Desire For Justice Propels Healey

You may know Robert J. Healey Jr. best from his unsuccessful runs for Rhode Island lieutenant governor. Or perhaps you ate at his former restaurant, The Cheese Plate, in Warren. Or maybe, just maybe, you needed his law expertise for a matter involving estate planning or resolution.

Maybe you know him from his appearances before the Barrington Town Council, most recently requesting a license to run a liquor store. Or maybe this long-haired, bearded maverick for justice has just come to your attention as a result of his hard work for difficult causes.

In any case, the Barrington lawyer and businessman has always been an energetic force to be reckoned with.

Healey grew up in nearby Warren, and obtained a bachelor's degree in English and secondary education at Rhode Island College in 1979, before going on to obtain a master's in reading education at Boston University. He graduated from New England School of Law in 1983, then a couple of years later got his master's in English Literature from Northeastern University.

Midway through his PhD study at Columbia, Healey's dissertation advisor died, and unable to find another advisor who would work with him on his dissertation without major changes, Healey decided to head home to Rhode Island to open his own law practice.

Healey's former college roommate and wife lived in Barrington, and Healey liked the town's proximity to Boston and New York, so in 1987 he found a house to call home, and settled into the lifestyle of an East Bay lawyer.

Unfortunately for this restless resident, he seems to be drawn to difficult cases.

"I always seem to do well in the business end of things," said Healey. "But as a lawyer, I was the guy who'd take on a case because I believed in it."

Healey joked that he never made the big bucks as a lawyer because he preferred to take interesting cases over easier, higher-paying ones.

"For years I was known as the St. Jude of legal cases," he said, referring to St. Jude, more commonly known as the patron saint of lost causes.

"The fun part of being a lawyer, for me, is that I get a lot of crazy cases," said Healey. "Which are more interesting to me. I'm more issue oriented."

Healey said he won't be making a bid for lieutenant governor again anytime soon, as "there are only so many times that you can bang your head against the wall."

He said he still believes the position is fundamentally unnecessary, and a waste of taxpayer money that would be better spent caring for the elderly and for hungry children.

Instead, Healey is turning his hand to another business venture, a liquor store, if the Barrington Town Council will grant him a license.

"I identify with middle-class people," said Healey. "I try to treat them fairly."

For now, this former restauranteur/would-be politician/lawyer is hopeful that his town will treat him fairly as well.