Lecturer Bios
Daniel Shapiro, Esq.
Dan Shapiro, is the founder of Shapiro & Associates Law, he has 30 years of experience in the areas of land use, zoning, governmental relations, municipal law, and civil litigation. After practicing at "big law" for most of his career, Mr. Shapiro opened his own office in 2015 in suburban Chicago, which stresses accountability, efficiency, and integrity. He has represented a wide variety of clients including: developers, property owners, businesses as well as governmental entities . He closely advises his clients on complex matters including, securing zoning entitlements before plan commissions, zoning boards, village, and towns. In litigation matters, Mr. Shapiro has also represented his clients at all judicial levels in Illinois and Federal courts.
Mr. Shapiro has been a frequent lecturer on issues such as of land use, public/private partnerships, zoning, and local government relations. He is currently the Mayor of the Village of Deerfield, Illinois and has served as an adjunct professor at Chicago Kent College of Law where he taught land use to 2nd and 3rd year law students.
Ian Brown, Esq.
Ian T. Brown is an attorney with Shapiro & Associates. Mr. Brown has experience in a wide variety of land use, urban development, and environmental matters. Mr. Brown represents developers, landowners, municipalities, and businesses on issues including zoning entitlements, economic development, governmental relations, municipal regulations, and commercial litigation. Mr. Brown works with clients to build a consensus between landowners, community organizations, developers, and government officials.
Before joining Shapiro & Associates, Mr. Brown received a Master of Urban Planning and Policy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His studio work included creating development proposals for mixed-use and transit-oriented development (TOD) projects for the Chicago Transit Authority and a regional real estate competition. While in planning school, he worked in transportation planning for Chicago suburb and statewide issues with Pace Suburban Bus Service and Illinois Department of Transportation, respectively. Prior to moving to Chicago, Mr. Brown lived in Louisiana where he worked on a variety of land use issues including flood mitigation policies in coastal communities and redevelopment of adjudicated properties.
Mr. Brown currently serves as the Co-Chairman for the Local Government Committee of the Chicago Bar Association, serves on the Legislative Committee of the American Planning Association, and is the Founding Member of the Suburban TOD Group.
