LOS ANGELES -- No matter how the world views O.J. Simpson and the murder charges against the football great, at least a partial verdict is in on Simpson's lead lawyer.
Charming. Clever. Crafty.
That's the way many describe Robert Shapiro, the Century City lawyer heading Simpson's all-star legal team.
"If I was (prosecutor) Marcia Clark, I would take Shapiro very, very seriously," says Southwestern University Law School professor Robert Pugsley. "He's someone to be reckoned with."
Shapiro's early maneuvers suggest that advice should not be taken lightly.
Last week, he chalked up two strategic victories as the sensational murder case - in which Simpson is charged with killing his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend Ronald Goldman - began its journey through the judicial system.
First, Shapiro, 51, doggedly questioned the existence of a bloody ski mask widely reported to be found at the scene, finally getting prosecutor Clark to say in court that there is no mask.
Two days later, when Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti asked a judge to dissolve the grand jury because of overwhelming publicity, it was widely interpreted as another Shapiro victory.
In addition to his legal acumen, Shapiro also is considered media savvy.
"He's not overly lawyerly. He comes across on TV with a wonderful demeanor," says Washington, D.C., criminal defense lawyer Steve Salky.
"His effort to lend some sympathy to O.J.'s situation is effective."
Shapiro - who members of the legal community estimate is getting a seven-figure fee for representing Simpson - has been making a name for himself since 1972, when the New Jersey native opened his own firm. His client list includes such celebrities as former New York Mets outfielder Vince Coleman and actor Marlon Brando's son.
Over the years he has earned a reputation as a master of plea bargains.
Last year, Coleman was accused of injuring a child when he threw a firecracker into a crowd of fans in a Dodger Stadium parking lot.
While fans roasted Coleman on talk radio, Shapiro quietly got prosecutors to allow Coleman to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge instead of a felony. Coleman never served a day in jail. Shapiro negotiated a plea bargain right before Christian Brando was to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge. Brando pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for a 10-year prison term.
Shapiro's given no hint that he's trying to work out a deal for Simpson, however. "At the time that this murder took place, O.J. was at home," he has said.
Shapiro has fashioned a defense team that includes respected constitutional expert Gerald Uelmen and two marquee names - Alan Dershowitz and F. Lee Bailey.
Dershowitz has gone Hollywood before, selling his account of his successful Claus Von Bulow defense. Other clients include boxer and convicted rapist Mike Tyson. Dershowitz isn't expected to show up in court. Instead, he will most likely consult by phone.
Bailey unsuccessfully defended newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in the 1970s, after Hearst was videotaped taking part in a bank robbery.
What is less well-remembered is that a few years ago, Shapiro won a drunken-driving acquittal for Bailey.
"There's a lot of personal loyalty there," says former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson.
Civil rights lawyer Leo Terrell identifies one disadvantage with such a high-powered team: "Ego. Shapiro has to play manager and make each of them feel comfortable with their role."
There is a big advantage, though. "It sends the message to the D.A.'s office that the defense is going to be very, very prepared, and that could force the prosecution to second-guess themselves."
But jurors could be turned off by so many celebrity lawyers. "On one side, you'll have one or two prosecutors, basically public servants earning $ 75,000 a year tops," Levenson says. "And on the other side, it'll be the Who's Who of the defense bar, and it could look to jurors that they're just trying to buy a verdict."
