Steven R. Shapiro (born July 24, 1951) is the former National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1993âÂÂ2016. Shapiro served as counsel or co-counsel on more than 200 briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the ACLU. When he announced his retirement from the ACLU, Kathleen Sullivan said: âÂÂCivil Liberties without Steve Shapiro is like the Rolling Stones without Jagger.âÂÂ
Shapiro was a staff lawyer at the New York Civil Liberties Union from 1976âÂÂ1987, and the ACLUâÂÂs Associate Legal Director from 1987âÂÂ1993. He began his legal career following graduation from Harvard Law School in 1975 as a law clerk to Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
After retiring from the ACLU, Shapiro taught at Columbia Law School, Stanford Law School, and the NYU School of Law.
Shapiro, who was born and educated in New York City, has been married since 1980 to Nancy Larson Shapiro, the former Executive Director of Teachers & Writers Collaborative. They have one son.