Richard K. Hines, V, is a senior litigation partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP who practices in Atlanta in the areas of complex litigation involving product liability, mass torts and toxic torts, franchisor, and business-related cases. In recent years his practice has included the defense of numerous class actions and false claims cases as well as litigation of commercial and intellectual property interests. With more than 35 years of trial experience, Mr. Hines is one of the Firm’s most seasoned trial lawyers. He has successfully been associated in complex litigation matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States and has tried cases to verdict in more than a dozen states. He has been court appointed to serve on the defense liaison committee in cases consolidated for multidistrict treatment by the MDL Panel. Mr. Hines’ appearances in jurisdictions outside the Southeast stem from his national and regional representation of a number of product manufacturers. 

Mr. Hines is regularly listed in such publications as The Best Lawyers in America, The Georgia Super Lawyers, and Top Lawyers, Litigation. He has been one of a handful of Georgia lawyers listed in the International Who’s Who of Commercial Litigators. Mr. Hines is also listed in Atlanta Magazine’s surveys of Best Lawyers in Atlanta in both the commercial litigation and the personal injury litigation sections. A case Mr. Hines tried recently in Cambridge, Mass., was selected by The National Law Journal to be listed in the top five defense verdicts in the United States. Mr. Hines has served as president of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, a national organization whose membership is limited to attorneys who represent the rail industry. A member of the State Bar of Georgia, Mr. Hines is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. 

In addition to his trial experience, Mr. Hines has an extensive appellate practice and has argued in numerous state and federal appellate courts. Mr. Hines has participated successfully in  an appeal to the United States Supreme Court in which case the Court unanimously reversed a lower federal appellate court on issues involving the international carriage of goods. He is in demand for seminars throughout the United States, where he offers presentations on a variety of trial-related issues. 

Mr. Hines earned his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law where he served as Treaty Case and Notes Editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law and was the school’s moot court champion oralist. Mr. Hines earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the Virginia Military Institute. He presently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the VMI Foundation. Following his graduation from VMI he served as an armor officer overseas before entering law school. Mr. Hines and his wife are active in community affairs and serve on a number of charitable boards in Atlanta.