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Shapiro has line responsibility for integral corporate staff functions including the law, human resources, security and building services departments for Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PEI). He also serves as general counsel to Playboy and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. Shapiro is based in Playboy's Chicago headquarters.
Since Shapiro joined the Company as staff counsel in November 1973, he has held various legal posts. He was named division counsel in 1977, with responsibility for the Company's book, licensing and franchising operations. In May 1981, he became corporate counsel.
In 1983, Shapiro was promoted to vice president and general counsel PEI, charged with overseeing legal matters for all of the Company's operating divisions. Less than a year later, he was named corporate senior vice president, assuming additional responsibilities for law and administration in 1985. In November 1989, in recognition of his contributions to the Company, he was promoted to corporate executive vice president.
Shapiro graduated from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. While working on his law degree, he was a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system. He received a J.D. from DePaul University, College of Law, in 1973 and passed the Illinois State Bar examination that same year.
Shapiro serves on the board of the Playboy Foundation and has been a director of Lawyers for the Creative Arts. He is a member of the American Civil Liberties Union and has served on the Chicago Advisory Committee of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He also is a guest lecturer on media and entertainment issues, trademark and copyright law, and the First Amendment. | 