Virginia Lawyers Media is pleased to announce R. Shawn Majette is a member of the 2010 class of Leaders in the Law .
This program, now in its fifth year, aims to honor the lawyers who are setting the standard for other lawyers. We recognize attorneys and professionals in law-related fields who have a significant accomplishment or achievement.
- Outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Virginia.
- Significant achievements through the practice of law.
- Leadership in improving the justice system.
- Important contributions to Virginia’s legal community and/or the community at large.
Nomination letter:
Shawn Majette has made it his life’s work to serve the indigent elderly, and those with special needs in the Richmond community. Not only has he assisted in drafting several Virginia statutes relating to elder law and mental health issues, including revisions to the law of civil commitment, emergency medical consent, guardianship, and the prevention and detection of financial abuse of incapacitated adults under durable powers of attorney—he has put his “money where his mouth is,” so to speak. . He serves as guardian for persons who have lost everything – family, finances, fitness. He advises the families of disabled adults and children, helping to plan for their lifetime needs. He is active in Richmond’s mental health community and has served on the Virginia Supreme Court’s Commission on Mental Health Reform and the Access Task Force which supports the Commission.
As the founding chairperson of the Virginia Bar Association Elder Law Section from 1993 to 1996, he helped to raise awareness of the special issues involved in his practice area throughout the Commonwealth. He has served as chair of the Section’s legislative affairs subcommittee, and the Section Council. Mr. Majette also served as the chair of the Third District Disciplinary Committee of the Virginia State Bar.
Mr. Majette has held numerous appointments to Virginia General Assembly advisory committees and has assisted in drafting several Virginia statutes relating to elder law and mental health issues, including revisions to the law of civil commitment, emergency medical consent, guardianship, and the prevention of financial abuse of incapacitated adults under durable powers of attorney.
A prolific writer and speaker on elder and mental health law topics, Mr. Majette has been a frequent speaker for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, of which he has been a member since 1989. In addition he has served as president of the Academy’s Virginia chapter. Mr. Majette’s national and local presentations for the National Academy, the National Geriatric Care Managers Association, the Virginia State Bar, local chapters of the Virginia Society of Public Accountants, and several national legal, accounting and medical continuing education programs have been widely attended and well received. Since 1991, Mr. Majette has been an annual speaker for the Annual Elder Law Seminars sponsored by the Virginia Law Foundation. Mr. Majette has written several articles for various legal publications, including his 1998 chapter addressing Virginia issues connected with powers of attorney, long term care insurance and Medicaid for the standard Virginia treatise on wills and trust practice, Estate Planning in Virginia. Mr. Majette is a recent member of the prestigious Special Needs Alliance, a network of America’s leading disability and public benefits lawyers. In 1999, a survey of Richmond lawyers published in Richmond Magazine recognized Mr. Majette as the “Top Lawyer” in Richmond in the field of Elder Law, and since 2007 Mr. Majette has been recognized in the annual publication “The Best Lawyers in America.”
