Ira L. Shafiroff '80

When he entered law school, Ira Shafiroff was determined to realize his long-held goal—to establish his own law practice. Working during the day as an Internal Revenue Service tax examiner, he attended evening classes at Southwestern. After graduating with honors, he opened his own firm focusing on tax, estate, and property law.

In 1982, Professor Shafiroff returned to Southwestern as a member of the faculty. In addition to teaching a variety of courses, including Property, Trial of Jesus Seminar, Wills and Trusts, Survey of Federal Income Tax, and Legal Profession, he served as the Associate Dean/Dean of Students from 1990 to 1993. For many years, he presented popular workshops for students on how to establish a solo law practice. In 2002, Professor Shafiroff was named as the Irving D. and Florence Rosenberg Professor of Law.

Professor Shafiroff is the author of a property and wills casebook. His property casebook, Property Law: Fundamental Principles and Moral Concerns, was published in 2012; the second edition was published in 2023.

Professor Shafiroff also has focused some of his research and writing on Jewish law and its relationship to contemporary laws and issues. "Judaism," he explains, "is not just a religion, but the world’s oldest, continuously functioning legal system, which American Law has often relied on for legal precedent. Jewish law, therefore, provides insight into the development of American law." As an offshoot to his years of teaching Jewish law, Professor Shafiroff teaches the Trial of Jesus Seminar, "the most important trial in history," he tells his students the first day of class. He is the author of Every Christian's Book on Judaism, which distills the essence of Jewish faith and law to Christians.

Professor Shafiroff has also authored the fourth edition of First-Year Law School Success: the Ultimate and Essential Guide for Every 1L. Read his article featured in the Daily Journal, "The Seven Deadly (1L) Sins," here.