Mr. Shapiro defends industry-leading financial services companies and professional services providers in litigation involving allegations of fraudulent conduct, breaches of fiduciary duty, malpractice, and trademark/trade name infringement. He co-chairs Schnader's Financial Services Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Shapiro also practices communications and media law. He worked as a news photographer before entering the legal profession and brings real-world experience and industry knowledge to his communications and media practice. Areas Of Experience Financial Services Litigation · Successfully defended a Fortune 100 bank in a complex lender liability action seeking in excess of $30 million in damages arising out of allegations that bank personnel made fraudulent statements and omissions to a customer of the bank. A jury returned a complete defense verdict on behalf of Mr. Shapiro's client at the conclusion of an eight-day trial (Chester County, Pa., Court of Common Pleas). · Defended against and successfully settled on behalf of a Fortune 100 bank claims alleging fraudulent conduct and seeking the return of millions of dollars of loan repayments brought by the bankruptcy trustee of a former customer (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania). · Advised and assisted one of the nation's largest issuers of credit cards in avoiding threatened infringement litigation arising out of the client's use of a trademark in its advertising. Professional Liability Defense · Defended Am Law 100 law firm against and successfully settled complex, multi-party suit involving allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy and racketeering brought by a creditor of one of the law firm's former clients, an originator and securitizer of sub-prime loans, for in excess of $500 million in alleged damages. (U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware). · Defended Am Law 100 law firm against and successfully settled a suit involving allegations of professional malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty brought by the bankruptcy trustee of one of the firm's former clients. (U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware). Commercial Litigation · Brought suit on behalf of corporate client against former officer and director for breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of assets and usurpation of corporate opportunities. Case successfully settled after first day of non-jury trial (Bucks County, Pa., Court of Common Pleas). · Initiated, litigated and successfully settled arbitration proceeding on behalf of management consulting firm for recovery of millions of dollars in damages incurred when the firm's client breached the contract between the parties (ARIAS U.S. Arbitration, Philadelphia, Pa.). · Defended and successfully settled suit against former principals of defunct retailer who allegedly fraudulently induced landlord to enter into and perform obligations under commercial leases (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania). Trademark and Trade Name Litigation · Represented a marketing company in an advertising dispute with Martina Navratilova and successfully settled claims for trade name infringement and counter-claims for breach of fiduciary duty. (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania). · Brought and successfully settled a trade mark infringement suit on behalf of an Ivy League university (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania). · Brought and successfully settled a false advertising claim on behalf of a Norwegian company that manufactured military equipment (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida). · Defended against and successfully settled service mark infringement claims against a regional real estate brokerage (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Delaware County, Pa., Court of Common Pleas). First Amendment & Media Law · Filed, on behalf of a Lower Merion student and his family, a motion to intervene in the Lower Merion School District "Spycam" litigation. The motion sought to protect the privacy of students whose images may have been captured by the school district's unauthorized remote activation of webcams installed on school-issued laptop computers (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania). · Defended against and successfully settled an invasion of privacy suit brought by a professional model against a regional magazine and professional photographer (Montgomery County, Pa., Court of Common Pleas). · Drafted portions of amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in support of an appellate court decision blocking the Child Online Protection Act from taking effect on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment. · Defending local affiliate of national television network against lawsuit alleging that an investigative news report broadcast by the affiliate defamed plaintiff (Philadelphia County, Pa., Court of Common Pleas). Appellate Practice · On appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, successfully obtained on behalf of a Fortune 500 motor carrier a ruling invalidating millions of dollars of excessive assessments levied by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Community Activities · Board Member, American Red Cross of Chester County, Pennsylvania · Judge of Elections for Precinct 635, Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania (elected to four-year term in November 2009) Professional Affiliations · American Bar Association, member · Philadelphia Bar Association, member Other Distinctions · Recognized among 'Pennsylvania Rising Stars' by the publishers of Super Lawyers, for general litigation, 2006-2007 News 09/15/2010, Stephen Shapiro Offers Comment as Part of a News Report on Philadelphia's "Naked Bike Ride" 04/14/2010, Schnader Attorneys Join the ACLU in Successfully Obtaining Protection of Students' Privacy in Lower Merion School District Laptop Lawsuit 09/10/2009, Stephen Shapiro Appointed to the Board of the American Red Cross of Chester County 01/11/2008, Twelve Schnader Attorneys Honored as 2007 'Pennsylvania Rising Stars' 01/25/2007, Schnader Names Seven New Partners 12/08/2006, Twelve Schnader Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Rising Stars Publications Articles 04/04/2011, "The Small Bank Exemption to Dodd-Frank's Swipe Fee Regulations: "Honor-All-Cards" Contractual Provisions May Not Protect Small Banks" 01/10/2011, "DOJ's Antitrust Suit Against American Express Will Steer Profits to Merchants, But Won't Help Consumers" Alerts 10/26/2011, Do Not Let the Third Circuit's Recent Decision in Liggon-Redding v. Estate of Robert Sugarman Scare You: An Alternative Method to Dispose of Meritless Legal Malpractice Actions Remains 09/01/2008, Ario v. Deloitte & Touche: Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court Re-Kindles Confusion About the 'Deepening Insolvency' Doctrine |