Commissioner Shapiro conducted over 600 civil settlement conferences, with an 80% settlement rate, from her appointment to the Los Angeles County Superior Court bench in 1982 until her retirement in 1997. Since retiring from the bench she has been providing private dispute resolution services to the Southern California legal community. Her dispute resolution experience emphasizes probate, tort, complex commercial, and family law. Commissioner Shapiro has successfully resolved hundreds of cases including many complicated civil and probate matters. She also has served as an expert witness in a number of probate cases.

EDUCATION:

• (1965-1966) New York University School of Law, Graduate Division, Tax Law

• (1965) LL.B., University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA

• (1961) B.A., Psychology, Mills College, Oakland, CA

JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE:

(1982-1997) Commissioner, Superior Court, Los Angeles County

Judicial Assignments: Civil Law & Motion (seven years), Trials (three years), Family Law (five years), Probate (five years). All assignments included extensive settlement experience.

LEGAL CAREER:

• (1977-1982) Senior Judicial Attorney, California Courts of Appeal, San Bernardino

• (1971-1977) Senior Judicial Attorney, California Courts of Appeal, Los Angeles

• Wrote approximately 1,100 proposed opinions in cases on appeal and writs

• (1969-1970) Associate Editor, Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Co., wrote annotations for A.L.R.3d, A.L.R.Fed. and L.Ed.2d

• (1968) Deputy City Prosecutor, Pasadena, CA

• (1967-1968) Private Law Practice, Pasadena, CA

• (1961-1962) Office Auditor, Internal Revenue Service, San Francisco, CA

ADR EXPERIENCE:

(1997-Present) Since retiring from the bench Commissioner Shapiro provides the following private dispute resolution services to the Southern California legal community: Mediation/Settlement Conferences; Arbitration (including UM); Judicial Arbitration at Long Beach and Norwalk Superior Courts; Discovery References; other Involuntary References (including Accountings); Voluntary References or Temporary Judge for OSC Hearings, Motions, Trial, and Writs; Special Master; and Expert Witness in probate cases.

ADR TRAINING:

(1997) Mediation Training and Advanced Mediation Skills, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, CA

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• (1988) District of Columbia

• (1969) New York

• (1966) California

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

• (1990) Adjunct Faculty, Southwestern University School of Law

• (1981) Adjunct Faculty, California State University, Fullerton

• (1979-1983) Adjunct Faculty, Western State University College of Law

• Lecturer: California Judge Education and Research (CJER), CER, The Rutter Group, numerous Bar Associations and other Professional Organizations.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

• General Civil, including Personal Injury, Employment, Medical and Professional Malpractice, Real Estate, Business Litigation, Public Entity Law, Maritime, Contract Disputes, Premises Liability, Products Liability, Construction Defects, Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith, Commercial, Land Use, Environmental Law, Subsidence Litigation

• Family Law

• Probate, including Will Contests, Trusts and Conservatorships

HONORS / AWARDS AND PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS / AFFILIATIONS:

• California Judges Association Ethics Committee

• California Court Commissioners Association Board of Directors

• California Women Lawyers Board of Governors

• Los Angeles County Superior Court Rules Committee

• Los Angeles County Bar Association Court Improvements Committee

• Constitutional Rights Foundation Volunteer

• Friends Outside National Board of Directors (Member, Vice President, President)

• Awarded Friends Outside President’s Award for Distinguished Service

INTERESTS:

Enjoys Reading, Listening to Music, Outdoor Activities, Photography, and Travel

AVAILABLE:

Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties