Lawyers, Liars and the Art of Storytelling

Jonathan Shapiro (Los Angeles, CA) is an ex-federal prosecutor and law professor turned award-winning television writer, producer, and author. His background includes two Harvard degrees, a Rhodes scholarship, three years working as a newspaper reporter, 10 years as a trial lawyer and Assistant U.S. Attorney, and 14 years writing and producing television shows like The Blacklist, Life, Boston Legal, and The Practice.

Jonathan Shapiro's Lawyers, Liars, and the Art of Storytelling is so intriguing and witty that for a while I was certain that I had written it. -- Alan Zweibel, Original Saturday Night Live writer and Thurber Prize winner for his novel The Other Shulman Nobody I knowand I mean nobodyis funnier, smarter, or has a wider breadth of references than my friend Jonathan Shapiro. This book is a bit of a miracle: informative, insightful, poetic, and funny. -- Paul Reiser, Comedian, actor, and bestselling author Storytellingthe art of connecting with, captivating and persuading one's listenersis the key to courtroom success. For the new generation of lawyers raised on texting, tweeting, and e-mailing, the art of old-fashioned storytelling has proven elusive, as those who can truly teach this ancient art form are fast disappearing. Thankfully, here comes Jonathan Shapiroone of America's greatest trial lawyers and storytellersto the rescue. -- Steve Zipperstein, General Counsel, Blackberry Jonathan Shapiro is a terrific writer: incisive, informative, entertaining, and always engaging. -- Erwin Chemerinsky, U.S. constitutional law and federal civil procedure scholar and current and founding dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law If Shapiro turns out to be the 21st-century Dale Carnegie, that wouldn't be a bad thing. His book deserves to sell as well as How to Win Friends and Influence People. It is fortified with the wisdom of the ages and of the networks...May it please the court, Shapiro's book is a must read.