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Richard B. Somach

Member | Pennsylvania

Richard Brent Somach focuses his practice on real estate, commercial law, and creditors’ remedies, representing real estate development companies, shopping centers, and local banks.

In the banking area, Richard assists clients with their transactional, litigation, and operational needs, and handles collections, foreclosures, and complex commercial workouts.

Richard has represented real estate owners, developers, and investors in a broad range of real estate transactions, including zoning matters, subdivisions, and shopping center development.

A licensed title insurance agent, Richard is the founder of the title insurance and settlement company ABE Settlement Services, creatively serving client needs.  He is legal counsel to the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS®, a trade association that represents nearly 3,000 real estate professionals.

As a former Assistant Lehigh County Solicitor, Richard advised the Sheriff’s Office, the Tax Assessment Office, and the Tax Claim Bureau. He frequently writes and lectures on real estate matters, including sheriff’s sales, real estate tax sales, and lien priority issues, for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He has also presented numerous lectures at the annual Real Estate Institute program.

Active in many community organizations, Richard is a past president of the Salisbury Township School Board. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Monroe County Bar Association, and the Lehigh County Bar Association, serving the latter as President in 1992.

Richard collects antique automobiles and has represented several valuable collections, as well as many local automobile and motorcycle dealerships.

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Publications

  • “Understanding FDCPA and Changes to the Existing Code,” Bar Association of Lehigh County, Webinar, April 13, 2021
  • “Liquor License Laws, Medical Marijuana & Service Animals: Impact on Real Estate,” Greater Lehigh Valley Real Estate Academy, Webinar, Bethlehem, PA, August 17, 2020
  • “Liquor License Laws, Medical Marijuana & Service Animals: Impact on Real Estate,” Greater Lehigh Valley Real Estate Academy, Webinar, June 15, 2020
  • “Advanced Sheriff Sales Jeopardy,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Real Estate Institute, Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 2019
  • “What Every Attorney, and Judge They Go Before, Should Know about Sheriff Sales, Tax Sales, Tax Foreclosures and How They Affect Lien Divestiture and Lien Priority,” Bar Association of Lehigh County, Allentown, PA, May 2, 2019
  • “What You Need to Know About Sheriff’s Sales,” Allentown, PA, April 9, 2019
  • “Tax Sales, Tax Foreclosures, Sheriff Sales, and Lessons Learned from Years in the Trenches,” Allentown, PA, February 12, 2019
  • “Lien Divestiture Starts with a Sale,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, December 6, 2018
  • “The (Hidden) Lucrative Intersections of Immigration Law and the Real Estate Industry,” Triple Play REALTOR® Convention & Trade Expo, Atlantic City, NJ, December 5, 2018
  • “The Untold Story of ABE Title Insurance,” Norris McLaughlin P.A., Allentown, PA, October 25, 2018
  • “What’s on Second? Sophisticated Issues in Lien Divestiture & Priority,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Mechanicsburg, PA, March 24, 2014
  • Richard B. Somach Presented at Breakfast Seminar, March 12, 2013
  • Smith and Somach Present Distressed Properties Seminar to Lehigh Valley REALTORS®,” February 15, 2012
  • Somach to Speak at the Pennsylvania Bar Institue”A Day on Real Estate – East
  • Smith and Somach Present Distressed Properties Seminar to Lehigh Valley REALTORS®, February 3, 2012
  • Richard B. Somach Guest Speaker for Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors, July 15, 2010
  • Moderator, “Sheriff’s Sales in Pennsylvania,” A Day on Real Estate, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Author, “Sheriff’s Sales and Real Estate Tax Sales,” A Day on Real Estate, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
  • Lecturer, “Issues in Commercial Mortgage Foreclosure,” Annual Real Estate Institute Program
  • Lecturer, “Issues in Residential Mortgage Foreclosure,” Annual Real Estate Institute Program


Best Lawyers

Richard B. Somach was selected to The Best Lawyers in America®, Real Estate Law, 2015-2023. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.

Richard B. Somach was selected to the 2018 has earned the Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished status. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.

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