David is a counsel in the Labor & Employment Practice Group. Based in the firm's Pittsburgh, PA office, David has a nationwide and global practice with a client base consisting of an array of elite, highly complex organizations. Currently, and over the years, they include or have included three Ivy League universities, three Land-Grant research universities, and numerous other prominent colleges and universities; six global pharmaceutical companies, among which are three of the largest in the world; two global food companies; a global investments company; the world's leading manufacturer of safety products; two global information management enterprises; energy and utility companies; five health or other insurance companies; a multi-billion dollar foundation; a collection of museums; and an international humanitarian organization. For these clients and many others, currently and throughout the years, his practice has encompassed multiple areas:
- Pay Equity, in which he assists clients in assessing the degree of, and in maintaining, pay equity in their workforces - both on a systemic and on an individual and small group basis. David and his team have prepared hundreds of pay studies, many of which are global in nature and some of which have covered over 100,000 employees; they have successfully defended numerous large-scale claims of pay discrimination; and they have assisted many clients in resolving internal complaints of pay equity. All the statistical work, including the multiple regression analyses, is done in-house.
- Affirmative Action Compliance, in which he assists clients on all aspects of compliance under Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. David and his team prepare dozens of Affirmative Action Plans each year, along with the statistical and other monitoring of client personnel practices and procedures.
- Government Audits / Workplace Investigations, in which he assists clients undergoing audits / investigations of their employment practices by governmental bodies. David has successfully guided clients through hundreds of Compliance Evaluations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in virtually every part of the country. In addition, on numerous occasions, he has served as the lead investigator on sensitive workplace issues.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in which he assists clients in the development and implementation of cutting-edge diversity and inclusion policies and programs, including quantitative diversity goal setting.
- Workforce change, in which he assists clients in developing decisional units and selection criteria, in preparing the statistical due diligence and OWBPA disclosures, and in complying with WARN in connection with their workforce restructuring initiatives. David has worked with one client on over 700 restructuring events. None of the events on which he has worked has resulted in an administrative or judicial complaint.
- Employment protocols, in which he assists clients on a myriad of individual and group compliance projects, including Americans with Disabilities Act and other protocols, wage and hour advice, policy drafting, and the panoply of employment-related agreements.
- Employment and labor litigation, in which he has handled a variety of employment and labor cases, including putative class actions, in the federal and state courts and before administrative agencies and arbitrators. David has secured the dismissal of over 60 employment lawsuits through summary judgment or other case dispositive motion. In dozens of other lawsuits, after discovery and/or while a dispositive motion was pending, he has resolved the case through a nuisance value settlement. He also has had many affirmances before appellate tribunals, has had many wins before labor arbitrators, and has received findings of no probable cause in over 200 administrative charges. Many of the lawsuits were for Sony Electronics Inc. and for United Parcel Service, Inc.
Known for his deliberate and practical approach to issues, David was Reed Smith's Human Resources Counsel for nine years and continues to be called upon by the firm to guide it through its own employment matters. In addition, during a four year period, David served as Reed Smith's Director of Professional Personnel and, in that role, he managed the recruitment, promotion, evaluation, compensation, and status changes of the firm's U.S. based non-equity partners, counsel, associates, paralegals, and other timekeepers. While in the role, he redesigned and standardized virtually every aspect of the firm's professional personnel function, including developing the firm's Two-Tier Partnership Track and Promotion Criteria and the firm's Compensation Programs.
David was a partner at the firm for many years.
David is AV® PreeminentTM Peer Rated, 5.0 / 5.0 (Martindale-Hubbell®); he was selected for inclusion in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and in many other editions; and he was selected for inclusion to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List in 2004 - 2005 and 2007 - 2022. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame; Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management; and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
