Our Story
Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram planted its roots more than 30 years ago, when three young attorneys named Ron Shapiro, Judd Lifschitz and Steve Schram met and began a relationship that has spanned decades. Meeting at the renowned Washington, DC law firm of Danzansky, Dickey, Tydings, Quint and Gordon and continuing with that firm's successor, Ron, Judd and Steve honed their legal skills while making their way up the Big Firm ladder, all the while becoming a powerful legal team and cultivating the closest of personal friendships. By the time Ron and Judd decided in March of 1991 to set out on their own, they had developed into highly accomplished and recognized practitioners, well-armed to use their ample experience to offer winning solutions for clients in their own boutique shop, where their passion for law could truly shine.
First opening their doors as Shapiro and Lifschitz (the "Schram" component was still honing his skills as the CFO, COO and General Counsel of a mid-sized retailer), Ron and Judd handpicked a talented and experienced group of attorneys and para professionals to join them. With their Big Firm experience and training behind them, and fueled by their passion to serve clients with solutions that made a genuine difference, they set out to build a boutique law firm where success would be judged by the quality of the work – not by the size of the firm. In 1992, the trio of friends was reunited when Steve rejoined Ron and Judd and the firm became Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram. Under Steve's added managerial leadership, the firm continued to grow its already strong regional and national reputation.
As the firm's practice and reputation grew, it moved from its original modest offices at 1500 K Street NW to the historic Evening Star Building on Pennsylvania Avenue. In 2001, the firm purchased a historic townhouse and after a year of significant renovation, moved into its current offices at 1742 N Street NW. Befitting the creative but practical personalities of its partners, the firm enjoys being quietly nestled into a side street close to Dupont Circle in a four-story brownstone built in the late 1800s. With its spiral staircase, tall ceilings and French windows, the firm has created a working environment that is – like its attorneys - unique, fun and very productive.
While many law firms count their success by their number of lawyers, Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram continues to shun that mindset for the tenet that led to its formation: that success should be measured by the quality of their work and the strength of their client relationships. That is why all manner of clients - regional and national, private and public, large and small - have entrusted this small boutique law firm time and again to represent them in their most critical commercial litigation, trials, and transactions. With a friendship that continues to grow deeper, and armed with far more experience for client solutions, Ron, Judd and Steve, along with the balance of the firm's attorneys and staff, share a passion for law that will never run dry.
