Saul Shapiro

Saul Shapiro is a Partner and Chair of Patterson Belknap’s Media and Entertainment Practice Team. He is the immediate past Chair of the firm’s Litigation department, which he headed for two terms. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, as well as intellectual property disputes. He has won the dismissal of numerous cases on pre-trial motions. He has also been lead counsel in seven trials, and has been victorious in all four of the jury trials he has taken to verdict. Mr. Shapiro is an experienced appellate lawyer, and has conducted numerous internal investigations and defended clients in many regulatory investigations.

Mr. Shapiro regularly represents entities ranging from major media and information services conglomerates to cable operators to internet companies in a broad range of disputes, as well as critical internal investigations.

The National Law Journal recently named Mr. Shapiro to its 2023 list of “Media and Entertainment Law Trailblazers.” Chambers USA has noted that clients say Mr. Shapiro is “a fantastic lawyer,” and is “known for handling high-stakes litigation, both commercial and media and entertainment focused.” Chambers quotes a client who comments that “If we have litigation, he would be my first choice. He’s a brilliant lawyer, extremely good to work with, pragmatic and has a great personality. Whenever issues come up day to day, I call Saul.” Chambers also highlights that Mr. Shapiro is “very responsive and creative” as well as “very strategic, practical, and has a great amount of experience.” Clients also praise the “astute and highly talented” Mr. Shapiro for “his understanding of the pressures facing clients” and “his amazingly quick turnaround times.” The Legal 500 quotes a client who calls Mr. Shapiro “a key media advertising lawyer.” Mr. Shapiro has received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest “AV” rating, has been named by Super Lawyers in the area of general litigation, and is named among The Best Lawyers in America®.

Mr. Shapiro received his B.A. from Brown University, magna cum laude, and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school, he clerked for the Hon. Robert L. Carter in the Southern District of New York, before joining Patterson Belknap.