West Philadelphia born and raised, Richard F. Klineburger, III, completed his undergraduate studies from Neumann University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude as a member of the Honors Program. Richard was able to do this while remaining a competitive member of the Cross Country and Baseball teams as well as Senior Class President. Upon being awarded his Juris Doctorate Degree from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University in 1995, he was admitted to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bars. While at Temple, Richard continued his academic success by making the Dean's List as well as earning Distinguished Class Performance in Evidence (1995) & Torts (1992) and was the recipient of the Barrister Award for Outstanding Performance in Trial Advocacy (1995).
Following law school, Richard had the unique experience of experiencing a Judicial Clerkship in two states. He originally clerked for the Honorable Thomas Dempsey of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania in the Family Court Division and then clerked for the Honorable Timothy G. Farrell, J.S.C. of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Salem County where he was the sole clerk for the Family and Civil Divisions. In 1997, at the end of his Clerkship, Richard decided to start his own law firm with offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In 2004 he formed partnership with D. Ryan Nussey, Esquire to create the premier litigation firm now known as Klineburger & Nussey.
Richard earned a reputation throughout the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area as a tenacious trial attorney as he tried many complex felony and homicide trials. His fifteen years of trial experience makes him a tough litigator no matter what the case. In fact, his trial skills as a relentless cross-examiner that he honed as a headline-making criminal attorney are what make him an outstanding litigator in all cases including civil and domestic relations. He concentrates on complex litigation, but some of his best results have been cases where a client was investigated but never prosecuted.
In recent years Richard has taken the practical experience he has gained in the courtrooms and applied it to a broader practice of law. As a veteran trial attorney, who has tried over fifty jury trials in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania state and federal courts, he has won acquittals in cases alleging murder, drug trafficking and an array of other charges.
Richard has represented many high profile clients including professional athletes, recording artists and politicians. Besides his normal caseload, Richard currently serves as Special Counsel for the Township of Haddon, Camden County, New Jersey.
Among Richard's more recent notable cases, he won a settlement from several police officers in a case that involved the shooting death of an individual involved in a high speed chase. What made this case remarkable was that the deceased was shot and killed by police after he allegedly pointed a gun at the officers.
In another matter Richard successfully defended a former National Football League athlete in a matter where the defendant was found driving a rental vehicle with over Ten Million Dollars worth of PCP in the trunk. Richard was able to prove that the police officers had fabricated allegations regarding the basis for the probable cause to stop and search the vehicle. The matter was dismissed on "racial profiling" grounds.
Richard successfully handled a matter for an exotic dancer who was wrongfully accused of illegal activities and defamed by a former customer who initially attempted to sue for a return of gifts given to her as well as a settlement for a man who committed suicide in jail after the police failed to follow standard operating procedures and did not remove his belt nor checked on him during the required time increments.
Richard is most proud of defending an indigent client who was charged with murdering his infant son by smashing his head into a bathtub. After two other attorneys gave up on the case, Richard began to dig apart at the mounds of discovery in preparation for trial. Upon obtaining forensic testing paid for out of his own pocket, Richard was able to prove that the State had erred and that the child had actually died from a failure to diagnose a concussion from earlier in the week even after the child had visited the hospital two times before his death. After three years of being wrongfully jailed, Richard's client was released from custody and regained his former employment.
Richard is the immediate past President of the Salem County Bar Association and has been named as one of the Top Attorneys in Philadelphia and New Jersey, Super Lawyer, in Philadelphia Magazine and New Jersey Monthly Magazine and is recognized as one of the youngest attorneys to ever earn the recognition of the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Criminal Trial Attorney, a title held by only two hundred and fifty attorneys in the state.
Criminal Law
Litigation & Appeals
New Jersey, 1995
Pennsylvania, 1997
U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 1995
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1997
U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1995
Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May, 1995
J.D.
Honors: Dean's List
Honors: Distinguished Class Performance in Evidence (1995) & Torts (1992)
Honors: Barrister Award for Outstanding Performance in Trial Advocacy (1995)
Honors: Distinguished Service in the Public Interest (1994-1995)
Neumann College, Aston, PA, U.S., 1992
B.A.
Honors: Magna Cum Laude
Honors: National Honors Presenter, Spring 1992
Honors: Senior Class President; Graduate Speaker (1992)
Major: Political Science
Minor: Philosophy
Criminal Motion Practice & Updates, ICLE, 1999 - 2002
Defense of the Complex Criminal Trial Including Psychological Defenses, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
Preparation of an Effective Closing Argument and Aggressive Cross Examination, National Institute for Trial Advocacy
NJ Criminal Conferences, AAJ
American Bar Association, Litigation Section
New Jersey Bar Association
Camden County Bar Association
Salem County Bar Association
Justinian Society
Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Neumann College, Adjunct Professor, Humanities, 1995 - 1998
Superior Court of New Jersey, Judicial Law Clerk, Hon. Timothy G. Farrell, 1996 - 1997
Dranoff & Patrizio, P.C., Associate Attorney, 1995 - 1996
Dranoff & Patrizio, P.C., Legal Assistant, 1994 - 1995
Temple University School of Law, Teaching Assistant, Trial Advocacy, 1994 - 1995
Defender Association of Philadelphia, Law Intern, 1994
Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Law Clerk, Hon. Thomas Dempsey, 1993 - 1994
Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile - Family Court Division, Court Representative, Juvenile Division, 1989 - 1993
Law Offices of Richard F. Klineburger, III, Sole Practitioner, 1997 - 2004
