Richard Unis was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, attending Franklin High School.

[5] On February 1, 1990, Unis was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court by Governor Neil Goldschmidt to replace the retiring Hans A.

[7] He retired from the Supreme Court in order to take a position overseeing the settlement of a class action lawsuit against Louisiana-Pacific for problems with their siding material.

[4] In October 2003, Unis helped finalize the settlement in the Louisiana-Pacific siding lawsuits as a special master appointed by the court.

[9] Unis died on February 10, 2016, at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham, Oregon, at the age of 87.