The Honorable Alicia A. Richardson was born in Horry County and raised in the Aynor area.  She is the daughter of the Reverend Ragsdale Allsbrook and the late Mary Ellen Allsbrook. 

Judge Richardson graduated from Aynor High School in 1988, going on to receive a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Clemson University in 1992, cum laude with Senior Departmental Honors. In 1995 Judge Richardson received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law, cum laude. She was a member of the South Carolina Law Review, the Order of the Coif, and the Order of Wig and Robe.

Following law school Judge Richardson entered private practice in Marion County from 1995 – 2000, primarily in Family Court. She served as a part-time public defender for juveniles in Marion County and was a Family Court mediator. Judge Richardson joined the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in 2001 under former Solicitor and now Senator J. Gregory Hembree. She was Senior Solicitor of the Horry County Family Court Division from 2001 – 2011, and was honored to receive the Ernest F. Hollings Award for Excellence in State Prosecution for Family Court in 2009. She served on the South Carolina Supreme Court’s Docket Task Force for Family Court in 2011-2012. In 2013, she became Deputy Solicitor in Georgetown County for Solicitor Jimmy A. Richardson, III, where she prosecuted cases in General Sessions Court and supervised the Georgetown office for the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. She served in that position until her investiture to the Family Court Bench.

In 2013, she became Deputy Solicitor in Georgetown County for Solicitor Jimmy A. Richardson, III, where she prosecuted cases in General Sessions Court and supervised the Georgetown office for the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. She served in that position until her investiture to the Family Court Bench.

Judge Richardson was elected by the South Carolina Legislature as a Family Court Judge, 12th Judicial Circuit, Seat 1, on February 8, 2023, to fill the seat vacated upon retirement of the Honorable Timothy H. Pogue.