Richard L. Lougee, Attorney

Richard L. Lougee has practiced law for over 30 years.  He received his undergraduate degree from Franklin & Marshall College in 1969 and his law degree from the University of Connecticut in 1977.  He is licensed to practice law in Connecticut, New Mexico and Arizona.  Mr. Lougee was a public defender in Connecticut, and a prosecutor in New Mexico and he is now a sole practitioner whose practice is limited to criminal defense and personal injury.

Mr. Lougee has significant experience in criminal defense in a variety of jurisdictions throughout the United States.  He has tried at least 200 felony jury trials to conclusion in state and federal courts and has a record of acquittals equaled by few criminal defense attorneys.  Mr. Lougee has served as lead counsel in 15 death penalty cases.  Two of these cases resulted in not guilty verdicts on all counts, including a case involving the murder of 3 individuals at a Tucson market in 1992.  Mr. Lougee's role in the case was featured in and article in the January 17, 2005, edition of The New Yorker magazine, authored by Jeffrey Toobin.

While a private practitioner in New Mexico in 1982, Mr. Lougee first appreciated the unique nature of prosecutions involving allegations of sexual abuse of children. He was instrumental in developing a national network of lawyers and experts to confront the difficulties in defending such cases. In the past 30 years he has defended scores of individuals accused with acts of sexual misconduct in both criminal and civil proceedings. These cases have included claims based on shaken baby syndrome, repressed memories, and the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome. He is now a nationally recognized expert in the defense of such cases and is regularly called upon as a consultant, expert witness, and speaker at legal educational functions throughout the country.

In addition to his background as a criminal defense lawyer, Mr. Lougee has extensive experience as a personal injury attorney. He has settled and successfully tried many cases in New Mexico and Arizona involving personal injuries and other civil wrongs. In one case in New Mexico he obtained a large verdict for the owner of a small trucking company in a contract dispute with a conglomerate of oil companies. In another case in Arizona he obtained a large settlement for a handicapped woman who was injured in a fall caused by a raised paving brick.

Mr. Lougee was acknowledged by the State Bar of Arizona for receiving the second highest overall score on the February, 1989 bar examination. Martindale Hubbell has designated him with its highest rating, AV, and has him currently listed in its Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers. He is listed in the June 2007 issue of Southwest Super Lawyers magazine. He has been accepted as a Life Member of the National Registry of Who's Who published in the 1999 edition. In 2002 Mr. Lougee was recipient of the Champions of Justice Award given by the Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts. He received the John J. Flynn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice in 2003.