Richard Hughes is a health lawyer, advisor, teacher and advocate passionate about improving access to health care and promoting disease prevention.
Richard Hughes IV, JD, MPH, is a nationally recognized thought leader in vaccines and prevention, working and teaching at the intersection of public health and healthcare law and policy. He has led many efforts to expand and protect access to vaccines and preventive services and improve public health outcomes.
Law & Consulting Practice
Richard is a partner at Epstein, Becker & Green, a national health law firm, where he leads a multidisciplinary team of attorneys and advisors. He advises a broad range of clients on legal, regulatory, policy and business strategies. He has advised biopharmaceutical companies, industry trade associations, investors, patient advocacy organizations, members of Congress and Congressional committees, and federal agencies
He is barred in the District of Columbia and before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Prior Professional Experiences
Richard was formerly vice president of public policy at Moderna, guiding the company’s policy strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previously, he was managing director at Avalere Health, where he founded and led the firm’s vaccines group.Richard Hughes IV, JD, MPH, is a nationally recognized thought leader in vaccines and prevention, working and teaching at the intersection of public health and healthcare law and policy. He has led many efforts to expand and protect access to vaccines and preventive services and improve public health outcomes.
Before becoming an attorney, Richard served in several health policy leadership roles. He was a gubernatorial appointee to the Arkansas State Board of Health, where he deliberated regulatory policy, presided over appeals before the state health department, and advocated for vaccine access.
He also held roles with Merck and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Teaching & Mentorship
Outside of his practice, Richard devotes his time to teaching and mentoring students. He is a professorial lecturer in law at The George Washington University Law School where he teaches Vaccines & Preventive Services Law.
Prior to joining the GW Law faculty, he held an appointment as a professorial lecturer in health policy and management at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Education
Richard received his Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School and his Master of Public Health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. During law school, he proudly served as a research assistant to renowned health law and vaccines scholar Professor Sara Rosenbaum
Honors
Richard is a member of the National Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health and has been named among Best Lawyers® "Ones to Watch" in Health Care Law.
Thought Leadership
Richard publishes regularly in health law and policy journals, frequently writes commentary on Health Affairs Forefront, and is often quoted in the news media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR's Marketplace, The Hill, Forbes, Axios, Bloomberg Law, Law360 and Fierce Healthcare.
Memoir
Richard is an aspiring memoirist as he has explored the root causes of intergenerational trauma in his own family, uncovering crimes and unfortunate events over several generations. Through this work, he hopes to help others seeking to understand their own family traumas.