Richard S. Glasser

Norfolk attorney Richard S. Glasser died March 14. He was 77.

Mr. Glasser graduated from Norfolk Academy, from the University of Virginia and, in 1965, from the U.Va. law school. He played key leadership roles at each of these institutions later in his life.

Mr. Glasser entered practice with Glasser and Glasser in Norfolk along with his father, Bernard, and his older brother, Stuart. Together, they built a successful law practice. In the mid-1970s, when asbestos-related illnesses and deaths took a heavy toll on the citizens of Hampton Roads, Mr. Glasser’s practice turned to advocating for those affected by asbestos, and he became a pioneer in the field. He filed the very first asbestos products liability lawsuit in July 1976.

The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association awarded him its Courageous Advocacy Award in 1987. He was a longtime past president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Foundation, serving from 2012 to 2018.

Mr. Glasser mentored the attorneys and staff at his firm and was a role model to countless other lawyers. His mantra was always: “Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reason,” according to his obituary in The Virginian-Pilot. He remained actively involved with his practice until his death, practicing law for nearly 54 years.

Mr. Glasser is survived by his beloved wife, Martha; his daughter, Hara Brooke Glasser-Frei and her husband, Stephen Frei; his grandchildren, Gabrielle, Andrea Rose, Asher, and Elan; his brother, Stuart D. Glasser (Sarah); his sister, Jane Susan Glasser Frank (Joe); his brother, Michael A. Glasser (Lori); and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins in the large Glasser and Levinson families.