Stephen B. Shapiro

Stephen Shapiro is a partner with the firm.

Mr. Shapiro’s practice is concentrated in commercial litigation, primarily with respect to the representation of policyholders, construction professionals, developers, financial institutions, and private and public business enterprises.

A significant portion of Mr. Shapiro’s practice involves the pursuit and recovery of insurance benefits on behalf of policyholders, including construction-defect liability claims, professional liability claims, builder’s risk claims, property and casualty claims, E&O and D&O claims, bankers’ bond claims, surety bond claims, and title insurance claims. Mr. Shapiro succeeded in expanding the rights of policyholders in insurance bad faith litigation in Colorado, by convincing the Colorado Supreme Court to interpret the Colorado Consumer Protection Act to apply to the insurance industry and to bad faith claim-handling practices. Mr. Shapiro’s construction practice is broad based, and includes defect and contract claims arising from new construction of infrastructure and improvements.

Mr. Shapiro has litigated cases at the trial and appellate levels throughout the state court system and in the federal courts. His litigation practice entails both bench and jury trials, administrative proceedings, arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, and appellate advocacy.

Mr. Shapiro’s representative clients include:

• Policyholders
• Construction contractors
• Design professionals
• Developers
• HOA’s and other property owners
• Financial institutions

Handling complex cases, his work has included:

• Showpiece Homes Corporation v. Assurance Company of America, 38 P.3d 47 (Colo. 2001) was a case of first impression in Colorado. Prior to Showpiece, there had been a split at the trial court level in both the state and federal courts in Colorado regarding the applicability of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act to unfair claims settlement practices by insurers. The Colorado Supreme Court resolved the conflict by determining that the Colorado Consumer Protection Act applies to insurers.
• Ovation Plumbing, Inc. v. Daryl D. Furton, 33 P.3d 1221 (Colo. App. 2001) – Colorado appellate court recognized for the first time the tort of unfair business competition. The Ovation court also affirmed the largest jury verdict that had been rendered in the El Paso County District Court in 1999.

In his role as insurance coverage counsel for policyholders, Mr. Shapiro has secured many millions of dollars in insurance benefits to resolve third party and first party coverage claims. The third party claims arise from various contexts, including construction defects, professional liability, E&O, and D&O claims. The first party coverage claims have arisen from property and casualty policies, builder’s risk policies, title insurance, and bonds.

Mr. Shapiro has been named to The Best Lawyers in America© every year since 2013 for his Insurance Law practice. Best Lawyers® is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey and is regarded as a definitive guide to legal excellence.

Mr. Shapiro was named to the list of Colorado Super Lawyers® every year since 2010 in the practice areas of Insurance Coverage, Business Litigation, and Construction Litigation: Business. The list, compiled annually by Super Lawyers magazine, features attorneys from more than 70 practice areas who are recognized by their peers and through rigorous third-party research as being among the best in their respective fields. In 2019 Mr. Shapiro was recognized by Super Lawyers for being named to the Colorado Super Lawyers list for 10 consecutive years.

Mr. Shapiro was named to the 2016 and 2018 lists of Top Rated Lawyers™ in Litigation by The American Lawyer magazine and Martindale-Hubbell®, the company that has long set the standard for lawyer ratings. This series features lawyers who have achieved an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating with Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest rating in legal ability and ethical standards.

Mr. Shapiro was named Barrister’s Best “People’s Choice” in 2016, 2018 and 2019 by Law Week Colorado. In this statewide annual survey, the staff and readers of Colorado’s top legal publication choose winners in over 100 different categories celebrating the best of the legal world in Colorado. Mr. Shapiro was voted “Best Insurance Lawyer for Plaintiffs.”

Denver’s top lifestyle publication, 5280 magazine, has named Mr. Shapiro to its list of Top Lawyers in the “Insurance” category in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Shapiro served as a law clerk to the Honorable Dale P. Tursi of the Colorado Courts of Appeals. Mr. Shapiro is a cum laude graduate of the Creighton University Law School. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Northern Colorado.