Partner, Atlanta
303 Peachtree Street, NE
Suite 5300
Atlanta, GA 30308

TEL: 404.527.4174
FAX: 404.527.4198
EMAIL: dbalser@mckennalong.com

PROFILE

David Balser represents publicly traded and privately held businesses and individuals in trials, arbitrations and appeals in complex business litigation matters throughout the United States. David represents both plaintiffs and defendants, and many of the cases he handles involve matters of significant strategic importance to his clients. Recently, David successfully represented AT&T Mobility in obtaining a preliminary injunction to stop NASCAR from interfering with AT&T's rebranding of its logo from Cingular to AT&T on its NASCAR sponsored race car. Identified as one of America's Leading Lawyers for Litigation by Chambers USA, David has also been selected by Georgia Trend magazine as one of "Georgia's Most Effective Lawyers" for Business Litigation; by Atlanta Magazine in 2004-2008 as a "Georgia Super Lawyer" for Business Litigation; and is listed in the 2007 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of Commercial Litigation.

David handles cases involving:

• Corporate governance, shareholder and partnership disputes
• Contract disputes and business torts
• Securities class actions
• Consumer class actions
• Governmental disputes
• Professional liability matters

Related  Experience

David is General Counsel of the firm and Chairman of the firm's Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, and frequently writes and speaks on topics related to legal ethics, malpractice and professionalism. David clerked for The Honorable Charles A. Moye Jr., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia.

• David and a team of MLA litigators successfully represented pro bono, on appeal, Marcus Dixon, an African-American scholar-athlete from Rome, Ga. who received a ten year prison sentence for having consensual sexual relations with a high school classmate. In a landmark 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed Mr. Dixon's conviction. Dixon v. State, 278 Ga. 4 (2004). David's Supreme Court oral argument was broadcast live on the world-wide web, and the case was widely reported by national news media, including the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Fox News, Nightline, The O'Reilly Factor, The Today Show, HBO Real Sports, The Oprah Winfrey Show, MSNBC, The Abrams Report, Court TV, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, The National Law Journal, People Magazine, and National Public Radio.
• David works closely with The Georgia Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that uses DNA testing to exonerate wrongfully convicted criminal defendants.
• In 2004, David was selected to be a member of the Georgia Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee, a citizens' "watch-dog" committee established to monitor and resolve disputes regarding Georgia's statewide judicial elections.
• In 2002, David was appointed by the Governor to the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC). The JNC, comprised of judges, lawyers, and non-lawyers, interviews and sends a "short list" of nominees to the Governor for the State's judgeships.
• David served on the State Elections Board from 1996 through 2002 and has served as general counsel to various federal candidates' campaign committees.