Practice Areas
- Security Clearance Representation
- Military Law
- Use of Force
- Active Shooter
- Operational Law
Practice Locations
- Washington, D.C.
David is committed to making sure your career in the military, law enforcement or the security industry does not become a casualty of an incident in which you had to discharge a firearm or use deadly force. He is a nationally renowned defender of service members, law enforcement officers and private sector security personnel whose use of deadly force “in the line of duty” shootings or military tactical shootings are being scrutinized to determine whether they comply with the rules of engagement and law. He has a long and distinguished career in the military, which includes receipt of the Bronze Star and a role in drafting the rules of engagement for Operation Noble Eagle in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. At Tully Rinckey PLLC, he is Of Counsel.
Prior to joining Tully Rinckey PLLC, David served as the chief counsel and senior partner at a Texas active-shooter prevention consulting firm, and before that he was a faculty member in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Penn. Along with publishing Combat Self-Defense: Saving America’s Warriors from Risk-Averse Commanders and their Lawyers (Little White Wolf Books, 2012), he has taught threat recognition and response with small arms inventory to thousands of service members in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.
Following his work on the rules of engagement for Operation Noble Eagle, David served in Afghanistan, Qatar and Iraq as a command judge advocate for Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In the Air National Guard, he ascended to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and he most recently served as staff judge advocate at the Maryland Air National Guard’s headquarters. Earlier assignments included deputy staff judge advocate and staff judge advocate for the 175th Wing of the Maryland Air National Guard.
When not serving with the Air National Guard, David also worked in a civilian capacity as a senior attorney for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the deputy general counsel for the Department of Defense’s Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). He also served for five years as a sworn law enforcement officer in Baltimore.
Prior to joining the Air National Guard, David served in the Army. He served as a trial counsel with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and in Saudi Arabia and Iraq during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He also served as a defense attorney in Nurenberg, Germany, a senior trial counsel and chief of operational law with the 3rd Infantry Division and as an inter-service secretariat at the Center for Law and Military Operations in Charlottesville, Va.
Along with authoring Combat Self-Defense, David co-wrote Fighting Today’s Wars: How America’s Leaders Have Failed Our Warriors (Stackpole Books, 2012). Further, he has been published in many publications, including the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Infantry Magazine, University of Baltimore Law Review, Military Review, Naval Institute Proceedings, Washington Times and Baltimore Sun.
David’s bar admissions include Maryland and the District of Columbia. He received his juris doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law, his masters in space studies from the U.S. Army War College, and his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University.
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