In Memoriam: Joan Shaughnessy, Roger D. Groot Professor of Law In a career that spanned nearly 40 years, Professor Shaughnessy inspired and mentored a generation of future lawyers and scholars.

By Law Communications
December 4, 2024

Joan Marie “Shaun” Shaughnessy, a legendary teacher and trusted colleague at Washington and Lee University School of Law, died on Sunday, Nov. 24, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She was 71.

“Professor Shaughnessy’s legacy includes thousands of brilliant and accomplished alumni who benefited from her intellect, encouragement, rigor and kindness. Her positive influence on her students, colleagues, friends and community is incalculable. We will all sorely miss her,” said Melanie D. Wilson, Dean and Roy L. Steinheimer, Jr., Professor of Law.

Born June 7, 1953, in South Bend, Indiana, Professor Shaughnessy spent most of her childhood in Chicago as the oldest of eight children, surrounded by a large extended family. She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was associate editor of the law review and member of the Order of the Coif.

Professor Shaughnessy joined W&L Law in 1983 after beginning her legal career as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Stein and Hamilton LLP and spent the entirety of her storied academic career at the university. From the beginning, she distinguished herself as an outstanding classroom teacher. She taught a formidable range of courses, including Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, Complex Litigation, Evidence and Jurisprudence. She also spent many years teaching Legal Writing, spending untold hours with new law students as they encountered the challenges of legal analysis for the first time. She published a number of scholarly writings, covering complex issues across a number of areas, including personal jurisprudence and parental rights, as well as legal issues arising from poverty and child neglect. She also played an active role in the Shepherd Program, opening her seminars to undergraduates and law students alike.

“Professor Shaughnessy was a role model for students and also for her junior colleagues — an exceptional teacher, a true scholar and a community member whose impact reached all corners of our university and well beyond,” said Wilson.

Through her role in the classroom and in her personal time, Professor Shaughnessy influenced a whole generation of W&L students to become ethical and socially responsible attorneys. She generously supported the writings of her colleagues and students, reviewing countless manuscripts and working closely with authors to develop and shape their ideas. Whenever a colleague or visiting scholar presented a work in progress, Professor Shaughnessy’s helpful questions and participation were invaluable to the ultimate success of the project. Through all these efforts, she greatly contributed to the intellectual life of the law school.

“Shaun gave her all to this school,” said Brian Murchison, Charles S. Rowe Professor of Law. “Her goal was to help students achieve their full potential, and she helped her colleagues in that mission as well. We all benefited from her honesty and humor, her compassion and understanding. W&L was a richer place with her presence. I speak for many when I say we will never forget her.”

Professor Shaughnessy also contributed to faculty governance by serving in numerous leadership capacities, including for several years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Her colleagues elected her to multiple terms as a member of the President’s Advisory Committee and as a faculty representative to the Board of Trustees. She chaired several committees, including the Appointments Committee and the Curriculum Committee and also served multiple times on search committees for the School of Law’s dean.

Beyond the halls of the law school, Professor Shaughnessy served on the university’s Long-Range Planning Committee, the Confidential Review Committee, the Dean of the College Search Committee, the Dean of Students Search Committee and the Steering Committee for SACS Reaccreditation. Beyond Washington and Lee, she served as chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Children and the Law and as secretary of the Virginia Bar Section on the Education of Lawyers.

In recognition of her many contributions, Professor Shaughnessy received numerous awards and honors. For the 2003-2004 school year, she was honored with the John W. Elrod Law Alumni Association Fellow in Teaching Excellence. In 2012, she was named the inaugural holder of the Roger D. Groot Chair, exemplifying Professor Groot’s own values of honesty and diligence in the service of legal reform. In 2017, Professor Shaughnessy received honorary membership in Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.

Professor Shaughnessy concluded her teaching career in 2023 after nearly 40 years. In a tribute prepared at the time of her retirement, her long-time colleague, Mary Natkin ’85L, professor of law emerita, said, “I don’t think you can name a big thing the university has done that Shaun hasn’t had a role in. She cared about the job. She cared about her students. She is kind of the soul of the place.”

After she retired, Professor Shaughnessy split her time between Lexington and New York City. In her obituary, her family noted that as a fan of opera, museums, theater and ballet, she took full advantage of all New York had to offer. She joined St. Bart’s Episcopal Church, where she was a member of the Usher’s Guild.

Shaughnessy was predeceased by her parents, godchild M.C. (Mary Catherine) Shaughnessy and brother-in-law Gregory Duchane. She is survived by her siblings Ann DuChane of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Catherine (John) Brennan of Okemos, Michigan, Monica (William) Henderson of Baltimore, Edward (Tricia) Shaughnessy of San Antonio, John (Barbara) Shaughnessy of Barrington, Rhode Island, Lawrence (Linda) Shaughnessy of Germantown, Maryland, and Vincent Shaughnessy of Baltimore, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Services will be held in New York and Lexington in 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Professor Shaughnessy’s honor to the Rockbridge Area Relief Association, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank or a food bank near you.

Professor Shaughnessy’s full obituary was published by The News Gazette.