HomeWashingtonSeattleRichard Friedman

About Richard Friedman

Richard H. Friedman built his reputation representing regular people and small businesses injured by large corporations and government entities, winning large verdicts in personal injury, defamation, insurance bad faith, and business torts. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Rick opened a one-lawyer office in Sitka, Alaska and focused on becoming a skilled trial lawyer. Over time, other lawyers sought his help, which led him to write five books for trial lawyers: Rules of the Road, Polarizing the Case, Becoming a Trial Lawyer, The Elements of Trial, and The Way of the Trial Lawyer.

He is a member and past president of the Inner Circle of Advocates, whose membership is limited to the 100 top plaintiff trial lawyers in the country, and is also a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 2013, Rick was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Washington State Association for Justice, and in 2019 he received the same honor from the Southern California Trial Lawyers Conference. Five of the firm's verdicts have been ranked in the top ten verdicts in the United States in the years they were returned.

Proven verdicts and settlements

$275 millionVerdict

A King County jury awarded $275 million to thirteen Sky Valley Education Center students and families who suffered neurological injuries from PCB-contaminated light fixtures manufactured by Monsanto.

King County Superior Court, Seattle, WA · 2022Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$185 millionVerdict

A King County jury awarded three Monroe, Washington teachers $185 million after finding that PCBs manufactured by Monsanto leached from fluorescent light ballasts at their school and caused permanent neurological injuries.

King County Superior Court, Seattle, WA · 2021Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$104 millionVerdict

A Clark County jury awarded retired Air Force veteran Michael Washington and his wife Josephine $104 million after finding that propofol manufacturers Teva Parenteral Medicines and Baxter Healthcare knowingly supplied oversized anesthetic vials that clinics routinely reused, spreading hepatitis C to patients.

Clark County District Court, Las Vegas, NV · 2011Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$100 millionVerdict

A King County jury awarded $100 million to four plaintiffs who suffered neurological, hormonal, and cancer-related illnesses after years of exposure to PCBs from defective fluorescent light fixtures at a Monroe, Washington school.

King County Superior Court, Seattle, WA · 2025Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$72 millionVerdict

A King County jury awarded $72 million to two former Sky Valley Education Center students who developed chronic neurological injuries after years of PCB exposure from aging fluorescent light fixtures manufactured by Monsanto.

King County Superior Court, Seattle, WA · 2023Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$8 millionVerdict

A Knott County jury found that Mine Safety Appliances Co. sold dust masks it knew were inadequate to protect underground coal miners, awarding coal miner James Couch $8 million after he developed black lung disease, in what was reported as the first coal-dust respirator case in the country to go to trial.

Knott Circuit Court, Kentucky · 2016Product LiabilityRead the full story →
View all 7 proven verdicts →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

Harvard Law School
J.D., 1979
Antioch College
Undergraduate, 1976

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of Washington

Other attorneys at Friedman Rubin

View firm →

Proven verdicts and settlements from other Seattle firms

Luvera Law Firm
Luvera Law Firm
$150 million · King County Jury Awards $150 Million to Families of South Lake Union Crane Collapse Victims
Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore
Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore
$123 million · $123 Million Verdict for Victims of Aurora Bridge Duck Boat Crash -- Largest Non-Punitive PI Trial Verdict in Washington History
Schroeter Goldmark & Bender
Schroeter Goldmark & Bender
$21 million · Jury Awards $21 Million to Former Odessa Brown Clinic Director in Race Discrimination Verdict Against Seattle Children's Hospital
Herrmann Law Group
Herrmann Law Group
$8.25 million · Four Ride the Ducks Crash Victims Settle for $8.25 Million Mid-Trial
Bernard Law Group
Bernard Law Group
$27.4 million · $27.4 Million Verdict Against San Francisco After MUNI Truck Kills 4-Year-Old on Mission District Sidewalk