Stuart B. Shapiro, Esq.
Civil Litigation- Insurance Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- Personal Injury Law
- Entertainment Law
- Arbitration
Civil Litigation Insurance Law Intellectual Property Law Personal Injury Law Entertainment Law Arbitration
Civil LitigationMr. Shapiro is a trained trial lawyer with an extensive history of successfully representing clients in all manner of lawsuits tried in New York State and Federal Courts, including: business and commercial matters; contract disputes; patent litigation; personal injury prosecution and defense; property damage claims; lease disputes; landlord and tenant matters; boundary disputes; insurance disputes, and intellectual property cases. He received an award from the SUNY Buffalo Law School for excellence in trial technique.
Insurance LawMr. Shapiro has previously served as trial counsel to two different insurance companies, and as Corporate Counsel, in charge of all litigation and insurance coverage matters for the Merchants Insurance Company in Buffalo, New York. He represents individuals in disputes over insurance coverage and property losses, as well as defending lawsuits against insured individuals. He has also represented insurance agents and brokers in matters concerning errors and omissions, and Department of Financial Services hearings and investigations.
Intellectual
Property LawMr. Shapiro represents individuals and businesses in regard to copyright, trademark, servicemark and matters concerning intellectual property rights, licensing and infringement. He is regularly involved in clearing rights to works of fine art and works of authorship and has litigated patent infringement cases. He has negotiated publishing deals with major publishers and teaches courses in copyright, trademark, and rights of publicity. His clients include visual artists, graphic designers, photographers, electronic and print media, published authors, and purchasers of intellectual property.
Personal Injury LawMr. Shapiro handles all manner of negligence and personal injury cases together with a team of attorneys and medical paralegals from his former firm. These include cases involving automobile accidents, slip and fall cases, injuries involving defective products, labor law and Section 240 cases, animal attacks, assault and battery, and injuries that occur as the result of unsafe conditions. He also handles cases involving libel and slander claims.
Entertainment LawMr. Shapiro represents nationally and internationally known artists in all issues concerning the entertainment industry. He teaches courses at the State University of New York College at Fredonia on subjects including: Music Industry contracts; Copyrights, Trademarks, and Rights of Publicity; and Current Issues In the Entertainment Industry. His clients include musicians, recording studios, record companies, artist management companies, producers, film companies, authors, reality show developers, television, radio, and media on-air personalities, entertainment industry consultants and concert promoters.
ArbitrationMr. Shapiro has served as both an Arbitrator and Mediator in the resolution of disputes outside of Court. He also regularly represents clients in both binding and non-binding arbitration and mediation proceedings.
Mr. Shapiro is a former Partner in the Buffalo, New York law firm of Cohen & Lombardo, P.C. where he headed the firm's Litigation Department as well as the Intellectual Property (Copyrights, Trademarks, Arts and Entertainment Law) practice for many years.
Mr. Shapiro has carried the prestigious rating of AV, (highest possible peer review rating for legal ability and ethical standards), from the Martindale-Hubbell Attorney Rating Organization for 19 consecutive years.
He was named to the list of Top Attorneys in New York as published in the New York Times in 2012 and 2014, and has been listed in Super Lawyers (Top 5% based on peer evaluation) from 2011 through 2014. He has also been listed in the American Lawyer/ Corporate Counsel Annual Guide to Top Lawyers in Commercial Litigation from 2011 through 2014.
Mr. Shapiro is admitted to the Bar for the practice of Law in New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and the United States Supreme Court.
He is also admitted to practice before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States district Courts for the Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.
Mr. Shapiro received his BA, magna cum laude from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, and his Juris Doctorate Degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, where he also received the Connelly Award for Outstanding Trial Technique.
He is the author of the book How to Survive a Deposition published by John Wiley & Sons, 1994, a best selling treatise on deposition preparation and strategy. He is the author of the chapter, "Conflicts of Interest and the Role and Obligations of Defense Counsel," published in the New York State Bar Association Handbook on Insurance Law Practice in December 2000 (2nd Ed. 2006; 3rd Ed. 2013). He is also the author of numerous law related articles which have appeared in the DRI Journal and USFA Magazine. He served as the Editor of the New York Law Newsletter from 1988-1990.
As Chairman of his prior firm's Litigation Department, Mr. Shapiro represented individuals and business organizations in all matters concerning civil litigation, including insurance coverage, fraud investigations, personal injury, property damage claims, patent, copyright and trademark infringement cases, commercial and business matters, small business controversies, contractual disputes, obtaining and enforcing judgments, commercial and residential lease disputes, landlord-tenant matters, employment, malpractice, environmental claims, and general litigation of controversies in Federal, State and local courts, as well as participating in arbitration and administrative tribunal proceedings.
As Chairman of the firm's Intellectual Property/Entertainment Law Department, Mr. Shapiro represented nationally and internationally known entertainers, on-air television, radio and media personalities, production companies, record companies, recording studios, producers, writers, artist managers, photographers, fine artists, and concert promoters in all matters of entertainment law and intellectual property law (copyright and trademark). His wide experience has included matters of career planning, negotiation, rights of publicity, ownership rights in intellectual property, drafting contracts and agreements in all areas of the entertainment industry including literary, publishing, film production and distribution, songwriter publishing, co-production, copyright transfer and licensing, and Trademark registration licensing and purchase agreements, as well as handling numerous national and international deals with entities such as Paramount Pictures, Al Roker Entertainment, and Houghton Mifflin Publishing.
Since 2010 he has been an Adjunct Professor at the State University of New York College at Fredonia, where has taught courses in Music Business contracts and courses in Copyrights, Trademarks and Rights of Publicity in the school's Business, Music Industry and Applied Professional Studies programs.
He is an award winning songwriter and professional musician who has appeared as the opening act for such notables as Paul Anka, Buddy Rich, and John Cougar Mellancamp, among others. He has appeared at top level venues across the United States as well as in England and Canada and currently represents numerous media personalities, recording studios, record companies, film companies, producers and artists.
Mr. Shapiro also previously served as Corporate Counsel to the Merchants Insurance Group in Buffalo, New York, where he had general responsibility for the legal department of a multi-lines insurance company, including Litigation Management, general claims operation, decisions on reserves, agency and broker issues, and the negotiation of large loss claims. He developed training programs and materials which served as the basis for Litigation Management training throughout the insurance industry, and conducted lecture series to train Insurance Adjusters on matters of law and policy in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Hampshire, including matters of negotiation, suit avoidance, claim evaluation, settlement techniques, anatomy of a lawsuit, legal issues and how to deal with and manage attorneys and suit files. He was responsible for coverage decisions, Insurance Department filings, and the retention of staff counsel and outside counsel, while supervising all litigation for the company throughout the United States and Canada. He has also served as staff Counsel for the Nationwide Insurance Company, and as Trial Counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
Mr. Shapiro has been a frequent speaker for the Bar Association, as well as a guest lecturer for a number of organizations. The following is a sample of some of the lecture topics previously presented:
Buffalo Office
3407 Delaware Avenue
Kenmore, New York 14217
Phone
Phone: (716) 432-8257
Fax: (716) 873-7803
E-Mail
Stuart@ShapiroLaw.us