Ricardo A. St. Hilaire

Biographical Information

Ricardo "Rick" St. Hilaire is a retired 15-year veteran prosecutor who grew up in Concord and Rochester, and who has been practicing law since 1993. He possesses substantial felony and misdemeanor litigation experience in both the superior courts and district courts, having litigated approximately 50 superior court jury trials and over 700 district court bench trials as well as having presented countless grand jury cases. Attorney St. Hilaire served as a member of the New Hampshire Governor's Crime Commission and has trained many prosecutors and police on topics ranging from criminal investigations to the rules of the courtroom.

Before entering private practice in 2009, Attorney St. Hilaire was elected to four consecutive terms as Grafton County Attorney, the chief prosecutor and senior law enforcement official in northwestern New Hampshire. He implemented a drug court sentencing program as an alternative to jail, which received the 2007 Community Transformation Award from the US Department of Justice National Drug Court Institute, and initiated a Child Advocacy Center to help children who have been sexually or physically abused. As a former felony prosecutor in the Lakes Region, he chaired the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

In 2009 the Governor and NH Executive Council, the NH State Senate, and the NH General Court each publicly commended Attorney St. Hilaire for his legal achievements.

In addition to being a trial attorney, Attorney St. Hilaire has much experience with case negotiations. He is also a certified mediator and arbitrator.

Attorney Rick St. Hilaire has unique experience with cultural heritage, museum, and art law. He teaches on these subjects at Plymouth State University's Graduate School of Studies and is the chair of the Legal Issues in Conservation Committee of the International Council of Museums. He served as Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association's Art and Cultural Heritage Law Committee, Section of International Law, and was the author of the "Art and Antiquities Trafficking News Notes" for the committee's quarterly journal. He serves on the legal committee of the Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation. He is the principal author of proposed administrative rules for the NH Division of Historical Resources and author of "International Antiquities Trafficking: Theft by Another Name," presented at an International Council of Museums conference in Cairo, Egypt in 2007.