Murtha Means More
David P. Friedman Murtha Cullina LLP Partner

Partner

Stamford
Email: dfriedman@murthalaw.com
Phone: 203-653-5438
Fax: 203-653-5444

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Bar & Court Admissions

  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

Education

  • New York University School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1983)
  • Stanford University (B.A., 1979)

David P. Friedman

David Friedman is the former Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department and serves as General Counsel and Loss Prevention Counsel to the Firm. He represents a diverse variety of corporate and individual clients in complex commercial and other civil litigation matters. He has conducted numerous arbitrations and mediations, both as an advocate and as a mediator and arbitrator, and has litigated cases in state and federal courts in Connecticut and New York at both the trial and appellate levels involving a wide variety of disputes including:

  • Claims of attorney malpractice;
  • Claims and grievances against attorneys for alleged ethical violations;
  • Allegations of fraud, theft, breach of fiduciary duties, conspiracy and other alleged improprieties;
  • Insurance coverage disputes;
  • Corporate and partnership dissolutions and disputes;
  • Class action lawsuits;
  • Contract disputes;
  • Commercial lease evictions and breaches;
  • Commercial and residential mortgage foreclosures;
  • Environmental enforcement actions and other environmental disputes;
  • Land boundary claims and other real property disputes;
  • Enforcement of easements and other covenants restricting the use of real estate;
  • Mechanics lien foreclosures;
  • Manufacturing and distribution disputes;
  • Claims for contribution and indemnification;
  • Claims for breach of non-competition covenants, non-solicitation agreements, confidentiality restrictions and a wide variety of employment matters;
  • Trade secret claims;
  • Civil RICO litigation;
  • Claims due to exposure to mold and other toxic and hazardous substances;
  • Construction litigation; and
  • Claims alleging unfair trade practices and violations of consumer protection laws.

A significant portion of David’s practice has involved the representation of attorneys in defense of claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud and other alleged improprieties. He has also represented attorneys in grievance proceedings before the Statewide Grievance Committee, in administrative proceedings before state agencies, in lawsuits concerning attorney departures from their law firms, in fee disputes with clients and other lawyers and in claims seeking to enforce the terms of attorneys’ professional liability insurance policies. He has worked with a variety of commercial carriers, such as the Hartford and CNA, and with Attorneys Liability Assurance Society, Inc. (ALAS) and has been retained directly by law firms and attorneys who have sought out his services for representation and advice.

David is a member of the Board of Directors of the Fairfield County Bar Association, a James W. Cooper Fellow with the Connecticut Bar Foundation, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors of Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut.  He was a former attorney trial referee in the Connecticut Superior Court, a former member of the House of Delegates for the Connecticut Bar Association and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Long Ridge School in Stamford, Connecticut.

David has an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell and is listed as a leading commercial litigator in Chambers, USA. Best Lawyers of America® in the area of Commercial Litigation Law and Connecticut Super Lawyers® in the areas of Professional Liability: Defense, Business Litigation and Appellate.

Upon graduation from law school, David worked for the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, in New York City (1983-1986), where he briefed and argued approximately 50 appeals before the New York Court of Appeals and the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division and Appellate Term. He subsequently served for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable Judith S. Kaye, Associate Judge (later Chief Judge) of the New York Court of Appeals. From 1988 to 2009, he worked at Zeldes, Needles and Cooper, P.C., in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he served on the firm’s management committee and maintained a vibrant and diverse commercial litigation practice. He has continued and enhanced that practice since his arrival at Murtha Cullina in 2009.

  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Fairfield County Bar Association
  • Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors, Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, Inc.
  • Connecticut Bar Association
  • Former Member, Connecticut Bar Association, House of Delegates
  • Former Member of the Board of Trustees, Long Ridge School, Stamford, Connecticut
  • Order of the Coif (1983)
  • James W. Cooper Life Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation
  • Listed as leading commercial litigation lawyer in Chambers USA, Chambers & Partners-Publishing (Chambers.com)
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Commercial Litigation Law, 2020 (Copyright 2015 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC)
  • Holds an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
  • Listed in Connecticut Super Lawyers® in the areas of Professional Liability: Defense, Business Litigation and Appellate from 2007 to 2009 and 2013 to 2020 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.)
  • Clerk to the Honorable Judith S. Kaye, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1986-1988)
  • Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, New York City, NY (1983-1986)
Overview

