Resident Hinckley Allen podcaster Richard A. Goulding, Partner, wants to hear your story. A proud, lifelong Massachusetts native, Rick shares his path to the law, his approach to his clients, and the advice he has for the next generation of attorneys.

How did you come to be an attorney?

It has been a journey and I would not be where I am today without all the support and guidance that so many people in my life have given me, including my wife and kids, my parents and siblings, and my colleagues and clients.

Before going to law school and right out of college, I worked in education at the Steppingstone Foundation in Boston and as a White House intern in the National Economic Council. Shortly after the White House internship program ended, I started my law school journey as a student in the evening program at Suffolk University Law School. While attending law school at night, I spent my days working as a litigation paralegal at another local law firm. I feel strongly that the experience of working full-time while attending law school was incredibly helpful in preparing me to successfully navigate the demands and intensity of being a corporate attorney. I joined Hinckley Allen as an associate in 2018 and I feel very lucky to be a part of this firm and to have the daily opportunity to learn from and work with extraordinary people and craft innovative solutions to complex problems for my clients.

Tell us about your work in the Corporate & Business Practice Group.

My practice is pretty diverse, and I really enjoy that I get to touch a lot of different areas of the law daily. I work a great deal with Jonathan Winnick in the corporate trust space where we represent financial institutions who provide agency and trustee services in connection with various complex financing transactions. Mike Tentindo and I do a lot of work in the business aviation space with lenders, individuals, and companies around the purchase, sale, and leasing of private aircraft. I spend a substantial amount of my time representing lenders in connection with commercial and real estate finance transactions. Finally, I also handle general corporate, cannabis and commercial contract matters for several clients.

How do clients benefit from the way you approach your practice?

My relationships with my clients are extremely important to me. I want to build true partnerships with my clients, and I am genuinely interested in learning their stories. Learning about how my clients think and how their worldviews have been formed has allowed me to form durable and trusting relationships with them, better anticipate their needs, and communicate issues and potential solutions as well as advocate on their behalf more effectively. While I take pride in being a strong and tireless advocate for my client’s interests in each negotiation, my curiosity extends beyond just my clients and has also allowed me to foster productive working relationships with opposing counsel. I do not view the negotiation of any transaction as a zero-sum game and try to cut through any unnecessary acrimony and grandstanding. Instead, I try and approach the negotiating table with the mentality that I can zealously represent my client’s interests to achieve their desired outcome and work in concert with others to address the shared challenges or opportunities to ultimately get the deal done.

What advice would you give to the next generation of attorneys?

New attorneys should build their own personal board of directors — essentially a group of people in your life that you trust and that you can go to for guidance on anything ranging from general life advice, professional advice, and everything in between. I have always found having other people pressure-test my thinking on a given topic to be extremely helpful.

The second thing is the only way to work is to work hard. I feel very strongly about that. I walk into this firm every day with focus and a deep sense of responsibility to my clients and my colleagues. Finally, even when it can be difficult, make every effort to be coachable and receptive to feedback. You can always get better at what you do, and you are always a work in progress.