---
title: "Richard Joseph Sullivan | KnowJudges"
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page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Richard Joseph Sullivan

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, District Court, S.D. New York, 2007-present
- American judge serving as a United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018
- Deputy general counsel, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., 2005-2007
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of New York, 1994-2005
- Notable past positions: Chief of the International Narcotics Trafficking Unit (1994–2005) in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York
- Law clerk, Hon. David M. Ebel, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 1990-1991
- Litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- Law clerk to Judge David M. Ebel (10th Circuit)
- In summary: Judge Sullivan is a seasoned federal judge with a career spanning high-profile drug prosecutions, corporate legal leadership, and academic teaching, now serving on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

### Education

- Yale University — J.D. (1990)
- Yale Law School — J.D. (1990)
- in Government and English, College of William & Mary — B.A. (1986)

### Additional information

- 25, 2018), appointed by President George W. Bush.
- General counsel, Marsh, Inc., 2006-2007
- Awarded the Henry L. Stimson Medal (2003) and named Federal Law Enforcement Association’s Prosecutor of the Year (1998).
- Private practice, New York, 1991-1994
- Former New York City Urban Fellow (1986–1987).
- Born 1964 in Manhasset, New York.
- Date of birth: 1964-01-01
- Director of the New York/New Jersey Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
- General Counsel and Managing Director of Marsh Inc..
- Recent cases include Santos v.
- Blanche, Trireme Energy Development v.
- RWE Renewables, and United States v.
- Bagley.
- Birth place: Manhasset, NY

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.

Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392581)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392581)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392581)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3138/richard-joseph-sullivan/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3138/richard-joseph-sullivan/)

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