The Shapiro Legal Team

Richard M. Shapiro, Esq.

Education:

Southwestern University School of Law

Areas of Litigation:

• Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
• Medical Negligence

Richard M. Shapiro, the principal of the Shapiro Law Group, has been practicing in the Tampa Bay, Florida area since 1981. He began his career as a research assistant to his father who was Chairman of the Radiology Department at one of Yale University’s primary teaching hospitals. It was working with medical research that inspired Mr. Shapiro to focus his law practice on issues concerning the spinal cord and brain. After thirty years representing those injured due to malpractice and negligence he is an expert in litigating cases concerning the spine and brain, including quadriplegia, paraplegia, bilateral blindness, and traumatic brain injury.

Mr. Shapiro has been honored with several distinguished awards for trial advocacy by his peers, including one award for his representation of Jessica Roud, a young child whose life was devastated after a neurosurgeon negligently traumatized her brain during removal of a brain tumor that left her blind and quadriplegic.

In addition to medical malpractice, Mr. Shapiro has litigated numerous complex personal injury cases including those caused by trucking accidents.  In fact, many of his cases and verdicts have been instrumental in shaping the Florida legal system, as we know it today. Mr. Shapiro’s relentless pursuit of justice has been recognized by various legal and civic organizations throughout the country. Mr. Shapiro is in the Who’s Who in American Law; has served as President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, as well as President of the Southern Trial Lawyers Organization. Mr. Shapiro serves on the Advisory Committee for the Manasota Association for Retarded Citizens.

Catherine Blackburn, Esq.

Areas of Litigation:

• Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
• Medical Negligence

Catherine Blackburn has practiced catastrophic personal injury law for more than twenty-five years. She graduated both college and law school with honors. Ms. Blackburn was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Louisville for five years. Her education focused heavily in medical-related fields.

Both Mr. Shapiro and Ms. Blackburn are extensively involved in community matters and civic organizations. Together, they have served on many local and statewide associations and victim’s rights advocacy groups. Ms. Blackburn serves on the Board of Directors for Florida Youth at Risk.