David S. Sanson

David Sanson is special counsel in the Business Trial Practice Group in the firm's New York office. 

Areas of Practice

David has extensive experience litigating a wide range of complex commercial matters across industries, including disputes involving tort, securities, breach-of-contract, statutory, and fraud claims. He has represented: a major pharmaceutical company in numerous trials about a blockbuster drug; a Big Five accounting firm facing securities and fraud claims; one of Canada’s largest investment managers in a dispute over high-value life insurance policies; investors and bank trustees in residential mortgage-backed securities litigations; a major telecommunications corporation in a dispute over IP royalties; and a sovereign in connection with DOJ civil forfeiture actions and related global recovery efforts. 

He also maintains a robust pro bono practice, which has included representing asylum clients, a foreign national in a notable No-Fly List action, and a public advocacy group as amicus curiae in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, David spent several years as a litigation associate at a large New York law firm. After taking a sabbatical to focus on writing projects, he returned to practice at a prominent New York litigation boutique specializing in complex commercial cases. 

Experience

• One of Canada’s largest investment managers in breach-of-contract and fraud case over high-value life insurance policies.
• Investors and bank trustees in residential mortgage-backed securities litigations.
• A major telecommunications corporation in a dispute over IP royalties.
• A sovereign in connection with DOJ civil forfeiture actions and related global recovery efforts.
• Public advocacy group as amicus curiae in RFRA case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Articles

• "The Pervasive Problem of Court-Sanctioned Secrecy and the Exigency of National Reform," 53 Duke L.J. 807, 2003