Richard E. Sherwood was born in Los Angeles, the son of Benjamin Berkley Sherwood and Jennie Goldeen Sherwood. He graduated from Beverly Hills High School and received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1949 and an L.L.B., magna cum laude, in 1952 from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of The Harvard Law Review.
It was after service in the Air Force and a traveling fellowship from Harvard that he was a clerk to Justice Frankfurter, in 1954 and 1955. He then joined O'Melveny & Myers, where he spent his 38-year law career. He specialized in antitrust and trade regulation.
He served on the White House Task Force on Antitrust Policy in 1967 and 1968.
Mr. Sherwood was also prominent in efforts to further cultural ties between Japan and the United States and served as a trustee and officer of the Asia Society, based in New York, from 1978 until his death.
He passed away on April 8, 1993.