David Smith

About

David is a seasoned civil litigation attorney with over thirty years’ experience working at some of the best law firms in the country, as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and most recently as Associate General Counsel at Freddie Mac and General Counsel of a property management company.  David’s experience working for the client and as the client gives him a unique perspective few attorneys have.
In private practice, David was first chair and tried to verdict dozens of jury and bench trials in California state and U.S. District courts.  David was also lead counsel in several matters before the California Court of Appeal and was first chair in dozens of arbitrations and mediations in multiple forums.   In his in-house positions, David supervised an extensive litigation docket, managed teams of attorneys and support staff and reported regularly to C-level executives and Boards of Directors.
David started his career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, moving after several years to Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine.  At these internationally recognized Am Law 100 firms, David honed his litigation skills under the tutelage of the finest litigation and trial attorneys in the country.  David then moved to a boutique real estate and litigation firm in Santa Monica, CA, before joining a former Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner at another boutique firm where David became a name partner.  At both these firms, David gained significant first chair jury trial experience in both state and federal courts, and it was at these firms that David gained significant real estate litigation exposure.   After almost two decades, David moved to Washington, D.C. where he became a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, before becoming an Associate General Counsel at Freddie Mac.  In this role, David managed an extensive litigation portfolio involving all manner of real estate litigation.  Most recently, David returned to the Los Angeles area with his family and took the General Counsel position at a private real estate holding and management company, which owns and manages more than 20,000 multifamily units in the southwest U.S.  There, David was in charge of managing a large litigation docket involving habitability, ADA, eminent domain and a host of other issues.
Having started his own firm, David is excited to put his extensive big firm and in-house experience to work representing individuals and businesses.