David Morrell is an experienced litigator and former senior Justice Department official whose practice focuses on high-stakes civil litigation and government disputes. David leads trial-level motions practice and strategy, briefs matters at every level of the federal judiciary, and has argued more than a dozen cases at the trial and appellate levels in courts across the country. He also regularly represents clients in administrative proceedings and government investigations involving the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Customs & Border Protection (CBP), and other regulators. David also develops strategies to challenge unlawful regulatory actions.
David returned to Jones Day in 2021 after serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in DOJ's Civil Division, where he led the Federal Programs Branch, which defends the government against regulatory challenges to the most significant Executive actions, policies, and programs in federal district court. Prior to that role, he oversaw DOJ's Consumer Protection Branch, which defends the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in federal district court and brings civil and criminal enforcement actions involving drugs, medical devices, food, consumer products, and fraudulent schemes. Before DOJ, David served at the White House, where advised senior Administration officials on a wide range of legal issues, including in the areas of regulatory policy and international trade.
David's practice builds on his previous tenure at the Firm, during which he represented clients in complex trial and appellate litigation matters across a range of subject matters.
Experience
The following represents experience acquired prior to rejoining Jones Day.
United States v. Facebook (D.D.C.): personally represented the United States, in partnership with the FTC, in a settlement that required Facebook to implement extensive compliance measures designed to improve user privacy and to pay an unprecedented $5 billion civil penalty — the most ever imposed in a data privacy case in U.S. history.
Institute for Fisheries Resources v. FDA (N.D. Cal.): argued successful defense of FDA's assertion of authority to regulate genetically engineered salmon under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. FDA (D.D.C.): argued successful defense of FDA's partial-clinical hold on long-term human testing of the drug tradipitant.
American Hospital Association v. HHS (D.D.C.): supervised successful defense of HHS's Price Transparency Rule.
National Association of Manufacturers v. U.S. Dept. of the Treasury and Customs and Border Protection (Court of International Trade & Federal Circuit): briefed and argued in the Court of International Trade in defense of a Customs regulation relating to substitution-drawback claims under the Tariff Act of 1930, and prepared principal brief on appeal.
House Ways & Means v. U.S. Dept. of the Treasury (D.D.C.): represented the government in lawsuit to enforce a subpoena for the President's tax returns.
Ryan v. Trump (N.D. Cal.): supervised defense against challenge to Executive Order 13942, which was directed at video-sharing mobile application TikTok and took measures under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) with respect to the information and communications technology and services supply chain.
U.S. WeChat Users Alliance v. Trump (N.D. Cal.): supervised defense against challenge to Executive Order 13943, which was directed at mobile application WeChat and took measures under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) with respect to the information and communications technology and services supply chain.
American Association of Political Consultants v. SBA (D.D.C.): argued successful defense against challenge to SBA regulation excluding businesses engaged primarily in political and lobbying activities from Paycheck Protection Program Loans.
CREW v. Office of Special Counsel (D.D.C.): represented the Office of Special Counsel in successful defense in a lawsuit challenging the Special Counsel's decision to refer complaints of alleged violations of the Hatch Act by a senior White House official to the President rather than Merit Systems Protection Board.
- Yale University (J.D. 2010; Editor, Yale Law Journal); Hillsdale College (B.A. in History summa cum laude 2007)
- District of Columbia, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits, U.S. Court of International Trade, and U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia, Northern District of California, District of Minnesota, and District Court of Oregon
- Served with the federal government in the following positions: Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice (2019-2020) and Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to the President and Associate Counsel (2017-2019), The White House
- Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court (2012-2013); Chief Judge Edith H. Jones, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (2010-2011)