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Andy Schapiro is a litigator with eighteen years of trial and appellate experience representing major corporations and individuals in sensitive, high-profile, and high-stakes matters. Legal 500 United States has ranked Mr. Schapiro as one of the country's leading appellate lawyers and described him as a "superstar." He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America and has been selected as a New York "Super Lawyer" each year since the list's inception.

Mr. Schapiro has first-chaired fourteen federal jury trials, managed large litigation teams, and argued and won important appeals in state and federal courts. He works primarily in the areas of white-collar and securities defense, intellectual property, complex commercial litigation, and appeals.

Earlier in his career Mr. Schapiro served as a trial lawyer with the Federal Defenders’ Office for the Southern District of New York, defending individuals accused of a wide range of federal offenses and achieving favorable verdicts in a majority of his trials.  He has served as pro bono counsel for groups including the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Sierra Club, and the Innocence Project. 

A former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun and to Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner, Mr. Schapiro is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was Articles Co-Chair of the Harvard Law Review and recipient of the Sears Prize.  He was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, and received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale.

Argued and won important appeal for Google in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in long-running copyright dispute with company that claimed Google infringed the copyrights in thousands of images. The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's decision not to grant a preliminary injunction against Google, and in a precedent-setting ruling reversed its longstanding rule that a plaintiff alleging copyright infringement can automatically satisfy the "irreparable harm" requirement merely by showing likelihood of success on the merits.  (Perfect 10 v. Google, 9th Cir. 2011)

Won jury verdict for global manufacturer of transportation equipment as co-counsel in federal trial concerning misappropriation of client's trade secrets. The jury's award, which represented the full amount sought, is one of the largest ever reported in a New York trade-secrets case.  (Faiveley v. Wabtec, S.D.N.Y. 2011)

Lead counsel for Cablevision in federal lawsuit brought by programmers seeking to enjoin Cablevision from offering its subscribers an application that it had developed for the iPad. The Wall Street Journal called the dispute, which involved both contractual and copyright claims, "a public war over who will control video piped into American living rooms." The parties reached a mutually satisfactory settlement.  (Viacom v. Cablevision, S.D.N.Y. 2011)

Argued and won significant appeal in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for Las Vegas Sands Corporation CEO Sheldon Adelson. The court's unanimous decision rejected the claims of a former business partner in a billion-dollar dispute over ownership of the Venetian Macao hotel and casino resort.  (Adelson v. Hananel, 1st Cir. 2011)

Won summary judgment as lead counsel for YouTube and its parent Google in a billion-dollar copyright infringement suit brought by Viacom in federal district court in New York. The court's landmark decision held that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's "safe harbor" protects YouTube against liability for the presence of allegedly infringing videos on the site. The Washington Post called the win "an immense legal victory" for Google, and The New York Times observed that "the ruling in the closely watched case could have major implications for the scores of Internet sites" that rely on user-generated content.  (Viacom et al. v. Google et al., S.D.N.Y. 2010)

Represented Bernard Kerik, the former Police Commissioner of New York City, in his appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  (U.S. v. Kerik, 2nd Circuit 2011)

Won acquittal on all counts for NYSE Specialist Broker accused of securities fraud as lead counsel in two-week jury trial. The Wall Street Journal noted that the victory was the government's "first defeat in prosecutions of allegedly improper trading activity on the New York Stock Exchange," and observed that the jury's verdict in favor of Mr. Schapiro's client was "quick and unanimous."  (U.S. v. Scavone, S.D. N.Y. 2006)

Argued and won important appeal in New York's highest court establishing that a plaintiff cannot prove negligent design in a products liability case without showing that the proposed safer alternative would have been acceptable to consumers. (Adamo v. Brown & Williamson, N.Y. Court of Appeals 2008)

Co-authored the brief that persuaded the Second Circuit to throw out the obstruction of justice conviction of well known investment banker Frank Quattrone. In the wake of that decision, in the words of Time magazine, "prosecutors waved a white flag" and abandoned any effort to pursue a retrial.  (U.S. v. Quattrone, 2d Cir. 2006)

Co-authored successful certiorari petition and winning merits briefs in landmark Supreme Court case establishing new limits on punitive damages.  (Philip Morris USA v. Williams, U.S. Supreme Court 2007)

Won reversal of highly publicized murder conviction, pro bono, after demonstrating significant prosecutorial and police misconduct.  (People v. DiGuglielmo, Westchester County 2008)

Co-authored winning appellate brief for business owner convicted of wire fraud and tax fraud in connection with sales of industrial chemicals.  (U.S. v. Shellef, 2d Cir. 2007)

Co-authored merits brief for the New York Board of Trade in Supreme Court case about the limits of standing to sue under the Commodities Exchange Act; case dismissed pursuant to Rule 46.1.  (Klein & Co. Futures, Inc. v. Board of Trade of the City of New York, U.S. Supreme Court 2007)

Argued and won appeal for attorney convicted of fraud, resulting in vacatur of sentence and release of client.  (U.S. v. Conley, 5th Cir. 2003)

Represented the American Bar Association as amicus curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark case banning execution of people with mental retardation. (Atkins v. Virginia, U.S. Supreme Court 2002)

Won acquittal on all counts for businessman charged with attempting to extort millions of dollars from a large financial institution.  (U.S. v. Greer, S.D.N.Y. 1997)

Won acquittal on all counts for business owner charged with violating federal bribery statutes in connection with school construction contracts.  (U.S. v. Lech, S.D.N.Y. 1995)