David B. Shanies has extensive experience handling high-stakes litigation. His practice focuses on civil rights law, including wrongful convictions, police and prosecutorial misconduct, prisoners’ rights, LGBTQ+ rights, anti-discrimination law, and advocacy for victims of sex abuse.
Before starting his firm, David practiced law as a member of the litigation department of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP for ten years. From 2007 to 2009, David served as a law clerk to the Honorable Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York.
The New York Law Journal named David as a “Rising Star” in 2016, an honor given to top lawyers in the profession under the age of 40.
The Federal Bar Council honored David with the Thurgood Marshall Award for exceptional pro bono service in 2017.
Super Lawyers named David as a “Rising Star” in Civil Rights Law and Litigation each year from 2014 to 2018. The Legal Aid Society presented David with its Pro Bono Publico Award in 2015 for his work on wrongful conviction cases in Brooklyn.
Education
New York University School of Law, JD, 2006
Vassar College, AB, 2001
Professional Activities
Law Clerk, The Honorable Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 2007-2009
Federal Bar Council (Second Circuit Courts Committee; Federal Bar Council Inn of Court)
New York City Bar Association (Federal Courts Committee) (Formerly: Criminal Law Committee, Subcommittee on Brooklyn Conviction Review; Professional and Judicial Ethics Committee)
New York State Bar Association (Committee on White Collar Criminal Litigation) (Formerly: Committee on Professional Ethics)
International Bar Association (Criminal Law and Technology Law Committees)
Recognition
Honored by the Federal Bar Council with the Thurgood Marshall Award for exceptional pro bono service in 2017 for his work on wrongful convictions and transgender civil rights cases
Selected by The New York Law Journal as a “Rising Star,” 2016
Selected by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” in Business Litigation and Civil Rights Law, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018
Honored by the Legal Aid Society with the Pro Bono Publico Award in 2015 for his work on Brooklyn wrongful conviction cases
Articles Editor, New York University School of Law Journal of International Law and Politics
Speaking Engagements
Panelist, Federal Bar Council: Sexual Orientation Discrimination Under Title VII: The Second Circuit’s Recent Decision in Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc. (Westbrook, Connecticut) October 2018
Panelist, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York: Pro Bono Trial Advocacy Training Program (New York, New York) April 2018
Presenter, Federal Bar Council, Inn of Court, Continuing Legal Education Programs: First Amendment Rights of Military Servicemembers, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (New York, New York) May 2018; Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protection in the Second Circuit, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (New York, New York) January 2017; The Trial of Clarence Darrow, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (New York, New York) January 2016; Cultural Property and Repatriation, Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York, New York) December 2014; Jury Nullification, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (New York, New York) May 2014; Gideon v. Wainwright, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn, New York) February 2013
Presenter, New York Law School, Continuing Legal Education Program, Ethics in a Digital Age: Recent Amendments to the ABA Model Rules, New York Law School (New York, New York) June 2013
Panelist, Federal Bar Council, Continuing Legal Education Program: Brief Writing, Brooklyn Law School (Brooklyn, New York) June 2010
Court Admissions
United States District Court for the Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York and Northern District of Illinois
United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits
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