Claims Against the Government

Since the opening of his law practice, David has represented plaintiffs in difficult civil rights cases against government agencies and those acting on behalf of the government.  These cases have included actions against law enforcement agents and their agencies for the use of excessive force and wrongful deaths, cases against local jails and state prisons over their conditions, and many other kinds of civil rights claims and claims brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act.  Through class actions he has brought in this area, David has been able to bring about systemic change in many public services.  In individual cases, David has obtained injunctive relief and significant money damages for his clients.

Commercial Litigation

David frequently has been approached by business owners and consumers who have been sued or who wish to file suit concerning a commercial dispute that they have not been able to resolve otherwise, leading them to conclude that they have no alternative to litigation and that it will be hard fought.  David’s commercial litigation practice covers a broad spectrum of cases.  Most recently, for example, he has appeared in Delaware Chancery Court and the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Maryland as lead counsel in a dispute between a hotel developer and a major hotel chain, he has appeared in federal court in Washington, DC in a lawsuit between a large taxicab operator and the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority challenging the bidding process for the taxi service contract at Dulles International Airport, he has pursued litigation against a major international law firm on behalf of the firm’s former client for professional negligence, he is representing a claimant in a multi-million dollar civil forfeiture case in the Southern District of Florida, and he is representing the owners of a major international secondary market trading company in trademark litigation in the Southern District of New York.  These are but a few examples of the diverse nature of the commercial litigation section of the practice.

Criminal Law

Defending people charged with crimes of all varieties at the trial and appellate levels has been a primary focus of David’s practice for nearly 25 years.  Following his clerkship for Chief U.S. District Judge Truman M. Hobbs, David immediately began trying felony criminal cases defending people charged with crimes which included robbery, rape, car theft, drug conspiracies, and capital murder.  He also represented convicted defendants on appeal and developed a post-conviction practice.  While the early cases were in both state and federal court, more recently, David’s criminal defense practice has been mostly in federal trial and appellate courts around the country.  He also has advised defendants charged with crimes overseas on matters of extradition or in connection with the actual defense of the case charged in the foreign country.  Much of David’s work has focused on clients charged with racketeering related offenses and has included the defense of defendants alleged to be leaders of various organized crime enterprises, many times with offenses alleged both in the United States and abroad.  In recent years, David’s criminal defense practice has been devoted to the defense of white collar cases, defending those charged with securities related offenses, fraud, money laundering, and tax related charges.

Employment Law

Historically, the Employment Law section of the practice has focused on the employee/plaintiff’s side, focusing on racial, religious, and sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace and in these cases David has represented the Plaintiff in both trial and appellate court, before many different federal courts.  He also has been asked to argue appeals before federal appellate courts in this area of the law for other lawyers who handled the case at trial.  Based on his work on the plaintiff’s side, companies that have faced frivolous employment discrimination claims have asked David to represent them and he has agreed to defend the company against unsupportable claims of discrimination or harassment in one or more of these areas.  The plaintiff's side of these cases can be very difficult and expensive and a great deal of attention is devoted to each potential case to try to determine its merit and the likelihood of success before David will commit to take on the case.

Entertainment

David has negotiated contracts for and otherwise advised professional athletes and performing artists, as well as agents and managers in the sports and entertainment industries for many years.  When a dispute arises for the athlete or entertainer, David personally takes on the case for the athlete,  entertainer, agent, manager, or promoter, litigating the matter if necessary, discreetly handling any necessary criminal defense, or just helping to obtain a resolution that serves the client’s best interests.

Products Liability and Personal Injury

This is the fastest growing area of David’s practice today.  He has represented the victims in personal injury cases and the estates and family members of those who have lost their lives through others’ negligence, intentional conduct, or from the use of a dangerous product, manufactured and sold without adequate warnings to alert the unsuspecting consumer of its danger.  Drawing on his experience with complex class actions in the civil rights area, David intends to grow this consumer protection section of his practice by bringing class actions and individual cases on behalf of such victims to help them obtain justice for the harm they have suffered and to change the ways in which the designers, manufacturers and distributors of dangerous products, whether heavy equipment, every day consumer products, or pharmaceuticals, meet their obligations to the consumers who use their products, often completely unaware of the dangers they face.

International Practice

David has a developed a practice in International law related both to his criminal law practice and his civil litigation practice.  In his criminal law practice, David has had to litigate international law issues concerning the arrest of clients overseas, the application of American law to events occurring in the foreign country of arrest, the requirements of consular notification when a foreign national is arrested in this country, extradition issues, treaty transfer issues, and he has advised on the application of American criminal law to foreign nationals arrested overseas or prosecuted overseas on racketeering laws modeled after America’s RICO statute.  David also has had to travel overseas in Israel and Europe investigating cases and interviewing witnesses.  In David’s civil practice he has had to travel overseas and learn international commercial practices and differences in laws primarily in connection with the defense of trademark infringement allegations and the operation internationally of the secondary market in luxury goods.

Intellectual Property

David has developed a niche defending trademark infringement cases of a particular variety.  Often, aggressive trademark holders, for certain market reasons, bring trademark infringement claims against legitimate secondary market traders, alleging that the trademarked goods being sold in the secondary market are counterfeit or otherwise infringe on the trademark.  David has successfully defended several of these cases, including a criminal trademark infringement case brought at the behest of or with the support of a well known trademark holder.   These cases are complicated, generally requiring extensive discovery, the effective use of expert witnesses, and thorough investigation, and they often drag on for years, and are very hard fought, generally with companies on the other side who have virtually unlimited resources; but they are important to defend, both for the client’s commercial interests and to maintain free markets.

Israel Practice

David has a deep personal interest in and commitment to Israel and is constantly looking for ways to expand his professional involvement with Israel and Israel related issues.  David works extensively with public interest organizations that advocate for Israel and serves on the National Board of Directors and the Legal Committee of the Zionist Organization of America and has represented AMCHA.  David has traveled to Israel in the course of representing Israeli clients and has advised Israeli clients and Israeli attorneys on issues of American law and has assisted Israeli lawyers investigating cases in the United States.  David has had many Israeli clients and has successfully represented them in high profile cases at both the trial and appellate levels in the United States.  He also has arranged for the transfer back to Israel of Israelis convicted of crimes in the United States.  His clients have included alleged leaders of the so-called Israeli Mafia and people accused of running the international trade in the drug Ecstasy.  A documentary film appeared recently in Israel based on some of these cases and a feature film and documentary are in production currently in the United States.  David also has traveled to Israel twice to represent the United States tennis team in the Maccabiah Games, winning medals on each occasion.

Appellate Practice

For 25 years, David has been representing clients on appeal in civil and criminal cases before State and Federal Courts of Appeals around the country.  David briefs and orally argues the cases himself and has succeeded in overturning many trial court decisions adverse to his client in courts which have the lowest percentages for reversals.  David often takes over a case for presentation to the court of appeals after another attorney has lost the case at trial.  David also has been asked to present oral argument to appellate courts after another attorney has prepared the brief and either the attorney or the client wants to have David present the argument, based on David’s appellate experience.    It has always been David’s view that being a proficient appellate attorney helps with his trial work and pre-trial motions work and vice versa and that his trial and appellate experience complement each other allowing him to recognize and raise critically important legal issues and preserve them for appeal before or during a trial.  David is admitted to practice before many State and Federal Courts of appeals, as well as the United States Supreme Court and he has a great deal of experience in handling appeals in cases of wide variety.