Richard E. Santee Jr.

Rick Santee is a founding partner of the firm of Shay, Santee, Kelhart & Deschler, situated in downtown Bethlehem. In addition to handling litigation oriented matters—civil, insurance defense and personal injury litigation as well as domestic relations and family law—the firm engages in a general transactional practice that includes real estate, wills, estate administration, election law, and zoning.

Recognizing that the courthouse should be a last resort for dealing with custody, divorce and other family law matters, Mr. Santee has been a leader in promoting and adopting alternative dispute resolution protocols in family law matters in Northampton County.  He has actively promoted and assisted in the establishment of Northampton County’s Parenting Coordination program in high conflict custody cases. He also serves as an arbitrator under Pennsylvania’s recently adopted Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act.  

Currently a member of the PBA’s Family Law Section, Rick is a past President of the Northampton County Bar Association and former chair of its Civil Litigation/Civil Procedural Rules Committee, Mr. Santee has served on numerous PBA and PBI panels, serving as a lecturer in several PBI ethics programs and appearing on numerous CLE panels for the Northampton County Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before the state courts of Pennsylvania as well as the federal courts, including the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and American Bar Associations. 

Mr. Santee is a longtime member of the Moravian Church and Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem. He has served the Moravian Church in a number of capacities over the years, sitting for twelve years as a member of the Provincial Elders Conference (the national governing body of the Moravian Church, Northern Province) and, thereafter, as its Chancellor (denominational legal counsel) for more than twenty years, while also serving as Chair of the denomination’s Synods, (regional and national denominational gatherings). He has also served on the denomination’s Ordination Review Committee, the Interprovincial Board of Communication, and President of the Moravian Book Shop Board of Directors. In 2000-2001 he chaired a denominational Task Force on Human Sexuality and the Church.

Active in the community, Rick is a member of the Bethlehem Morning Star Rotary Club. The father of two Eagle Scouts, and a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient, he has been involved in scouting at troop, district, and council levels, serving as Committee Chair of Boy Scout Troop 302 and Nominating Committee Chair for the South Mountain District, BSA. He has coached youth sports teams in basketball, soccer, and baseball. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Saucon Insurance Company. 

Rick is a magna cum laude graduate of Hofstra University, where, as captain of the University’s Division I wrestling program, he was a two-time Middle Atlantic Conference Champion. He subsequently received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.