Rick Shapiro joins Virginia Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame Class of 2026

By AI, Created 11:22 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – Virginia Lawyers Weekly named Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp partner Richard N. “Rick” Shapiro to its Hall of Fame Class of 2026, recognizing more than 30 years of practice and career-long service to Virginia’s legal community. The honor caps a career built on trial work, appellate wins and more than $100 million in client recoveries.

Why it matters: - The Hall of Fame honors attorneys with at least 30 years of practice who have made sustained contributions to the legal profession and their communities. - Shapiro’s selection highlights a Virginia trial lawyer whose work has extended across injury litigation, appellate advocacy and broader professional recognition.

What happened: - Virginia Lawyers Weekly named Richard N. “Rick” Shapiro to its Hall of Fame Class of 2026. - The official ceremony took place April 30, 2026, in Richmond, Virginia. - Leaders from across Virginia’s legal community gathered to recognize this year’s inductees.

The details: - Shapiro is a partner at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp. - He has practiced personal injury law for more than three decades. - His work has focused on seriously injured clients and the families of people killed in catastrophic incidents across Virginia, North Carolina and the southeastern United States. - Over his career, Shapiro and his firm have secured more than $100 million in settlements and verdicts for clients. - Shapiro is board-certified as a civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, which is ABA-accredited. - He has won client appeals before the Virginia Supreme Court, the Virginia Court of Appeals, and the supreme courts of North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee. - He has also prevailed three times before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. - One Fourth Circuit decision upheld a $2.5 million jury verdict in a defective product case involving a ride-on lawnmower that burst into flames and killed a Virginia man. - His prior honors include Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s 2022 Leader in the Law recognition, the National Board of Trial Advocacy’s 2023 President’s Award and inclusion in Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers for Medical Malpractice. - Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report have also recognized Shapiro, who holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. - Outside the courtroom, Shapiro holds 18 U.S. patents, including a folding wheel design licensed to Radio Flyer. - He is also an Amazon #1 best-selling suspense thriller author, and his novel Taming the Telomeres won a Gold Award in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest. - Shapiro earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and graduated With Distinction from George Mason University School of Law, where he served on Law Review.

Between the lines: - The honor adds formal recognition to a career that combines trial results, appellate work and visible contributions beyond legal practice. - Shapiro’s patent portfolio and writing career give him a profile that extends well outside the courtroom, which can broaden public recognition of his legal work.

What’s next: - Shapiro will be recognized as part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class alongside other Virginia judges and lawyers. - Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp continues to focus exclusively on injury law, including car and truck accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, railroad/FELA claims, defective products, mesothelioma and catastrophic injury cases. - The firm maintains offices in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The bottom line: - Virginia Lawyers Weekly is honoring Rick Shapiro for a long career marked by courtroom wins, appellate success and sustained service to Virginia’s legal community.