Biography

     Wyoming County native Richard “Rick” Huffsmith, a 1974 graduate of Lackawanna Trail High School and 1976 graduate of Keystone Junior College, earned his Juris Doctor in 1982 from Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia. Over the past 42 years, Rick has represented a countless number of clients in a wide range of legal arenas. After graduating from Temple, he and his wife, Lisa, moved to Dallas, Texas. For the next twelve years, he worked for a number of law firms, including Bush Craddock Huffsmith & Gilhooly, P.C, in which he was a partner and founding member. His practice primarily consisted of handling litigation cases for Fortune 100 companies.

     In the fall of 1994, Rick was asked to join Jewelcor Management & Consulting, Inc. in Wilkes-Barre as Vice President and General Counsel. Rick and Lisa wanted their children, Kathryn and Stephen, to grow up in the same wholesome environment of their native Wyoming County so they chose Tunkhannock as their home. Rick’s role at Jewelcor included such legal responsibilities as preparing Securities and Exchange Commission filings, conducting proxy contests and creating a host of commercial leases, securities agreements and investment and transactional documents. In addition, he represented Jewelcor in complex litigation and commercial matters while overseeing the company’s human resource department.  During his tenure at Jewelcor, he worked on projects relating to a lottery system in Kazakhstan, a pharmacy company in Rwanda and helped orchestrate a successful stockholder takeover of a publicly traded company.     

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     In 2013, Rick left Jewelcor and opened a law practice in downtown Tunkhannock, offering legal services to residents and businesses. He has provided legal counsel for civil and criminal matters, including but not limited to cases involving oil and gas leases, victims’ rights, DUIs, assault and terroristic threat charges and family law. Rick spent many hours helping local landowners negotiate oil and gas leases and agreements for pipelines, rights-of-way and pad sites/road access.  He was a member of the Wyoming County Landowners’ Group and was involved in the negotiation and preparation of the Wyoming County Landowners’ Oil and Gas Lease, which was favorable to many landowners in Wyoming and surrounding counties. Over the past decade, Rick has assisted clients with landowner disputes, including providing representation in class-action lawsuits against gas and oil companies, as well as aiding residents in lending and real estate transactions.      

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     Since his return home in 1994, Rick served the community as a member of the Tunkhannock Area School District School Board and board member and advisor for the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce. He has also returned as a board member of the Wyoming County United Way and is a member of the Wyoming County Rotary Club. In addition, Rick offers pro bono services to community members in need, including local veterans.     

     Rick continues to live in the Tunkhannock home where he raised his children with Lisa, to whom he was married for nearly 40 years before she lost a lengthy but courageous battle with cancer in May 2021. He enjoys spending time with his children and recently welcomed his first grandchild.   

     An avid outdoorsman, Rick enjoys hiking and hunting on his property in Wyoming County.