Robert E. Shepherd Jr., professor emeritus at the University of Richmond’s School of Law and a national leader in legal issues affecting children and families, died Dec. 11 after a battle with cancer. He was 71.
In 1961, he wrote a paper supporting a law that would hold parents of children born out of wedlock financially responsible for them. It became a draft of Virginia's first statute on child abuse and set the course for his career. In 1971, he joined the Virginia Attorney General's Office, where he represented the state's Division of Youth Services, the precursor of today's Department of Juvenile Justice.
He was a prime architect of the 1977 revision of the state juvenile code and of the state's statutes on special education and child abuse and neglect.
A founder of the UR law school's National Center for Family Law and a member of its board, Mr. Shepherd was sought after as an expert in courts, before legislative committees and in legal forums across the nation on issues related to children's rights. He also served on many boards including the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice.
Among numerous plaudits, he received the Child Advocacy Award from the National Association of Counsel for Children, he was the first person inducted into the Virginia Juvenile Court Hall of Fame, he received the American Bar Association’s Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award and the National Center for Family Law created a scholarship in his honor. He was also a former VJJA Award winner having been awarded in 1983 with the association’s Meritorious Award in the Area of Community Service.
