Richard Gottlieb is a Winston-Salem native. After attending college at Emory University (phi beta kappa) and graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law (with honors), Richard returned to Winston-Salem to practice with Petree Stockton LLP, one of the oldest and most prestigious law firms in North Carolina.

After a series of mergers, Petree Stockton became Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP, an international law firm with more than 600 attorneys in the United States, Europe, and Asia. As an attorney in private practice, Judge Gottlieb’s practice focused on complex business and intellectual property litigation. He represented clients in federal and state courts across the country.

Since his election as a Resident Superior Court Judge for the 21st Judicial District (Forsyth County, North Carolina), Judge Gottlieb has presided over motions hearings and jury trials in civil and criminal matters across the State of North Carolina. Judge Gottlieb is recognized as an expert in civil law and is a member of the civil sub-committee of the North Carolina Pattern Jury Committee. He was elected by his peers to serve on the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges. He was appointed by Chief Justice Mark Martin to sit on the Dispute Resolution Commission.

Although his time in private practice and his current position on the Superior Court consumes a significant amount of time, community involvement is important to Judge Gottlieb, and he devotes time to serving on the boards of a number of local not-for-profit and public service entities. These have included the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Winston-Salem, the campaign cabinet for United Way of Forsyth County, and the campaign cabinet for the Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County. He is a past President of the Forsyth County Bar Association and is a past chairman of the Ethics & Grievance Committee.

Judge Gottlieb and his wife, Jennifer, met in law school. Jennifer retired from her law practice and now teaches children with dyslexia at the Triad Academy division of Summit School. They have two college age children, Noah and Celia, and two Labrador Retrievers, Blue and Sam Brown.