David began his legal career, first as an associate and then as a partner, at the Little-Rock-based class- and complex litigation firm Carney, Bates & Pulliam, where he focused on consumer protection class actions, with an emphasis on data privacy, data security, and antitrust-adjacent areas in the tech space. In his decade with the firm, he was instrumental in developing and prosecuting first-of-their-kind cases against defendants including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Comcast, Altice, Disney, ViacomCBS, ActivisionBlizzard, and many others. His favorite cases from this period include
Michael McDonald et al., v. Kiloo Aps et al., No. 17-cv-04344-JD (N.D. Cal.);
Amanda Rushing et al., v. The Walt Disney Company et al., No. 17-cv-04419-JD (N.D. Cal.); and
Amanda Rushing, v. Viacom Inc.
et al., case no. 17-cv-04492-JD (N.D. Cal.), which were the first instance of private litigants seeking to apply and enforce online privacy standards set forth under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), and which resulted in what the New York Times called “legal settlements that could reshape the children’s app market.”
Additionally, David served as outside counsel for the State of New Mexico in the first ever Attorney General lawsuits filed alleging violations of COPPA against defendants including Google, Twitter, Rovio, and a host of other ad-technology companies, for unlawfully tracking and profiling children in their online activity. These actions include
State of New Mexico ex rel. Hector Balderas, Attorney General v. Rovio Entertainment Corporation, No. 1:21-cv-00824 (D.N.M.);
State of New Mexico ex rel. Hector Balderas, Attorney General v. Tiny Lab Productions, et al., No. 18-cv-00854 (D.N.M.); and
State of New Mexico ex rel. Hector Balderas, Attorney General v. Tiny Lab Productions, et al., No. 20-cv-00143-NDF (D.N.M.). Presently, he serves as outside counsel for the State of Mississippi and the State of Nevada in their litigations against multiple social media platforms—including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat—regarding the harms posed by those platforms to children.
Extending his advocacy beyond the courtroom, David also organized a cyber safety training summit for Arkansas law enforcement and victim assistance professionals, in conjunction with the National Organization of Victim Assistance (NOVA) and has presented at CLEs and other professional gatherings related to,
inter alia, data breach litigation, the professional obligations of local counsel, and changes in the law surrounding Section 230. In addition to his work in the class action context, David is a member of the Volunteers Organization, Center for Arkansas Legal Services (VOCALS), an organization committed to pro bono advocacy, and serves on the board of the Center for Arkansas Legal Services (CALS).