David Friedman is the former Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department and serves as General Counsel and Loss Prevention Counsel to the Firm. He represents a diverse variety of corporate and individual clients in complex commercial and other civil litigation matters. He has conducted numerous arbitrations and mediations, both as an advocate and as a mediator and arbitrator, and has litigated cases in state and federal courts in Connecticut and New York at both the trial and appellate levels involving a wide variety of disputes including:

  • Claims of attorney malpractice;
  • Claims and grievances against attorneys for alleged ethical violations;
  • Allegations of fraud, theft, breach of fiduciary duties, conspiracy and other alleged improprieties;
  • Insurance coverage disputes;
  • Corporate and partnership dissolutions and disputes;
  • Class action lawsuits;
  • Contract disputes;
  • Commercial lease evictions and breaches;
  • Commercial and residential mortgage foreclosures;
  • Environmental enforcement actions and other environmental disputes;
  • Land boundary claims and other real property disputes;
  • Enforcement of easements and other covenants restricting the use of real estate;
  • Mechanics lien foreclosures;
  • Manufacturing and distribution disputes;
  • Claims for contribution and indemnification;
  • Claims for breach of non-competition covenants, non-solicitation agreements, confidentiality restrictions and a wide variety of employment matters;
  • Trade secret claims;
  • Civil RICO litigation;
  • Claims due to exposure to mold and other toxic and hazardous substances;
  • Construction litigation; and
  • Claims alleging unfair trade practices and violations of consumer protection laws.

A significant portion of David’s practice has involved the representation of attorneys in defense of claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud and other alleged improprieties. He has also represented attorneys in grievance proceedings before the Statewide Grievance Committee, in administrative proceedings before state agencies, in lawsuits concerning attorney departures from their law firms, in fee disputes with clients and other lawyers and in claims seeking to enforce the terms of attorneys’ professional liability insurance policies. He has worked with a variety of commercial carriers, such as the Hartford and CNA, and with Attorneys Liability Assurance Society, Inc. (ALAS) and has been retained directly by law firms and attorneys who have sought out his services for representation and advice.

David is a member of the Board of Directors of the Fairfield County Bar Association, a James W. Cooper Fellow with the Connecticut Bar Foundation, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors of Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut.  He was a former attorney trial referee in the Connecticut Superior Court, a former member of the House of Delegates for the Connecticut Bar Association and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Long Ridge School in Stamford, Connecticut.

David has an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell and is listed as a leading commercial litigator in Chambers, USA. Best Lawyers of America® in the area of Commercial Litigation Law and Connecticut Super Lawyers® in the areas of Professional Liability: Defense, Business Litigation and Appellate.

Upon graduation from law school, David worked for the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, in New York City (1983-1986), where he briefed and argued approximately 50 appeals before the New York Court of Appeals and the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division and Appellate Term. He subsequently served for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable Judith S. Kaye, Associate Judge (later Chief Judge) of the New York Court of Appeals. From 1988 to 2009, he worked at Zeldes, Needles and Cooper, P.C., in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he served on the firm’s management committee and maintained a vibrant and diverse commercial litigation practice. He has continued and enhanced that practice since his arrival at Murtha Cullina in 2009.

Practices & Industries
Memberships
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Fairfield County Bar Association
  • Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors, Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, Inc.
  • Connecticut Bar Association
  • Former Member, Connecticut Bar Association, House of Delegates
  • Former Member of the Board of Trustees, Long Ridge School, Stamford, Connecticut
Recognition
  • Order of the Coif (1983)
  • James W. Cooper Life Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation
  • Listed as leading commercial litigation lawyer in Chambers USA, Chambers & Partners-Publishing (Chambers.com)
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Commercial Litigation Law, 2020 (Copyright 2015 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC)
  • Holds an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
  • Listed in Connecticut Super Lawyers® in the areas of Professional Liability: Defense, Business Litigation and Appellate from 2007 to 2009 and 2013 to 2020 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.)
Prior Experience
  • Clerk to the Honorable Judith S. Kaye, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1986-1988)
  • Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, New York City, NY (1983-1986)
Press Releases
Articles
Speaking Engagements
Bar & Court Admissions
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Education
  • New York University School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1983)
  • Stanford University (B.A., 1979)
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