Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp is pleased to announce that partner Richard N. Shapiro has been selected as a member of the 2026 Hall of Fame class by Virginia Lawyers Weekly, one of the Commonwealth’s leading legal publications.
The Virginia Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame honors attorneys who have practiced law for 30 years or more and have made a lasting impact on the legal profession. Since its launch in 2018, the program has recognized lawyers whose careers reflect not only professional excellence but meaningful contributions to the development of the law, service to the bar, and a commitment to improving access to justice.
Rick’s career reflects exactly that kind of sustained excellence.
With almost four decades devoted exclusively to personal injury law, Rick has built a reputation as a formidable trial attorney and appellate advocate. Over the course of his career, Rick has won client appeals before the Virginia Supreme Court, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court, the South Carolina Supreme Court, the West Virginia Supreme Court, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He and the firm have recovered more than $100 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of their clients.
Rick is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy — an ABA-accredited designation held by a small fraction of practicing attorneys. In 2023, he was selected as one of just eight recipients of the NBTA’s prestigious President’s Award from a field of nominations submitted from across the country.
This recognition also builds on prior honors from Virginia Lawyers Weekly, including being named a “Leader in the Law,” underscoring the consistency of his contributions to the legal community. Rick was also named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice.
Beyond the courtroom, Rick’s background is anything but typical. He is also an inventor with 18 U.S. patents and an award-winning international fiction thriller author who wrote an Amazon #1 best-selling suspense novel.
Rick will be formally recognized at the Hall of Fame ceremony on April 30, 2026, held at the John Marshall Ballrooms in Richmond, Virginia. The event brings together distinguished members of Virginia’s legal community to celebrate the careers of attorneys who have left a lasting mark on the profession.