{{short description|American defense attorney}} {{use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox person | name = <!-- defaults to article title when left blank --> | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per WP:DOB. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | birth_place = | nationality = <!-- use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT --> | other_names = Shawn Chapman Holley | occupation = Attorney | employer = Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP | years_active = 1988– | education = {{ubl|University of California at Los Angeles (BA)|Southwestern Law School (JD)}} | known_for = Celebrity lawyer (criminal and civil) | notable_works = | spouse = Dorian Holley }}
'''Shawn Katherine Chapman Holley''' is an American defense attorney.<ref name="BLSH">{{cite web|title=Shawn Holley|url=https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/shawn-holley/135541|website=Best Lawyers|accessdate=26 July 2017}}</ref>
== Early life and education ==
Holley was raised in Los Angeles. Her mother was a legal secretary who earned an M.B.A. through night classes and became the manager of a prestigious law firm. Though Holley spent many hours at her mother's law firm, she was uninterested in the law until she met "a cool lawyer who did work that excited her". She enrolled in law school and one summer took a law clerk position at the public defenders office which included interviewing people who had been detained.<ref name="lawdragon">{{cite web |url=https://wawdragon.com/lawyer-limelights/2012-01-05-shawn-chapman-holley |title=Lawyer Limelight: Shawn Chapman Holley |date=January 5, 2012 |first=John |last=Ryan |website=Lawdragon |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref name="glamour">{{cite web |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/who-is-shawn-holley-kim-kardashian-attorney |title=Shawn Holley Will Free You Now |date=March 8, 2019 |first=Mattie |last=Kahn |website=Glamour |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref>
{{blockquote|text=The experience was a revelation. "The holding cell is packed with people," Holley recalls. "Packed! Everybody is black or brown. I was like, 'I don’t understand—how is it that only black or brown men have committed crimes?'<ref name="glamour"/>}}
Holley graduated from University of California at Los Angeles with a B.A. in English in 1984, and from Southwestern Law School with a J.D. in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lawyerdb.org/Lawyer/Shawn-Chapman-Holley/ |title=Shawn Chapman Holley |website=LawyerDB.com |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref name="glamour"/>
== Career ==
Holley began her career in the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office where she worked for five years before being hired by Johnnie Cochran. She eventually became the Managing Partner of The Cochran Firm, and was a member of O. J. Simpson's legal defense team, dubbed the "Dream Team".<ref name="lawdragon"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.swlaw.edu/swlawblog/202002/honoring-our-trailblazing-black-alumni |title=Honoring Our Trailblazing Black Alumni |date=February 27, 2020 |website=Southwestern Law School |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref>
Holley is a partner at the firm ''Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP'', practicing in various areas of litigation.<ref name="kwikh">{{cite web |url=https://kwikhlaw.com/our-attorneys/shawn-holley/ |title=Shawn Holley, Partner |website=Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref> Having joined the firm in 2006, it was renamed to include her name in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/shawn-holley-talks-name-partner-status-and-career-highlights-1234977944/ |title="I Don't Flinch in the Face of Adversity": Shawn Holley Talks Name Partner Status and Career Highlights |date=July 6, 2021 |first=Ashley |last=Cullins |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref>
She has represented a number of celebrity clients, including Kim Kardashian, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, Trevor Bauer, and Danny Masterson.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cottle|first1=Michelle|title=Lindsay Lohan's Lawyer Shawn Holley|url=http://www.newsweek.com/lindsay-lohans-lawyer-shawn-holley-63591|work=Newsweek|date=December 17, 2012}}</ref><ref name="marieclaire">{{cite news|title=The Formula for Success|url=https://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/tips/a7027/female-executives-career-advice/ |work=Marie Claire|date=April 18, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grunge.com/984889/what-happened-to-shawn-chapman-holley-from-the-oj-simpson-trial/ |title=What Happened to Shawn Chapman Holley from the OJ Simpson Trial? |date=August 29, 2022 |first=Jennifer |last=Deutschmann |website=Grunge.com |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shawn Holley - Santa Monica, CA - Lawyer |url=https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/shawn-holley/135541 |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Best Lawyers |language=en}}</ref>
Holley was chief legal correspondent for the E! Network, as well as an on-air legal analyst for KABC Eyewitness News in Los Angeles. She has appeared on the ''Today Show, Good Morning America, PrimeTime Live'', Court TV, Fox News and CNN.<ref name="BLSH"/> Additionally Holley is a visiting faculty lecturer at Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University in New York City.<ref name="BLSH"/>
In 2018, Holley was added to the Board of Trustees of Southwestern Law School.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.swlaw.edu/swlawblog/201804/southwestern-law-school-adds-magnificent-seven-trustee-roster |title=Southwestern Law School Adds "Magnificent Seven" to Trustee Roster |date=April 5, 2018 |website=Southwestern Law School |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref>
== Popular culture ==
In the 2016 FX miniseries, ''The People v. O. J. Simpson'', Holley was portrayed by Angel Parker.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wagmeister |first=Elizabeth |date=2015-10-16 |title=‘American Crime Story’ Casts Disney Alum as Attorney Shawn Chapman (Exclusive) |url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/american-crime-story-casts-disney-alum-as-attorney-shawn-chapman-exclusive-1201620320/ |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=Variety}}</ref>
The character "Jax" in the 2022 TV series ''Reasonable Doubt'' is loosely based on the experiences of Shawn Holley, who is also a producer for the show.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/reasonable-doubt-hulu-kerry-washington-review-1235381091/ |title=Soapy 'Reasonable Doubt' Centers One Very Flawed Lawyer: TV Review |date=September 23, 2022 |first=Daniel |last=D'Addario |website=Variety |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
Her husband is musician Dorian Holley. They have three children Nayanna, Sasha and Olivia.<ref name="kwikh"/><ref name="marieclaire"/>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
== External links == * [https://kwikhlaw.com/our-attorneys/shawn-holley/ Shawn Holley partner profile] at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP * [https://insiderexclusive.com/shawn-chapman-holley/ Interview with Shawn Chapman Holley] for Insider Exclusive (2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holley, Shawn}} Category:Living people Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American criminal defense lawyers Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni Category:Southwestern Law School alumni Category:Yeshiva University faculty Category:Criminal defense lawyers