An experienced commercial litigator at both the trial and appellate levels, David Riskin manages complex matters in state and federal courts, with a particular focus on defending professional liability and conflict-of-interests claims against law firms. He engages all aspects of a matter by developing case themes, building expert strategies, preparing and defending key witnesses, and designing early-stage litigation strategies resulting in pre-trial dismissals and favorable settlements. Although all cases vary and none are predictive, among his representations, David has:
- Successfully argued the appeal of a trial verdict and summary-judgment decision before the Delaware Supreme Court en banc in a commercial dispute involving contract and trade-secret claims in excess of $400 million. David also served as trial counsel for the defense in the case, in which the jury returned a defense verdict on the contract claims after summary judgment on the trade-secret claims.
- Defended Am Law 100 law firm in a malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty action alleging a conflict of interests.
- Defended Am Law 100 law firm against a motion to disqualify and in a separate suit alleging breach of fiduciary duty arising from a representation adverse to one of the firm’s former clients.
- Defended Am Law 100 law firm in a malpractice dispute arising from a missed foreign filing deadline.
David’s broader commercial litigation experience has spanned a variety of industries, including financial services and securities, commercial real estate, medical devices, aerospace, healthcare, and technology. And he has represented individuals in civil, criminal, and governmental proceedings, both domestically and abroad.
David is from Morristown, New Jersey. He received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Williams College in international relations, and his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School. David served as a law clerk to the Honorable John D. Bates of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the Honorable Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Publications
- Leveraging Liberal American Discovery Rules in Non-U.S. Cases, International Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2018), with Nicholas J. Boyle
- Note, Judicial Review of Congressional Findings of Fact, 122 Harv. L. Rev. 767 (2008)
- The Supreme Court, 2006 Term—Leading Cases, 121 Harv. L. Rev. 325 (2007)
Representative Experience
Though all cases vary and none is predictive, David's experience includes:
- Successfully arguing the appeal of a trial verdict and summary-judgment decision in the Delaware Supreme Court en banc in a commercial dispute involving contract and trade-secrets claims in excess of $400 million. David also served as trial counsel for the defense in the case, in which the jury returned a defense verdict.
- Defending Am Law 100 law firm in in a malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty action alleging a conflict of interests.
- Defending an Am Law 100 law firm against a motion to disqualify and in a separate suit alleging breach of fiduciary duty arising from a representation adverse to one of its former clients.
- Defending an Am Law 100 law firm in a malpractice dispute arising from a missed foreign filing deadline.
- Representing an international commercial real estate data company as plaintiff in coordinated suits alleging contract breaches and copyright infringement. As part of these ongoing representations, David has developed a comprehensive strategy to litigate the cases and protect the client against misappropriation and misuse of its proprietary information.
- Representing an international bank in a $508 million mortgage-backed securities suit in New York.
- Defending former president of a financial-services company facing criminal charges in a foreign jurisdiction. The trial court acquitted on all counts.
- Successfully defending, in federal district court and two federal courts of appeal, a pharmaceutical company in securities litigation arising out of public statements about a new drug.
- Successfully obtaining summary judgment for a Fortune 200 company in the aerospace industry facing products-liability claims in state court.