David M. Strachan is an active litigator in federal and state courts, focusing his practice on labor and employment law matters.
Prior to joining Littler, David was an Assistant City Attorney in the New Orleans City Attorney’s Office’s Civil Litigation Unit. His practice focused primarily on Section 1983 civil rights matters, employment litigation, construction disputes, public records issues, and public bid law cases. He later transitioned to private practice in Colorado, where he represented private employers and public entities in a broad range of employment, labor, and civil rights matters. David recently relocated to Texas, where he continues to concentrate his practice on employment and labor law.
While attending law school, David served as a judicial extern at the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for the Hon. Fredericka H. Wicker as well as a judicial intern for the Hon. Jay C. Zainey at the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana. He also previously clerked for various firms and governmental entities.
Selected Matters
- Successfully prosecuted a Section 1983 Monell lawsuit which resulted in a jury verdict of $3.41 million for a client whose civil rights were violated by the police.
- Successfully defended a Colorado school district in a Section 1983 lawsuit surrounding a former employee’s allegations that her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association were violated by her employer; obtained a full defense verdict.
- Successfully argued that the collective bargaining issue was non-arbitrable after serving as first chair in an arbitration representing a Colorado school district in an employment dispute.
- Successfully advised a large Colorado employer in simultaneous investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission then settled the matters for a fraction of client’s potential exposure.
- Successfully defended a Texas employer from ADA, Rehabilitation Act, and Section 1983 claims via dispositive motion stemming from allegations that one of its employees assaulted a disabled customer.
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a Colorado employer from disability-based discrimination claims on the basis that the plaintiff was not disabled.
- Won an appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit of Appeals on the district court’s denial an employee’s assertion of qualified immunity concerning forensic evidence the employee tested decades before the same evidence later exonerated the plaintiff.