Overview
David has dedicated his career to practicing environmental law in the public interest and has over a decade of experience working on high-profile environmental cases across a wide array of federal and state courts. At Sher Edling, David focuses on appellate practice, briefing and advocacy on dispositive motions, and strategic decision-making.
Before joining Sher Edling, David worked for the Appellate Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. In that role, he briefed and argued appeals and petitions in federal circuit courts across the country on issues ranging from Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act compliance to federal permitting to public land disputes. For his work on the long-running Columbia River litigation, David in 2024 received the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award for Excellence in Litigation, one of the Department’s highest honors.
Prior to his federal service, David worked in several state government positions. On behalf of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, David led multistate coalitions on national environmental issues, including complex litigation on mercury standards for power plants. As an Assistant Solicitor General with the New York Attorney General’s Office, David handled a wide range of cases challenging federal rollbacks of environmental rules and other safeguards protecting individual and community rights. David’s work authoring a Supreme Court brief successfully challenging the termination of the DACA program was recognized by the National Association of Attorneys General with a Best Brief of the Year award. And for the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, David served as lead counsel on various complex environmental cases, including arguing two successful appeals before the New Jersey Supreme Court.
David clerked for the Honorable Jaynee LaVecchia of the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Honorable Paul Barbadoro of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. He received his J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law.
Representative Matters
- City of Chicago v. BP P.L.C., No. 25-916 (7th Cir.), No. 2024CH01024 (Ill. Cir. Ct.).
- Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe v. Exxon Mobil Corp., No. 23-2-25215-2 SEA (King County, Wash.).
- Makah Indian Tribe v. Exxon Mobil Corp. et al., No. 23-2-25216-1 SEA (King County, Wash.).
Education
- New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
- Wesleyan University, B.A.
Admissions
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and DC Circuits
- U.S. District Courts for the Districts of New Jersey and Massachusetts