No Rest for the ‘Dream Team’ Chief

You might think that a hard-working Brentwood resident would take advantage of a quiet Sunday afternoon to trim the roses or even catch a few Z’s, but Robert L. Shapiro has other plans.

Shapiro, the featured speaker at Harrah’s Las Vegas Casino and Hotel, was scheduled to share his expertise today in “Damage Control and the Athlete”--and who better than the man who put together the “dream team” defense for O.J. Simpson?

“He’s represented quite a few athletes in criminal cases,” says Ken Gurnick of Beverly Hills Sports Council Inc., sponsor of the two-day conference. “Athletes have been known to get in trouble.”

His tips may prove useful to attorneys with other well-known clients, Gurnick says.

The two-day seminar on breaking into the sports agent game costs $595, including two lunches. Attorneys who attend will get credit toward their continuing education requirements.

And what does Shapiro get? “He is getting a fee,” Gurnick says. “More than that I cannot discuss.”

*

MAKING BOOK: It seemed as though the paint had barely dried on the Barnes & Noble bookstore at one end of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade before archrival Borders celebrated its debut down the street.

“Everybody’s hungry for bookstores,” said Alex Goodman, community relations coordinator for Borders, which boasts 34,000 square feet of floor space, 150,000 book titles and 3,000 CD-ROMs, including a cache of Mac versions of popular new media titles.

The store also offers music, videos and coffee. What more could a consumer want?

How about a deeper discount on hardcover books? Borders offers 10% off, Barnes & Noble 20%, although Borders does give 30% off on best-sellers.

“That’s great for Barnes & Noble,” Goodman said. “We don’t look at anyone as competition. There are great independent bookstores on this street too.”

*

HOWZZAT AGAIN? DEPT.: “Giorgio Beverly Hills announced Wednesday that it has filed with the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and the mayor’s office to be named the official ‘capital’ of Beverly Hills. . . .”

The press release goes on from there, but how can a store be a capital? Beverly Hills is a city, after all, not a country. Or even a province, as the ad campaign about “The Province of Beverly Hills” would have you believe.

“We’re trying to bring attention to the idea that the boutique is considered an icon and a landmark in Beverly Hills,” says Lisa Wooldridge of the store’s public relations firm.

If the city fathers and mothers go along with the gag, the idea is to get an official proclamation to mark the store’s reopening after a two-month hiatus for expansion and remodeling.