Often cited as the heart and soul of Hart and Wechsler’s The Federal Courts & the Federal System (Foundation Press), David Shapiro joined the faculty at Harvard Law School in 1963 after briefly working at Covington & Burling LLP and clerking for Supreme Court Justice John M. Harlan. David served as the Deputy Solicitor General under both the Reagan and Bush administrations, but will be best remembered as a longtime professor at Harvard Law School, teaching federal courts to an impressive list of litigators and academics who proudly count him as a mentor. His passing in 2019 reminded all he touched to reflect on his lasting impact to legal jurisprudence, as well as his expertise and passion for legal process. Anyone who knew David would also note his humor. “One new edition of Hart and Wechsler, David trimmed upwards of a 100 pages from the volume,” notes Fastcase COO and former Foundation Press publisher, Steve Errick. “I come into his office and he’s shaking his head telling me all his work in trimming the book to a more elegant size was in vain as the book looked just as thick as the prior edition. When I showed him we used the trimming of text to use better paper, he smiled and nodded. And that was that.”
