Our Team

David Shapiro is President/Managing Partner and Owner of Shapiro Legal Search, a legal search firm focused on hiring and placing attorneys at the partner and associate level at law firms and at all levels from Staff Attorney to General Counsel at major corporations across the nation. Founded in 1959, the Sanford Rose Associates® organization serves the needs of corporate and institutional clients from an extensive amount of worldwide offices.

In addition to his 12 years of legal search expertise, David has over 15 years of general management, technical management and marketing/sales experience in technology, telecommunication application service providers and the financial markets. He has held senior positions with multinational corporations and start-up companies.

David earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Berkelee College of Music in Boston, MA. He then moved to New York City, where he started his career in sales and marketing at RCA Records. Relocating to Colorado, he spent the next five years managing individual and corporate client portfolios at Dean Witter. David then moved into the technology industry, working at MCI Communications and managing a team of strategic account executives for Qwest Communications.

Prior to assuming the position of President/Managing Partner and Owner of Sanford Rose Associates – Shapiro Legal Search, David held a senior management position with a large regional CLEC, building and managing their sales force up and down the East Coast. He knows the importance of finding the right people to fill key positions.

David lives in Falmouth, ME, with his wife and two children. He is an avid golfer, tennis player, cyclist, telemark skier, ski racer and guitarist.

Katie is a Legal  Search Consultant with Shapiro Legal Search, where she successfully manages strategic sourcing, recruitment, and placement of attorneys with top-tier law firms as well as with prominent corporations across the United States.

She has extensive knowledge of the legal market in many key locations, working across a wide range of practice areas including corporate and business, real estate, finance and banking, healthcare, environmental law, intellectual property, and commercial litigation.  Katie brings legal experience and knowledge from previous roles in law firms- both boutique and global-scale.

Prior to her legal recruiting career, Katie served as a corporate events coordinator and marketing manager for a high-end, exclusive resort property, working with top executives and directors in the publishing, legal, fashion, finance, and non-profit industries.

Katie received her B.A., with highest honors, from The George Washington University in 2003.  While in Washington, DC, she worked to initiate and create the first alumni attorney directory for top-international firm, Hogan Lovells (formerly, Hogan & Hartson LLP).  She is active in Alumni relations and development for her former prep school, Northfield Mount Hermon.  Katie relocated to Portland after spending many years summering with her family on one of the many picturesque islands off Maine’s coast.

Melissa Coulombe, Esq. is a legal search consultant with Shapiro Legal Search, who specializes in conducting exclusive and retained searches for permanent attorney positions at corporations and law firms nationwide.

In 2018, Melissa was recognized as a top producer in the Sanford Rose Associates network and awarded the 2018 Distinguished Achiever Award, for ranking as the 6th highest producing recruiter/consultant out of 250 firm wide. Melissa was also awarded and recognized for being the 4th top ranking consultant firm wide in Q3 2018 and received the 2018 Rich Carter Soaring Eagle Award, for being the #1 top producer in 2018 – new to the company.

Developing strong relationships with clients and candidates enables Melissa to strategically identify the proper candidate for the right client. Her law firm clients range from small, regional to large, international firms. She has extensive knowledge of the market in many key locations and brings experience from her previous legal work.

Prior to her legal recruiting career, Melissa was a practicing attorney with an insurance defense litigation firm in both Maine and Rhode Island. Melissa also started and successfully ran a property management company for eight years.

Melissa received her B.A. from Smith College and her J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law- where she was a member of the Law Review and published an article.

Melissa serves on the Board of Directors for Spurwink. She enjoys spending time with her large family, skiing, playing tennis and squash, running, paddle boarding, scuba diving, and traveling.

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Ashley Hanlon, Esq. is a legal search consultant with Sanford Rose Associates-Legal Search/Shapiro Legal Search, who specializes in placing attorneys, partners and groups at top-tier law firms across the United States as well as attorneys at all levels with corporations nationwide.

Ashley has extensive knowledge of the legal market, and is constantly developing strong relationships with her clients and candidates. This enables her to identify the perfect candidate for the right client.

Prior to her legal recruiting career, Ashley was a practicing attorney with a boutique litigation firm in Chicago. There, she was able to obtain a seven-figure settlement for her clients. Ashley utilizes her passion for legal advocacy while working with her clients and candidates.

Ashley received her B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law- where she was a member of the Moot Court Board and actively participated in trial competitions.

Ashley relocated to Maine from Chicago with her husband and two young children. She enjoys boating on the lakes and off the coast of Maine, and exploring the beautiful hiking trails of Maine with her family.

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Fiona Vella is a senior legal recruiter with Shapiro Legal Search, where she recruits and places attorneys at leading firms and companies throughout the United States, with a specific focus in the Washington, D.C. market.

She worked in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area’s legal scene for four years, first firm-side and then with a recruiting agency. For two of those years, she developed her recruiting skillset, making legal placements in international, national, and regional firms, ranging from the highest ranks of the AmLaw 100 to specialized boutiques. She also conducted successful placements outside of D.C., in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, and Wilmington, DE.

Before commencing upon her career in recruiting, Fiona spent her first two years in D.C. as a litigation paralegal with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. In this capacity, she supported a large antitrust class action case all the way through trial in S.D.N.Y., assisting in the courtroom on opening day until the team achieved a swift and successful settlement.

Fiona received her B.A. in History, with distinction in the major, from Yale College in 2014.

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