Richard D. Heideman was born in Detroit, Michigan, and is a graduate of The University of Michigan (BA, LSA 1969) and The National Law Center of the George Washington University in Washington, DC (JD 1972). He completed the American University Law and Policy Institute Abroad at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel during the summers of 1970-1972. Heideman was licensed to practice law in Maryland in 1972, and subsequently admitted to practice in Kentucky, Indiana, Wyoming and the District of Columbia. He is admitted to practice in numerous federal courts, including the United States District Courts for the District of Columbia, the District of Maryland, the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, the Western District of Wisconsin and the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. In addition, he is admitted before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Federal Circuits, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the United States Court of International Trade, the United States Court of Claims and The United States Supreme Court.
Heideman has handled civil, corporate and criminal defense matters in federal and state courts in various jurisdictions throughout the United States, including as Chief Trial Counsel in the murder case Commonwealth of Kentucky vs. Grimes, broadcast live on Court TV. He has appeared on CNN’s Burden of Proof, Fox Morning News, CNBC and as legal analyst for the CBS-TV affiliate in Washington, DC, Reuters and other news organizations, providing commentary and analysis on various civil and criminal matters.
Published in numerous publications, he has authored a chapter in the ABA Manual Criminal Defense Practice. He has served on the faculty of the National College of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Houston, Texas and has served as Vice President of the Teton County, Wyoming Bar Association. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, as well as numerous state trial and bar associations. Serving a three-year term on the DC Bar Association Steering Committee for the Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section and as Chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, he has taught seminars for the Kentucky Bar Association, lectured at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Center for Arab Studies, at the International Law Society of the George Washington University Law School and at the Israel Bar Association as well as on contemporary topics of interest throughout the world.
Active in numerous civic affairs, Mr. Heideman served as President of B’nai B’rith International from 1998-2002 and now serves as Honorary President. In 1985 Heideman served as an NGO delegate to the United Nations World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya and in 2001 as Head of Delegation to the United Nations Durban Conference. He has participated in meetings at The White House and with numerous heads of state, prime ministers, foreign ministers and ambassadors around the globe. In February 2004 he served as Chief Trial Counsel for Israeli victims of terrorism at hearings convened on behalf of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies by the Dutch Center for Information and Documentation on Israel coincident with the International Court of Justice Hearings at The Hague, and authored the brief filed with the International Court of Justice regarding legal issues arising from Israel’s construction of its terrorism prevention security fence.
Heideman completed a two-year term as President of the George Washington University Law School Alumni Association, is currently Chair of The Israel Forever Foundation, a Trustee of the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem, on the Board of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Chair International Advisory Board of the Herzliya Conference, Co Chair United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Lawyers Committee and currently serves or has served on the Boards of the Anti-Defamation League, Hillel, the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, The American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Inc. of Washington, DC, the World Jewish Congress, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, the Conference on Material Claims against Germany, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, Health Care for America, Inc, and Northern Virginia Family Services, Inc. Former Chair of the Board of the American Indoor Soccer Association and co-chair of the Greater Louisville/Jefferson County Sports Commission Planning Committee, he also served as Mayor of the City of Spring Valley, Kentucky in 1985-86. Mr. Heideman has the distinction of being decorated with the distinguished Merito de Mayo by President Duhalde of Argentina in 2001. He is currently or has previously been listed in Marquis’ Who’s Who in the East, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders in America, and Who’s Who in Finance & Industry. Heideman lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife Phyllis. They are the parents of three adult daughters and grandparents of three grandsons.