Jonathan Shapiro is a writer, producer, attorney and former Assistant U.S. Attorney as well as Of Counsel at

Kirkland & Ellis Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys, and was the first la ...

. He is the co-creator and Executive Producer, with

David E. Kelley David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney, known as the creator of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' Picket Fences'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Publi ...

, of Amazon Prime's TV show '' Goliath'' starring

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

. Shapiro has written fiction, such as ''Deadly Force: A Lizzie Scott Novel'' (ABA Publishing 2014) as well as non-fiction, e.g. another book named ''Lawyers, Liars, and the Art of Storytelling'' (Ankerwycke 2015). Shapiro has also written episodes of TV shows such as ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...

'', '' Boston Legal'', ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in ...

'', ''

Mr. Mercedes ''Mr. Mercedes'' is a novel by American writer Stephen King. He calls it his first hard-boiled detective book. It was published on June 3, 2014. It is the first volume in a trilogy, followed in 2015 by ''Finders Keepers (King novel), Finders Keep ...

'' and ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' and is also a frequent collaborator of fellow attorney-writer-producer

.Jonathan Shapiro, About, http://www.artoftellingstories.com/about/

Early life and background

Shapiro received an undergraduate degree and graduate degree at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1985, where he was a Rhodes Scholar at

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, w ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, and his J.D. degree, at the University of California Berkeley School of Law in 1990.Writing His Own Ticket, USC School of Law, http://weblaw.usc.edu/press/article.cfm?newsid=3819 Shapiro is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Legal career

While attending

Berkeley Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

's Boalt Hall, Shapiro worked as a staff writer fo
The Recorder
from 1987-1990, then upon graduation, became a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice (two years from 1990-1992) in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and following that position, served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the United States Attorneys Office at the

United States District Court for the Central District of California The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a Federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, ...

for six years from 1992-1998.LinkedIn, Jonathan Shapiro, https://www.linkedin.com/in/legalshapiro He then entered private practice, working briefly at O'Melveny & Myers in 1998 before returning to the public sector as Chief of Staff for Lt. Governor

Cruz Bustamante Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. He previously served as the 45th lieutenant governor of California from 1999 to 2007, serving under governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A member of the Democra ...

from 1999-2000. For the next 13 years from 2000-2013, Shapiro wrote and produced episodes for TV shows such as ''

'', ''

'', '' Boston Legal'', ''

'', ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'', '' Just Legal'' and others. From 2013-2015, Shapiro was Of Counsel at

Kirkland & Ellis LLP Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys, and was the first la ...

. Shapiro was also the former chairman and member of the California Commission on Government Economy and Efficiency, and previously held the position of director and founder of the Public Counsel Victims of Torture Fund. In 2010, Shapiro was appointed to serve the State of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Little Hoover Commission The California Little Hoover Commission (LHC), officially the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, is an independent California state oversight agency modeled after the Hoover Commission a ...

for a four-year term. Shapiro also was an adjunct professor of law at the University of Southern California School of Law, where he taught federal criminal law.

TV/film career and writing

Starting from 2001, Shapiro wrote episodes and served as a story editor on ''

'', writing 16 episodes of the show. He wrote episodes of '' Just Legal'', ''

'', '' Boston Legal'', ''

'', '' The Paul Reiser Show'', '' The Firm'', ''

'' and of '' Goliath'', which he created with

. Shapiro also served as a supervising producer and/or producer on ''

'' and as a supervising producer on '' Boston Legal''. He was executive producer on '' Just Legal'', ''

'', ''

'', '' The Paul Reiser Show'' and '' Goliath''. He also was a consulting producer on '' The Firm''. In 2014 at the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter's Emmy Awards held in

, Shapiro won an Emmy Award for the short film/PSA ''Fair and Free'', which he conceived, wrote and produced and which also featured former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.Art of Telling Stories, We Win an Emmy, http://www.artoftellingstories.com/we-win-an-emmy/ The short film was part of the

National Association of Women Judges National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) is an American professional organization founded in 1979. Members are lawyers and women judges who are dedicated to preserving judicial independence to women, minorities and other historically disfavor ...

Informed Voters Project, which encourages women of all backgrounds to exercise their right to vote and make a difference in the electoral process. Shapiro also received a separate Emmy nomination for his script. Shapiro has also received a Peabody Award for his writing work on '' Boston Legal'' and several

Humanitas Award The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

s for his writing and/or producing on '' Boston Legal'' (for the episode "Roe v. Wade: The Musical" (2008)) and ''

'' (for the episodes "Honor Code" (2002) and "Final Judgment" (2006)), and was further nominated for an

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for his writing on ''

'' episode "Killing Time" (1997). In 2014, Shapiro published his non-fiction book
Lawyers, Liars, and the Art of Storytelling
' (ABA Publishing). In 2015, Shapiro published his fiction book
Deadly Force: A Lizzie Scott Novel
' (Ankerwycke), revolving Lizzie Scott, an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.Art of Telling Stories, Lizzie Scott, http://www.artoftellingstories.com/lizzie-scott/

References

External links

*
Jonathan Shapiro's Official Website - "The Art of Telling Stories"USC Gould School of Law Profile on Jonathan Shapiro - "Writing His Own Ticket"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Jonathan Living people American television producers American television writers American male television writers UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Primetime Emmy Award winners California lawyers Harvard University alumni People associated with Kirkland & Ellis Year of birth missing (living people)