Experienced Litigators Who Get Results In Southeastern Minnesota

Richmond H. McCluer, Jr.

  • Partner

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Practice Areas:

  • Personal Injury
  • Criminal Defense
  • Expungements
  • Firearm Rights Restoration
Richmond H. McCluer, Jr.
Rated by Super Lawyers


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Richmond H. McCluer, Jr.
Rated by Super Lawyers


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MSBA | Minnesota State Bar Association
North Star Lawyer
Minnesota State Bar Association Certified Specialist Criminal Law

Biography

Richmond H. McCluer, Jr.

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people come to me because they’ve been

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accused of a crime and many of them in

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fact have committed some kind of crime

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perhaps not exactly what they’re charged

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with but they are not that crime they’re

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a human being and they’re not defined

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simply by the charge against them I Awards

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received a number of awards when I was a

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public defender yeah for felony trial

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work a number of times won the district

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award for the most felony trials in a

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year one award that was very important

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to me was the special award which the

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public defender’s office gives Special Award

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we have a continuous history of fine

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lawyers who have taught and mentored

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other young lawyers who in turn grow

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into the practice and mentor other young

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lawyers

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I’m from Winona here and I went to the

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University of Minnesota law school

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graduated in 1982 from there I went to a

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one of the biggest law firms in the

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state worked in civil litigation for

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about four or five years after that I

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came back to my hometown here actually

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the at that time senior partner in this

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firm was someone I had known since I was

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five years old I had a daughter in my

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grade school class and our families went

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to the same church so dick Darby brought

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me

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I’m president of a corporation which

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owns a school here we operated as a

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nonprofit educational institution we

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operate a full-time school we operate

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programs at Winona State and Winona YMCA

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you

Richmond H. McCluer, Jr. is a native of Winona, Minnesota, and he attended Winona Senior High School, Winona State University and the University of Minnesota Law School. After practicing with a prominent law firm in Minneapolis, he returned to Winona in 1988 and joined the esteemed law firm of Darby, Delano and Price. During his time with the firm, he successfully handled numerous high-profile felony cases, including robbery, narcotics, burglary, assault and criminal sexual conduct. Moreover, he represented injured individuals in accident and negligence cases.

In 1993, he left the firm to work for the Third Judicial District Public Defender’s Office. There, he served as Chief Trial Lawyer and handled serious felony trials in southern Minnesota. In 2003, he joined Price, McCluer and Plachecki, a law firm formed by Michael J. Price and John Paul Plachecki. Richmond was also elected as the president of the Winona County Bar Association in 2004.

McCluer has an impressive record as lead counsel in over 250 jury trials. These trials have covered a wide range of serious criminal offenses, such as homicide, robbery, kidnapping, narcotics, criminal sexual conduct, burglary and assault. His exceptional skills and experience have earned him positive recognition.

Every year, three Minnesota magazines conduct a survey asking around 20,000 Minnesota lawyers to identify exceptional lawyers in specific areas of legal practice. Only 5% of lawyers in Minnesota are chosen for Minnesota Super Lawyers. Richmond McCluer was initially selected in 1996 while serving as Chief Trial Lawyer for the 3rd Judicial District Public Defender’s Office. Since then, he has consistently been recognized on the Super Lawyers list, including every year from 2005 through 2023.

A leading attorney, Mr. Richmond is a Minnesota State Bar Association board-certified criminal law specialist. This prestigious certification program, approved by the State Board of Legal Certification, is administered by the Minnesota State Bar Association. To earn the certified specialist designation, attorneys must undergo a rigorous review process, including an examination in the specialty area, peer review and documented experience. By achieving this specialty certification, Richmond has demonstrated exceptional knowledge, skill and integrity in the field of criminal law. It is an accomplishment that only a small fraction, less than 3%, of all licensed Minnesota attorneys have achieved.

Richmond is rated AV* by the respected Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. These ratings are developed by obtaining confidential opinions from lawyer adversaries and judges before whom the lawyer has appeared. Ability rating categories are A, B, C and no rating. An “A” rating is the “very high to preeminent” category — the highest rating possible. It signifies that the lawyer has reached the heights of professional excellence, recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity. The “V” rating is the highest for adherence to ethical standards, reliability and diligence.

From 1988 to 2011, he taught criminal law, federal rules of evidence and Japanese karate at Winona State University. He currently serves as the president of Japan Karate-Do Genbu-Kai of Minnesota, a corporation that runs a full-time Japanese martial arts dojo and programs at Winona State University, St. Mary's University of Minnesota and the Winona Family YMCA. Additionally, he sits on the board of various charitable nonprofit organizations, including the Winona Area Humane Society.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review RatingTM fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards. AV Preeminent Peer Rated Attorneys are an elite group of attorneys who have been rated highly by their peers as having Very High Ethical Standards and an A grade.

Education

  • University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
    • J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence - 00/1982
    • Honors: cum laude
  • Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota
    • B.A., Bachelor of Arts - 00/1976
    • Honors: magna cum laude

Bar Admission

  • Minnesota, 1982

Representative Cases

  • State v. Albrecht, 465 N.W.2d 107, 1991, Minn.App., 1991026747
  • State v. Burbach, No. A04-1530, 2005

Honors

  • SuperLawyer 1996, 2005 - 2023

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Winona Area Humane Society, Board Member
  • Japan Karate-Do Genbu-Kai of Minnesota, President
  • Winona Family YMCA
  • Winona Area Humane Society, President
  • Rotary Club of Winona
  • St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Vestryman, 1990 to 1993
  • Winona Boathouse Association, President, 1991 to 1993
  • Winona County Bar Association, President, 2004

Fraternities or Sororities

  • Gamma Eta Gamma

Certified Legal Specialties

  • Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist, Minnesota State Bar Association
Attorney Richmond H. McCluer, Jr. with Motorcycles