Robert Shapiro

Robert Shapiro was born on September 2, 1942 in Plainfield, New Jersey, USA as Robert Leslie Shapiro.

Graduated from UCLA in 1965; law degree from Loyola University of Los Angeles.

Had a falling out with fellow attorney F. Lee Bailey during a 1994 federal case in which the two friends and occasional partners in litigation defended one of the world's major marijuana smugglers. As part of a verbal plea bargain negotiated by the attorneys, their client agreed to forfeit his assets to the federal government, including stock holdings whose value had appreciated from $6 million to $20 million between the time of the plea bargain and the date when the federal government attempted to collect. The plea bargain was not in writing, so a federal judge held a hearing to determine the terms of the deal. Appearing as the lead witness for the federal government was Shapiro, who testified that his understanding of the agreement was that the government was entitled to the appreciated portion of the stock. When Bailey did not produce the stock or the cash equivalent, the judge jailed Bailey. After 44 days in a federal detention center, Bailey gave up his claim to the stock and eventually was disbarred by the bar of the state of Florida. Viewing Shapiro's action as a betrayal, Bailey swore never to deal with Shapiro again.

He is known for his work on Shark (2006), An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997) and Havoc (2005).