Richard Ferris attended Hampden-Sydney College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1986. Richard then attended the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, graduating with a J.D. in 1990. Richard became a Member of the Virginia State Bar in 1990. Richard is a member of the United States Federal Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He began his legal career as a Legal Aid lawyer at Peninsula Legal Aid for four years where he represented hundreds of clients in civil matters before the Courts of Williamsburg, Matthews, Middlesex and Gloucester Counties as well as the Social Security Administration and the Virginia Employment Commission and other administrative bodies. He later became Associate Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, where he lobbied the Virginia General Assembly on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Issues. He practiced Civil and Constitutional Rights law, conducting litigation in the Federal and State Courts throughout Virginia including the Virginia Court of Appeals and Virginia Supreme Court.

Richard practices with FerrisWinder, PLLC in the area of Civil Litigation, Lemon Law, Bankruptcy and Real Estate Transactions.