CHICAGO – Feb. 11, 2016 – Keith J. Shapiro, co-chair of the Business Reorganization & Financial Restructuring Practice at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, has contributed $50,000 to endow the Keith J. Shapiro Writing Awards Fund at his alma mater, Emory Law School. While he has funded these awards for nearly 20 years, he decided to endow the fund to ensure its perpetuity.
“The Emory Law Bankruptcy Developments Journal and the writing awards have become an important part of my life and are now part of a long and rich bankruptcy law tradition at Emory. I'm not sure what the future holds in store for me, but I wanted to make sure that I could continue to pay it forward,” Shapiro said.
Annually, the Keith J. Shapiro Writing Award selects two winners – one for consumer bankruptcy writing, and the other for corporate bankruptcy writing. Each award winner receives $1,000. Shapiro’s mission in giving the awards is to inspire law students to pursue career opportunities in bankruptcy law.
Shapiro has also served for many years as a member of Emory Law’s Advisory Board and as an advisor for the Emory Law Bankruptcy Developments Journal, further evidencing his commitment to train and assist the next generation of lawyers.
Explaining his continuous alumni giving, Shapiro said, “I think it is important for alumni to not only make general gifts to Emory Law, but to also give directly to special projects to uniquely impact students who are especially deserving, either because of their financial needs or to recognize their unique accomplishments.”
Shapiro is vice president of Greenberg Traurig, national chairman of strategic recruitment, and chairman of the Chicago office. He has more than 30 years of bankruptcy and restructuring experience and appears worldwide in corporate bankruptcy matters and workouts representing troubled companies, financial institutions, creditors' committees, hedge funds and private equity funds.