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Stephen M. Shapiro

The legal world was in shock when, in 2018, the founder of Mayer Brown’s Supreme Court and appellate practice Stephen Shapiro was murdered. The slaying was quickly dubbed a domestic dispute. Shapiro’s brother-in-law, John Gately III, was arrested shortly after for the murder and for the attempted murder of Joan Shapiro, Stephen Shapiro’s wife and Gately’s sister.

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Earlier this month Gately pleaded guilty to first degree murder. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Anjana M.J. Hansen sentenced Gately to 23 years in prison, with credit for the four years he’s already spent in jail, followed by three years of supervised release.

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Law360 has a description of events that led up to Shapiro’s murder:

Prosecutors say that just before the murder, Gately learned that his sister was planning to stop giving him financial assistance. She had missed several calls from Gately that day, and he went to the Shapiros’ Northfield, Illinois, home shortly after the couple had finished dinner that evening, and asked for Joan when Shapiro answered the door, they said.

When Gately was told she wasn’t available, he shot Shapiro, 72. After that, Gately went into the living room, pointed his gun at Joan Shapiro and said, “I’m going to kill you,” prosecutors said.

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Joan Shapiro was able to escape and call authorities when Gately’s gun didn’t go off. She provided Gately’s name and address to police and he was taken into custody after a standoff with the assistance of a SWAT team.

In a statement, Stephen Shapiro was remembered by Mayer Brown as “an extremely talented lawyer and a highly-regarded colleague and friend.”

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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Biglaw, Deaths, Guns / Firearms, Mayer Brown, Stephen Shapiro, Supreme Court, Violence