EDITOR'S NOTE: Robert Shoun passed away in July 2015 following a stroke, age 75. He was one of the original Ten Leaders of Matrimonial & Divorce Law of Virginia, and he was universally admired for his knowledge, professionalism and gracious manner, a true Virginia gentleman. He was always true to his word, and upheld a sense of personal integrity that his peers admired and emulated. It was a privilege to know him. Stephen E. Clark.
Mr. Shoun's profile:
Robert E Shoun is one of Virginia's most respected and influential matrimonial attorneys, with a true sense of leadership and accountability that has earned him the respect both of legal colleagues and of the judiciary. Tall, distinguished and with a deep voice of authority, Mr. Shoun (pronounced "Shawn") has a presence that has contributed substantially over more than three decades of practice to his reputation as a highly skilled family law attorney.
There is an unpretentious quality about Mr. Shoun that reflects his roots growing up on a small farm in southern Virginia. He excelled in academic and extracurricular pursuits as early as high school, when he was elected Mr. Future Business Leader of America for Virginia, and, representing Virginia, finished second in the nation's annual spelling competition.
Mr. Shoun is a self-described "sports fanatic," starting back in his days as a 10-year-old Little Leaguer and high school baseball and basketball letterman. Such experiences spurred his love for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Redskins (seasons ticket holder since 1967), and Duke Blue Devils basketball, as well as what his friends describe as an encyclopedic knowledge of sports history and trivia.
Mr. Shoun attended Randolph-Macon College, where he excelled academically (Phi Beta Kappa) and in a multitude of extracurricular activities, including two years serving as president of the college's largest national fraternity. He proceeded then to Duke University Law School, on full academic scholarship, and following law school volunteered for a three-year tour of duty as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps ("JAGC"). That included a year in Vietnam, where he alternately prosecuted and defended general courts martial and authored a weekly article in Pacific Stars and Stripes on federal tax law.
Following his JAGC tour, Mr. Shoun accepted a position with a small but prominent Northern Virginia law firm, which introduced him to family law and to civil jury trial practice. In the latter, Mr. Shoun served as lead counsel in more than 40 jury trials. Thereafter, ambitious but "scared beyond belief," he launched his own solo law practice, which increasingly focused on family law and domestic relations issues. Over the succeeding years he transitioned from solo practitioner to senior partner of the firm of ShounBach, with its impressive staff of over 30 attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, and administrative personnel whose practice is limited solely to family law issues arising relative to marital separation and divorce.
Mr. Shoun's clients over the years have been diverse and have included high-profile corporate executives, national political figures, celebrated sports icons, and scores of business entrepreneurs. He is the first to point out, however, that even his present clientele includes multiple individuals with modest backgrounds comparable to his own.
Mr. Shoun has authored scores of published family law articles and has conducted more than 120 continuing legal education seminars for attorneys and judges throughout Virginia. His seminar topics have included Drafting of Separation and Property Settlement Agreements; Tax Consequences of Separation and Divorce; Equitable Distribution of Civil Service, Military and Private Retirement Benefits; Professionalism and Civility Among Attorneys; and Recent Developments in Virginia Domestic Relations Statutory and Case Law. As to the latter, Mr. Shoun was first invited by the Virginia Supreme Court in 1990 to appear as a lecturer on domestic relations case law at the annual Virginia Judicial Conference, an invitation which was repeated and accepted by Mr. Shoun for 17 consecutive years.
Mr. Shoun's reputation as a family law practitioner has for three decades earned him the highest Martindale-Hubbell rating (AV), as selected by his peers, as well as inclusion in the nationally recognized treatise, Best Lawyers in America. He is a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation, an honor conferred on lawyers who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession and which is limited to one percent of Virginia lawyers. Moreover, he has been designated by the magazine, Virginia Business, as one of Virginia's "Legal Elite" family law practitioners, and by Washingtonian magazine as one of Northern Virginia's preeminent family law practitioners.
The offices of ShounBach are located at 4000 Legato Road, one half block from the intersection of West Ox Road and Route 50, convenient not only to residents of Fairfax County, but to those of nearby Prince William and Loudoun counties.
