News & Updates
Greene Espel is proud to announce that attorneys John Baker and Larry Shapiro have been selected by Minnesota Lawyer and Finance & Commerce as 2021 ICON honorees. Now in its third year, the ICON Awards pay tribute to the titans of the boardroom and the courtroom, recognizing individuals with proven success throughout a lengthy and accomplished career. These honorees are leaders in their field who have been active in their communities and in mentoring the next generation.
John Baker is one of the six founding attorneys of Greene Espel. He has practiced law in Minnesota since 1988. After making a name for himself as an exceptional brief writer, he became an appellate advocate and trial attorney—and is a leading authority in the areas of First Amendment and land-use law.
He is best known as an advocate, author, and speaker on constitutional law, land-use litigation, appellate practice, telecommunications law, and defamation. He routinely receives and accepts invitations to speak at annual state and national programs on topics related to one of these areas of focus. John has presented oral argument on appeal more than 30 times.
John has earned significant recognition for his leadership, legal excellence, and community service. He has been included on the Minnesota Super Lawyers list every year since 2003 and has been consistently listed in Best Lawyers since 2015. He was named the 2018 and 2020 "Lawyer of the Year" in Minneapolis for Land Use Law by Best Lawyers.
John has been recognized as a North Star Lawyer by the MSBA and was given the Amicus Service Award by the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) in 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2019. This year, John was honored with IMLA's President's Award: Outstanding Associate Member Award, which recognizes one lawyer who is a leader in legal advocacy for and on behalf of local governments, has done exemplary work to protect and advance local government interests, and contributes to the mission of IMLA.
As an attorney managing complex litigation since 1981, Larry Shapiro has earned the reputation as one of Minnesota's preeminent business litigators. He has led many teams to significant legal victories, securing wins that have saved his clients hundreds of millions of dollars.
Larry serves as lead litigation counsel in Minnesota and throughout the US for corporations, accounting firms, banks, reinsurers, real estate developers, closely-held businesses, college and professional athletes, and other individuals. He helps clients resolve disputes involving accounting and other professional services, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, shareholders, unfair competitive practices, employment relationships, insurance and reinsurance, real estate, and construction. With a broad global network of litigators, transactional attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and other professionals, Larry can quickly mobilize teams to solve a wide array of problems.
Larry has earned numerous courtroom victories and professional honors. His greatest reward, however, is more personal. Larry is a valued confidant to the inner management circle for many clients. His long history of board service has given him an appreciation for best governance practices and forward focused vision, which provides him with a unique perspective for advising clients. Larry understands their issues quickly, effectively solves their immediate problems and, perhaps most important, regularly introduces proactive litigation-avoidance strategies.
Larry has earned significant recognition for his leadership, legal excellence, and community service. He was a 2018 recipient of the Sidney Barrows Lifetime Commitment Award, given annually by the Twin Cities Cardozo Society to individuals in recognition of their dedication to the mission of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Jewish Federations, their commitment to the well-being of the Jewish and general communities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, their professional accomplishments, and their devotion to lifelong learning.
Larry is consistently included on the MN Super Lawyers list as well as The Best Lawyers in America. He was named the 2021 "Lawyer of the Year" in Minneapolis for Securities Litigation by Best Lawyers and was recognized as one of "the most powerful business leaders in Minnesota" by Minnesota 500 in 2020.
To view the full list of 2021 ICON honorees, visit: "Minnesota Lawyer announces 2021 Icon honorees."