BIO

As a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, Ronald L. Hicks, Jr., is Pennsylvania civil trial and appellate attorney who represents local, statewide and federal Republican candidates in Pennsylvania. In addition to serving as general counsel for candidates and political committees, Ron handles a variety of election law disputes, including election contests, ballot recounts, nomination objections, and absentee and provisional ballot challenges.

Since 2004, Ron participates and plans Election Day Operations in Pennsylvania, including for the past five presidential campaigns, and he regularly trains on Pennsylvania election processes and procedures.  Ron was lead litigation counsel in In re: Canvass of Absentee Ballots of November 2003 General Election, 843 A.2d 1223 (Pa. 2004), in which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared the “in-person” delivery requirement for absentee ballots under the Pennsylvania Election Code was mandatory and that 56 absentee ballots delivered in violation of that provision were invalid and could not be counted.  As a result of this decision, Susan Gantman, a Republican candidate for the Pennsylvania Superior Court, won her election by defeating her Democratic opponent by 28 votes out of more than 2.25 million cast.

Ron is a former officer and member of the RNLA Board of Governors, and he is a founding board member and former chair of the RNLA’s Pittsburgh Chapter.  He is an elected member of the Republican Committees of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, and the County Committee’s Solicitor and chair of the City Committee’s 3rd Council District.  In 2018, RNLA awarded Ron with 2018 Robert J. Horn Chairman’s Award for his nationally distinguished service in protecting the honesty and accuracy of U.S. elections.

In addition to his election and political campaign practice, Ron handles complex and commercial litigation in trial and appellate courts at the state and federal level, as well as before arbitration and mediation panels throughout the Atlantic Coast and Midwest.  As a trial and appellate lawyer, his litigation practice focuses on claims involving misappropriation of trade secrets, intellectual property disputes, breach of restrictive covenants, business competition matters, partnership and business owner disputes, contract and warranty claims, creditors’ rights and fraudulent transfers, estate and fiduciary liability, insurance coverage, real estate title disputes, oil and gas litigation, and telemarketing, email, and online marketing matters.  He is member of the Allegheny County Academy of Trial Lawyers and serves as an arbitrator, early neutral evaluator, and e-discovery dispute Special Master for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Ron also represents LGBTQ+ business owners and clients across industries, often serving in an outside general counsel role.  He advises on general corporate issues and business transactions, including entity formation and operation, contract drafting and review, document retention and destruction policies, internet and social media matters, and intellectual property concerns including trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and warranties.

Ron has an AV Preeminent® Rating from the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating Program.  Since 2011, he has been listed in Best Lawyers® in the areas of Commercial, Bankruptcy, Construction, Intellectual Property and Real Estate Litigation, and selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® List. Also, he is included in Who’s Who in American Law and named to the Order of the Barristers.

For 2022, he has been selected as the Best Lawyers® Pennsylvania Layer of the Year for Real Estate Litigation in Pittsburgh.  Additionally, in 2021, City & State PA selected him in its inaugural Top 50 Over 50 list of influential Pennsylvanians.