Mathieu J. Shapiro

Mathieu is Obermayer’s Managing Partner and General Counsel.  He is also a member of the Litigation Department with interdisciplinary experience in matters relating to business, finance, and employment law. He has also handled data breach cases and is the chair of the firm’s Cyber Liability Defense Group.

Using a strategic and outcome-oriented approach to litigation, Mathieu’s goal is to get his clients the results they want. He believes trust, based on honest and frank advice, is the basis of any successful client relationship. To that end, Mathieu not only listens to his client’s problems and their desired goals, he also tells them the truth about the litigation and dispute resolution process, including time, resources, and costs of litigation.  His goal is to give his clients the information they need to understand clearly the various available paths forward, and with his help, to choose the best one based on their particular goals and needs.

In his free time, Mathieu enjoys cooking, eating, skiing, playing tennis, golfing, reading, spending time with his wife and kids, napping, traveling, sitting on the beach on Cape Cod, cheering for any Philadelphia sports teams and, with luck, going to championship parades!

Mathieu concentrates his practice in business and, commercial litigation, including all forms of contract disputes, “business divorces,” and family business disputes and employment litigation. He has represented large corporations and individuals in matters involving leases and real estate, non-competition agreements and restrictive covenants, breach of fiduciary duty, theft of proprietary information, partnership dissolution, shareholder disputes, data breaches, franchise agreements, U.C.C. interests, zoning, business torts, and insurance coverage.

Mathieu has also handles other complex matters, ranging from antitrust to civil rights, to FLSA class actions, and Orphans Court cases. In all of his cases, Mathieu manages trial and appellate work, including all phases of commercial litigation, from pre-litigation advice, pleadings, discovery, and dispositive motions, through trial or arbitration, and appeal. He has briefed and argued numerous appellate cases, in all of Pennsylvania’s appellate courts and in the 2nd, 3rd and the 7th Circuit United States Courts of Appeal. He has also worked on many class actions and multidistrict litigations. 

Some of Mathieu’s more notable cases include:

• Obtaining a seven-figure settlement for a manufacturing company that was a victim of accounting malpractice.
• Multi-million dollar settlements and injunctions on behalf of employers enforcing restrictive covenants and protecting valuable trade secrets.
• Obtaining favorable judgments and favorable settlements for companies accused of failing to prevent data breaches and failing adequately to protect confidential information.
• Obtaining favorable settlements, summary judgment and dismissal on behalf of several national and international financial institutions in matters related to alleged breach of contract, alleged agent misconduct, alleged bad investments, and alleged bad investment advice, as well as settlements over $500,000 representing individual customers against the institutions in regard to similar claims.
• Obtaining dismissals, change of venue and summary judgment on behalf of national companies involved in mergers and acquisitions who are sued by their shareholders for breach of fiduciary duty or aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, and violations of security laws.
• Obtaining favorable resolutions while representing numerous closely held or family businesses going through business divorces.
• A favorable settlement on behalf of a prominent insurance company in a state-wide class action related to discounts available in automobile insurance policies.
• A Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversal on behalf of a municipality and its mayor confirming the mayor’s right to appoint members to the local municipal authority.
• A favorable settlement on behalf of a school district and a local charter school in matters relating to statutory funding, Department of Education audits, and other litigation matters.
• Obtaining multiple summary judgments on behalf of a local Fortune 500 company in litigation regarding the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania statute restricting the successor-related asbestos liability of Pennsylvania corporations.
• Representing several well-known plaintiff law firms in litigation related to their break-ups, or their hiring of lateral partners from other firms.
• Representing a local professional sports franchise in a lawsuit against a municipality relating to the interpretation of the franchise’s stadium lease.
• Obtaining summary judgment for a local township in high profile civil rights litigations involving alleged discrimination in zoning procedures and in police conduct.

Many of Mathieu’s cases involve electronic discovery and digital forensic issues. In recognition of the growing importance of e-Discovery to his clients, Mathieu created Obermayer’s e-Discovery and Information Management Practice Group. A long-time proponent of “proportionality” in e-Discovery, Mathieu attempts to keep the costs of e-Discovery commensurate with the value of the case.

Mathieu, together with the Honorable Paul S. Diamond of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is the author of a chapter entitled “Director & Officer Liability” in the critically-acclaimed ABA Section of Litigation treatise, Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, edited by Robert L. Haig (Thomson/West, 2021, 2011 and 2005 editions).

Mathieu was  included in the 2024 and 2025 editions of The Best Lawyers in America© for Commercial Litigation.

Awards Won*

*Click here for a description of the standard or methodology on which the awards and honors are based. No aspect of this advertisement is approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.