RICHMOND, VA, August 17, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles has named Robert Lewis Burrus Jr. a Lifetime Achiever.
Mr. Burrus serves as Chair Emeritus of McGuireWoods LLP. He led McGuireWoods from its roots as a Virginia law firm to a nationally recognized legal powerhouse and is personally recognized as a leading corporate lawyer and authority on corporate governance. He was elected chairman of McGuireWoods in 1990 when the firm had 300 lawyers in six offices. By the time Mr. Burrus stepped down as Chairman, McGuireWoods had grown to 800 lawyers in 18 offices in the United States and abroad. It also launched an influential government relations group, McGuireWoods Consulting. During the 16 years he served as chairman of the firm McGuireWoods increased revenues and profits significantly. The firm has continued its growth, now with 25 offices and over 1,000 lawyers.
Mr. Burrus is committed to the University of Richmond, his alma mater. He served on its board of trustees from 1993 until 2007. He served as Rector (Chair of the Board) from 1998 to 2002 and was Chair of two Presidential Search Committees, once in 1997-1998 and again in 2005-2006. Since 2007, Mr. Burrus serves as a Trustee Emeritus and as a member of the Academic Program Committee.
The University of Richmond awarded Mr. Burrus its Trustees Distinguished Service Award in 2002. It also named Mr. Burrus an Honorary Doctor of Law in 2005. Mr. Burrus supports his law alma mater as well. He serves on the Board of Visitors of Duke University School of Law. In view of his contributions Duke University recognized him with the Charles S. Rhyne Award.
The University of Richmond established a scholarship in honor of Mr. Burrus. Known as The Robert L. Burrus, Jr., Scholarship for Developing Leaders, it was initially funded by directors on boards on which Mr. Burrus served and by his law partners. The scholarship is intended to support internships for students at the Jepson School of Leadership who spend summers working for nonprofit organizations. When announced, Mr. Burrus noted that he was able to attend both the University of Richmond and Duke University Law School only because of the scholarships he received.
Early in his career, Mr. Burrus developed a reputation for his legal expertise in complex acquisitions and business transactions and initial public offerings. He counseled several Richmond businesses converting from being privately held companies to public corporations, including Best Products, S&K Famous Brands and Heilig-Myers Co. He served as outside legal counsel for Fortune 500 companies, including Dominion Resources and Circuit City Stores. Known as a strategic business advisor, Mr. Burrus often was invited to serve on numerous corporate boards. He has been a director of CSX Corp., Smithfield Foods and Best Products as well as other corporations whose products and services involved extracting, retailing, financial services and technology. In 1994 Mr. Burrus was engaged to provide legal counsel during an extraordinary corporate dispute that erupted between Dominion Resources and its regulated subsidiary, Virginia Power. Issues included the subsidiary's desire to limit the parent company's authority over management.
Mr. Burrus was born in 1934 during the Great Depression to a farming family in Orange County, Virginia. His parents were Robert Lewis and Bessie Hart Burrus. He has three sons, David Curran, Peter Tandy and Lewis Graves Burrus. He attended the University of Richmond after graduating from a small, rural high school in Orange County at the age of 16. He was elected to Omicron Delta Kappa and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1955 and his law degree from Duke University in 1958. He was a member of the Duke Law Journal. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves to the rank of Captain.
He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation. He was recognized annually for many years by the Richmond, Virginia news magazine Style Weekly in Richmond to be one of the most powerful people in Richmond and by various Leading and Best lawyer publications.
Mr. Burrus has held numerous civic leadership roles. He was appointed to the State Council of Higher Education in 1985 and was its Chair for two years. He was Executive Committee Chair of Richmond Renaissance, an economic catalyst which helped revive Richmond's downtown and riverfront area. Other roles include a trustee for the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, the VMFA Foundation and the Virginia Historical Society. He has been a member of the advisory committee to the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and to the Governor's Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. He is a director of REB Foundation which advocates excellent public education. He has chaired the Corporate Law Committee and the Business Law Section for the Virginia State Bar Association.
Community awards include the 2001 Humanitarian Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, the 2000 Silver Hope Award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the annual 4H Club recognition. He is a member of the American Bar Foundation, the Virginia Law Foundation, the American Bar Association, the Virginia Bar Association, the Richmond Bar Association, Club Memberships include the Commonwealth Club, the Chicago Club, the Country Club of Virginia and The Forum Club. Mr. Burrus is an avid outdoorsman and travels often to shoot quail, grouse and partridges.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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