Over more than fifty years, E. D. “Buddy” David has developed a practice with a highly unusual depth and breadth, which regularly enables him to achieve superior results for his clients.  The experience that Buddy puts to work for each client includes the following:

Corporate Law – Buddy has served as general counsel to numerous corporations and their top executives and has sat on a number of boards of directors. Buddy has been counsel to a number of successful start-up companies, helping them structure their companies and raise capital. An entrepreneur in his own right, Buddy has established and been involved in a number of business and other ventures, which experience has been particularly useful in advising his business clients.

Representation of Federal Government Contractors – The issues with representing those who do business with the federal government are often a different world from those doing business in the private sector. From the procurement process to dealing with the contractual issues that arise in the implementation of the contract, Buddy has a depth of knowledge and experience.

Representation of Nonprofit Organizations and Foundations – Buddy has served as general counsel to a variety of public and private nonprofits, has managed the process of qualifying an organization as a 501(c)(3), has dealt with the governance, fundraising, and other issues unique to nonprofits. In addition, Buddy has sat on a number of nonprofit boards.

Transactional Practice – Buddy has been deeply involved in structuring transactions for his clients, whether the client is buying, selling, lending, or borrowing. He is comfortable with the tax aspects of the transaction and often brings an imaginative approach to getting the job done. He has been involved in transactions of all sizes, from multimillion-dollar sales to public companies to much smaller transactions.

Employment Law – From drafting employee handbooks, to dealing with specific employee issues, to layoffs, to Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal and state law compliance, to conducting arbitrations, Buddy has a depth of experience and a practical sense as to what can be done and what should be done. In addition to representing employers, Buddy also represents individuals in their claims against their employers, which gives him useful insight to both sides of employer-employee relations. Early in his career, Buddy managed what was then the largest class action racial discrimination suit that had ever been brought in the federal Fourth Circuit.

Labor Relations – Buddy learned labor relations from both sides of the bargaining table. Early in his career, he represented a union representing 15,000 workers. Although Buddy’s labor law practice now exclusively involves the representation of management, his early experience on the union side of the table enables him to understand issues from both perspectives and, as a result, be more effective.

Commercial Litigation – Buddy has a well-deserved reputation as a sophisticated and aggressive commercial litigator. Buddy’s success as a litigator is in part due to the depth of his practice, which gives him a both nuanced and practical knowledge of the transaction now being litigated. He tirelessly prepares for trial and makes a compelling, well-grounded presentation to a judge or jury.

Personal Injury Litigation – Buddy has represented plaintiffs in a large variety of personal injury cases, ranging from wrongful death, products liability, and complex injury cases to the more routine automobile accident case.

Estate Planning/Estate Administration – Buddy conducts a sophisticated estate planning practice, focused on reducing the estate tax liability of high net worth clients. Buddy also emphasizes asset protection and multi-generational planning. When the estate matures, Buddy leads the family through the estate administration process and the implementation of the estate plan.

Buddy is admitted to practice in all Virginia state courts as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Buddy is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.

Buddy is a native of Newport News, having graduated from Newport News High School in 1961. He graduated with high honors from the University of Virginia in political science in 1965, where he was Phi Beta Kappa, then obtained a Master’s Degree in government. He is a 1969 graduate of the University of Virginia’s Law School. 

Buddy has been active in his community and currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Hampton University, as a trustee of the Achievable Dream Foundation, Inc., President of the United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula Endowment, Inc., and President of the Jewish Cemetery of the Virginia Peninsula, Inc. He has served as President of the Christopher Newport University Educational Foundation, President of the Christopher Newport University Real Estate Foundation, and President of Rodef Sholom Temple. He was the recipient of the Hampton University President’s Citizenship award in 2011 and the National Conference for Community and Justice (now the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities) Humanitarian Award in 2003.