Alex Spiro


Alexander Benjamin Spiro is an American trial lawyer. He is currently a partner at the New York Office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

Early life and education

Spiro was born in New York, and grew up in Boston. His father suffered from multiple sclerosis.
Spiro studied bio-psychology at Tufts University. He also worked at McLean Hospital, Harvard's Psychiatric Hospital, in Belmont, MA, supervising units of an adolescent treatment facility and running a program for children with autism spectrum disorders.
Spiro attended Harvard Law School where he won Boston's ACC Northeast Ethical Lawyering award. In 2008, Spiro received his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Career

Prosecution

Spiro worked at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District Attorney until 2013. He prosecuted Rodney Alcala, known as “The Dating Game Killer," for two New York murders in the 1970s.

Notable cases

In 2013, Spiro moved to a New York criminal defense firm run by Benjamin Brafman, known for their high-profile clientele.
Spiro has represented artists like Mick Jagger, Jay-Z, and Bobby Shmurda, as well as athletes such as Thabo Sefolosha, Pero Antić, Chris Copeland, Ben Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins, Matt Barnes, Charles Oakley, Aaron Hernandez, Julian Edelman, Jay Bromley, J. R. Smith, and Lorenzo Mauldin.
He also led investigations and litigation involving Robert Durst, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and L'Wren Scott, and defended Thomas Gilbert Jr., who was accused of killing his father.
Along with William A. Burck and Jeffrey Goldberger, Spiro is part of the legal "dream team" assembled by Robert Kraft defending misdemeanor charges of solicitation. The defense team in the Kraft case successfully argued that video evidence was obtained improperly and the Judge in the case ultimately ruled that the evidence was inadmissible and it was thrown out.
In 2019, Spiro defended Elon Musk in a publicized defamation case raised by Vernon Unsworth from statements made relating to their involvement in the Tham Luang cave rescue. The court ultimately found Musk not liable. The same year, he succeeded in getting a dismissal of a breach of contract and unjust enrichment claim brought by a former trainer of tennis star Naomi Osaka.

Civil Rights Cases

Spiro is part of several civil rights causes and cases. He is the chair of the Fair Punishment Project, of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School.
In 2016, Spiro filed a lawsuit against the University of Oregon on behalf of two basketball players who were expelled after being accused of sexually assaulting a freshman at an off-campus party in 2014. Investigators concluded the rape allegation was false and the intercourse was consensual, but the University, nevertheless, proceeded with an expulsion hearing. The lawsuit alleged that Oregon investigators were biased against the expelled students and asked for damages in the amount of $10 million for each player.
Alex Spiro took over the case of Pedro Hernandez, a teenager who was arrested in connection with a September 2015 shooting. According to a private investigator the family hired, there was evidence that proved investigators in the 42nd Precinct and a Bronx prosecutor coerced young men to sign false complaints against Hernandez.
In February 2019, Spiro was asked by Jay-Z and Roc Nation to help with the Immigration Arrest of rapper/songwriter 21 Savage, resulting in the rapper's release from federal custody.

Trial verdicts

Spiro secured acquittals in a number of cases including the cases of Thabo Sefolosha and several Wall Street traders. Spiro was part of Aaron Hernandez's trial team.

Business ventures

Spiro is a board member of Glassbridge Enterprises, an American Holding company that focuses on investment, asset management, and enterprise data storage. He was named Director and Board Member of Evine, which is a multi-platform interactive digital company.
Spiro also sits on the Board of Directors for Arrive, a private equity joint venture with Glassbridge Enterprises and was launched in 2017 in collaboration with Primary Venture Partners and Roc Nation.