Daniel P. Shapiro

Dan Shapiro has extensive experience litigating and trying significant business disputes of virtually all types in courts around the country, including disputes arising out of the purchase and sale of businesses and securities, disputes regarding business valuations, the negotiation and formation of contracts, the enforcement of representations and warranties in contracts related to a sale, product liability defense and complex class actions.

Mr. Shapiro has defended banks and other financial institutions around the country in lender liability claims and class action litigation brought under federal (’33 and ’34 Act) and state securities laws, RICO, the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and numerous other state consumer protection laws.

A representative sampling of Mr. Shapiro’s trial experiences includes the following cases that he has conducted:

• Appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit successfully reversing a district court order preventing a client from entering a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the client. The appeal was based upon the firm's arguments that the district court had failed to provide due process to the client and had entered an order without the sufficient development of a factual record or an adequate hearing.
• Defense of Chicago-area university medical center in a qui tam Federal False Claims Act case. The lawsuit alleged that the hospital submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid over a 14-year period because of alleged noncompliance with teaching physician rules. The Court granted a motion to dismiss with prejudice, disposing of all counts of the complaint.
• Trial in Charlotte, N.C. defending against a RICO class action seeking in excess of $100 million in damages. The claim arose from the sale of debt securities.
• Defense of one of the nation’s largest public accounting firms in an emergency proceeding seeking injunctive relief to prevent that firm from ending its alternative practice structure. Mr. Shapiro successfully defended against a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order that would have put his client out of business.
• Prosecution of a private equity firm’s rights as a purchaser under a securities purchase agreement (SPA). The seller, a public company, allegedly breached its obligation to make all reasonable efforts to support the SPA transaction in connection with a shareholder vote. The value of the acquisition was in excess of $100 million.
• Prosecuted a motion for a temporary restraining order on behalf of a Michigan based OEM auto parts supplier in Delaware bankruptcy court to preserve the supply of raw materials to his client from a Fortune 50 company. In the absence of this relief, Mr. Shapiro’s client would have been shut down.
• Seven-week jury trial in federal court representing a foreign corporation against a Fortune 100 domestic corporation regarding industrial machinery.
• Five-day trial in Delaware bankruptcy court defending a leading commercial lender against creditors seeking to set aside the lender’s $110 million lien.
• Five-day trial in Circuit Court of Cook County regarding valuation of and disruption to closely held business.
• Seven-day trial in Circuit Court of Cook County regarding theft of trade secrets and breach of covenants not-to-compete.
• Four-day arbitration regarding multimillion-dollar commercial real estate brokerage commission dispute.
• Defending a leading national commercial lender in a $100+ million securities fraud class action and related multidistrict litigation proceedings relating to the public sale of subordinated notes. Successful appeal to Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals under F.R.C.P. 23(f), reversing district court’s class certification order.

Mr. Shapiro is an adjunct faculty member of the Round Table Group, a consortium of university and industry experts who provide consulting, expert witness and legal support services for a variety of industry-related businesses. He is co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Class Action Subcommittee and a member of the advisory board for the Bureau of National Affairs publication Class Action Litigation Report. He was also the co-chair of the annual American Bar Association National Institute on Class Actions from 1997 through 2000.

Mr. Shapiro has authored/co-authored the following:

• "Class Actions: Understanding the Fundamentals as a First Step Toward Management and Avoidance," AHLA Connections, co-author (January 2012);
• "US Class Actions with Non-US Citizens as Class Members: Fairness Issues Considered," Business Law International, co-author (January 2010);
• "U.S. Class Actions With Foreign Citizens As Class Members: Are We on the Correct Path?" Class Action Litigation Report, co-author (September 25, 2009);
• "Revisiting Lender Liability in a Post-Meltdown Environment," The Secured Lender, author (January 2009);
• "The Unique Aspects of Class Action Litigation," Best Practices for Class Action Litigation (April 2007);
• "Home or Away: Understanding Due Diligence and Contract Considerations Provides Insight for Collection Agencies Asking the Offshore Outsourcing Question," The Collector, co-author (January, 2004);
• "International Class Actions: Predicting the Next Wave of Class Litigation," Class Action Litigation Report, co-author (December 2003);
• "What to Watch for in the Bridgestone/Firestone Litigation," Class Actions & Derivative Suits (a publication of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation), co-author (January, 2002);
• "A Practical Look at Gramm-Leach-Bliley," Credit & Collection World, co-author (June 1, 2001); and
• "Judge Easterbrook’s New Look at Proving Class Claims of Deception," Class Action Litigation Report, co-author (December 22, 2000).

His presentations include:

• "US Class Actions With Non US Citizens As Class Members: Fairness Issues Considered," French American Bar Association (February 2010);
• "The Future of Nationwide Class Actions," Chicago Bar Association (March 2007);
• "Mortgage Bankers Association National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo," Mortgage Bankers Association (February 2004);
• "American Collectors Association 65^th Annual Convention & Expo," American Collectors Association (July 2004);
• "Legal Issues for In-House Counsel of Mortgage Servicers," USFN-America’s Mortgage Banking Attorneys (July 2004); and
• "Debt Buyers’ Association Executive Retreat" (June 2005).

Mr. Shapiro is admitted to practice in Illinois, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit; the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; the U.S. District Court, South Carolina, Anderson Division; and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including Trial Bar. He received his law degree in 1982 from the University of Chicago and his B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, Bronze Tablet (all university honors), from the University of Illinois in 1979.