as president of Richard F. Michaelson, PC, a firm he has been identified with for decades.
Michaelson has long been involved in teaching and mentoring younger lawyers. He coached the Villanova University Mock Trial Program from 2004 to 2010 and taught trial advocacy there in 2006. He also served as a co-chair of the Solo and Small Practitioner Committee at the Philadelphia Bar Association from 2013 to 2020. Those roles place him in regular contact with law students and early-career attorneys, sharing courtroom techniques and trial strategy.
His professional memberships include longstanding ties to the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, where he has been active since at least 1998, and the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, where he has held membership since 1991. Together these associations reflect a practice that has engaged in civil litigation as well as criminal defense and prosecution matters over many years.
Michaelson is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He maintains an office at The Philadelphian. Over the years his work has spanned public defense, homicide prosecution and private civil and criminal practice, offering him a wide view of litigation and trial work.
He continues to meet clients and handle cases from his office at The Philadelphian. His current practice involves courtroom litigation and trial preparation in matters that arise in Pennsylvania and federal appellate work in the Third Circuit.
