Richard R. Cornetta Jr. was born in Norwood, Massachusetts on August 28, 1965. He attended Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree for a major in history and minor in Economics in 1987. While in college, Richard was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society and was a founding member of Alpha Delta Gamma. Richard also worked in the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds. Immediately following college, Richard attended law school at the New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated and was promptly admitted to practice in both Massachusetts and New York state courts and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

While in law school, Richard worked as a Law Student/Attorney at the Roxbury Public Defender's Office; he later worked as a law clerk in the Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. After graduation, Richard began practicing law as a sole practitioner and did so for nearly ten years. In 1999, Richard joined with James E. Vallee and founded the law firm of Cornetta & Vallee, a predecessor of Cornetta Ficco Simmler & Vallee LLP which was established in 2003. Richard's employment during college and law school served to focus his work as an attorney. Richard concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning, trusts, wills, real estate law, conveyancing and land use and zoning.

Richard is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Western Norfolk County Bar Association. He is a Sustaining Member of the Franklin Rotary Club. As part of his commitment to community, Richard provides legal counsel pro bono to the Friends of Franklin, Inc.