Robert E. Shields grew up on a beef and grain farm east of Derby, Kansas. He enrolled at Wichita State, majoring in political science and getting involved in several organizations, perhaps most notably the University Debate Society and the Student Government Association.
Three individuals were especially influential for Bob when he was a Wichita State student. Quincalee Brown, the debate coach, and Marvin Cox, assistant coach, worked with him daily, honing his debating skills and traveling with the team to tournaments around the country. Bob’s hard work paid off when he and debate team partner Lee Thompson won the 1968 National Debate Tournament in Washington, DC. His skills were also recognized by the speech society, Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha, when they selected him as the national Student Speaker of the Year. Bob also credits, Jim Rhatigan, former dean of students and Student Government Association advisor, who played a key role in Bob’s development as a student leader when Bob was president and vice president of the student body. Bob served twice as SGA president, and was involved in several other student organizations, including Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was selected as a Senior Honor Man in 1968.
Upon graduating from Wichita State, Bob attended New York University School of Law. He was an editor of the NYU Law Review, a contributing author to the Annual Survey of American Law, the Law School Moot Court Champion, and a member of NYU's National Moot Court Team, which placed second at the national finals. After earning his degree and passing the necessary bars, he started his law career at firms in Los Angeles and Wichita. In the mid-1970s, he moved to Atlanta, beginning his career in Georgia at Kilpatrick and Cody. After 16 years, he became a founding partner of Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles LLC and remained there for the remainder of his career.
Known for his vigor and tenacity in the courtroom, Bob tried more than 200 civil jury cases and litigated cases in 20 states. Considered an expert on hazardous waste and toxic torts, during his career Bob took on difficult cases against heavyweights such as the RJ Reynolds and Phillip Morris tobacco companies, as well as Georgia Power Company and Oglethorp Power Corporation. Perhaps most notably, he served as lead counsel in one of America’s earliest major environmental cases, representing more than 1,200 residents of Triana, Alabama against the Olin Corporation, which was alleged to have dumped the deadly toxins DDT and PCB in Indian Creek, upstream from the community.
A few of Bob’s many career recognitions entail inclusion in Best Lawyers in America; designation as “Georgia Superlawyer” by Atlanta Magazine; selection for the National Trial Lawyers Top 100; designation as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation; and selection as a Leader in Litigation in Georgia by Chambers USA’s Leading Business Lawyers. He was awarded Greenlaw’s Ogden Doremus Award for Excellence in Environmental Law. Wichita State honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996, and he was its commencement speaker in 1997.
Bob holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Wichita State and a juris doctorate from New York University School of Law. He retired from Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles LLC in 2024. He lives with his wife Debbie Brian, a lawyer and a former law school professor.