Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that David Schwarz has joined the firm’s Century City office as a partner in the Business Trial practice group. Schwarz was most recently a partner at Irell & Manella LLP, where he was co-chair of the appellate practice group.
“Several of us here at Sheppard Mullin have known – and respected – David for many years,” said Sheppard Mullin Chair Guy Halgren. “Not only is having someone of David’s caliber join our industry-leading group of litigators great for our clients but also having him join us now is a terrific way to start out the new year.”
Commenting on Schwarz’s joining, Fred Puglisi, Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Business Trial practice group, said, “We continue to carefully build and strengthen our litigation capabilities and David is an excellent addition to our team. His deep appellate experience and his unique understanding of state administrative agency proceedings are ideal complements to our existing practice.”
Schwarz represents clients in a broad range of complex commercial disputes and appeals, class actions and corporate governance matters, and in state and federal regulatory proceedings. He has extensive litigation experience in federal securities class actions, wage and hour disputes, and trade secret matters, as well as particular capabilities in high-profile California state adversarial administrative agency proceedings, often involving significant constitutional issues. Among his most recent matters, Schwarz prevailed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Fowler Packing v. Lanier, a landmark equal protection challenge to AB1513, a recently enacted wage and hour statute governing California minimum wage law for piece work labor.
In connection with his appellate practice, Schwarz argued 11 appeals in state or federal courts over the last four years, nine of which resulted in precedent-setting decisions ranging from constitutional separation of powers to First Amendment rights. One of Schwarz’s most recent appellate wins includes his successful defense against a union challenge to one of the largest decertification elections in California agricultural labor history. He also maintains an active amicus practice, including, most recently, a 2019 brief submitted in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maryland Governor Lawrence Hogan in a constitutional challenge to partisan gerrymandering.
Schwarz’s public service includes two terms (2007-2016) as a gubernatorial appointee to the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, an independent, bi-partisan government oversight board, where he chaired studies ranging from California’s renewable energy governance structures to public-private partnerships.
Schwarz received his B.A. from Columbia University and his J.D. from Duke University. Following graduation from law school, he clerked for the Hon. Alex Kozinski on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. After his clerkship, Schwarz served as special assistant to Ambassador Morris B. Abram, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the European Office of the United Nations. In that capacity, he advised U.S. delegations at various international conferences, including the UN Human Rights Commission, the World Intellectual Property Conference and the International Labor Conference. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Schwarz as a public member delegate to the UN Human Rights Commission. Schwarz is a 2019-2020
Program Affiliate Scholar at New York University’s Classical Liberal Institute.