David D. Burnett is Senior Counsel at Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP in Washington, D.C.  He brings 18 years of experience representing plaintiffs—local and state governments, large corporations, pension funds, and individuals—in complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, product liability mass torts, employment litigation, and environmental cases. 

David practiced law at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP in New York for a decade, representing insurance companies and hedge funds in claims against Wall Street banks arising from losses on mortgage-backed securities following the 2007 financial crisis.  David next worked at Burford Capital, a leading litigation funder, evaluating dozens of investments tied to lawsuits.  He most recently worked at Motley Rice LLC and DiCello Levitt LLP, both national plaintiffs firms, the latter as a partner.  He represented public clients in litigation against social media companies, alleging that their products are addictive and create a public nuisance, and he represented investors in securities class actions against Amazon, NYSE, Qualcomm, and others.  

David was recognized among the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers. His work frequently involves securities claims, financial analysis, and data-intensive issues. 

Over his career, David has taken and defended 50 fact and expert depositions, most as first chair, and he second-chaired four experts at a bellwether mass torts trial.  He has written dozens of winning briefs in federal and state courts.  David recently spoke at four local government conferences about public nuisance litigation, including social media claims.  He also represented victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and represented a refugee in obtaining asylum and work authorization.  

While in law school at the University of Virginia, David worked as a teaching assistant in Legal Research and Writing, authored journal articles on legal history and public policy, edited professors’ articles for the Journal of Law and Politics, and summered at Milbank LLP and a plaintiffs firm in Washington, D.C. 

David serves as the President of the Abenaki Tower and Trail Association, a century-old conservation organization in New Hampshire.  He has served for a decade on the Board of Advisors of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the nation’s oldest conservation non-profit.  Prior to attending law school, David worked with at-risk youth for Outward Bound, worked in an off-the-grid hut on the Appalachian Trail, interned at the National Museum of American History and the Wilderness Society, and bicycled across the country for charity.  He lives in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Taylor and Birdie the dog.