Rick Deane represents clients who are facing all types of criminal or civil investigations by the Department of Justice and other investigative agencies. He has extensive experience in federal grand jury investigations, trying cases in state and federal courts, and appearing before the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal. Rick served as lead counsel in defending criminal charges against a major design-build company. All charges against the company were dismissed, and the company paid a civil assessment. He also served as lead counsel in a month-long personal injury case tried in state court to a complete defense verdict and handles general litigation matters. Rick is the former Partner-in-Charge of the Atlanta Office and former co-chair of the Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice.
Rick's representative clients include the Atlanta School Board, The Facilities Group, Fulton County District Attorney's Office, The Public Warehousing Company K.S.C., and The Sherwin-Williams Company.
Rick is president of the American College of Trial Lawyers and serves on the Executive Committee for the College. He was chosen by the State Bar of Georgia's bench and bar committee as the attorney recipient of the 12th Annual Chief Justice Thomas O. Marshall Professionalism Award. The award honors "one lawyer and one judge who have demonstrated the highest professional conduct and paramount reputation for professionals." He also received the Atlanta Bar Association's Leadership Award in 2016 and the "Thomas J. Waldrop Truth & Justice Award" in recognition of his representation of Atlanta School Superintendent, Dr. Beverly Hall, during the Atlanta cheating scandal. Rick is a past president of the National Association of Former United States Attorneys (NAFUSA).
- University of Michigan (LL.M. 1979); The University of Georgia (J.D. 1977; Earl Warren Scholar; B.A. cum laude 1974)
- Georgia
- U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Georgia (1998-2001); Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (1994-1998); and Chief of the Criminal Division (1990-1994), Chief of the General Crimes Section (1986-1990), and Assistant U.S. Attorney (1980-1986), Northern District of Georgia, United States Department of Justice
Georgia "Commercial Litigation Department of the Year" Winner (April 2014); "General Litigation Department of the Year" (April 2013), The Daily Report
Listed in Best Lawyers in America (since 2006)
Named by Time Magazine (2001) to "Time 100 List of Innovators"
Featured in the Georgia edition of Super Lawyers magazine
Chambers USA Band 1, litigation: white collar defense and Georgia Trend magazine's "Legal Elite"
"Hall of Fame" honoree: 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America