Bill Shapiro

William Shapiro is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at McGeorge for the 2025-26 academic year. Shapiro teaches Trial Advocacy, Mock Trial Evidence and Global Lawyering Skills, and serves as the Interim Assistant Director of McGeorge's Trial Advocacy Program. 

Prior to joining the full-time faculty, Shapiro represented the United States for 25 years in the Department of Justice's Environment Division. At the DOJ, Shapiro defended hundreds of federal agencies, with a particular focus on litigating complex takings claims brought in federal court under the Fifth Amendment. During his career at the DOJ, Shapiro successfully resolved a wide variety of cases and had the privilege of representing dozens of agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers in flooding-based cases, the Department of the Interior in cases involving water allocation decisions and the United States Forest Service in fire-based cases. Shapiro also prosecuted several environmental criminal cases, including animal abuse cases and workplace death matters.

Shapiro has published papers in the Natural Resources and Energy Law Institute, Water Law Institute, Tulane Environmental Law Journal, Tulane Law Review, Vermont Law Review and Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy.