David Gringer is a nationally recognized trial lawyer with a distinguished record of success in antitrust, false advertising, and complex civil litigation. Mr. Gringer is known for his unique and powerful combination of aggressive advocacy, deep substantive knowledge, and strategic judgment. Clients and market commentators describe David to Chambers USA as “a go-to antitrust lawyer for difficult cases,” “a really strategic thinker,” and someone who “doesn’t back off.”

Drawing on his experience at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Mr. Gringer has prevailed on behalf of the firm’s  clients in their most complicated and meaningful antitrust cases, with victories on numerous motions to dismiss, at class certification, summary judgment, and in several high-profile trials.  Mr. Gringer is also one of the very few antitrust lawyers to have successfully tried cases to judgment for the government, private plaintiffs, and defendants, and is part of an even smaller group to have done so in both cases brought under Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. Recent or ongoing representations includeMeta, Google, Tesla, the University of Pennsylvania, Intuit, and Coinbase.

Mr. Gringer has also successfully represented clients at trial in false advertising and related litigation and mass arbitrations against State Attorneys General, claimants and private class plaintiffs; and in investigations by multistate groups of Attorneys General and the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.  Here too, he is one of the few lawyers to have successfully taken cases against the government to trial, securing trial victories for firm clients in federal and state courts.   He also routinely handles other complex civil cases, including those involving trade secrets, the Lanham Act, and other federal and state statutes. 

Mr. Gringer previously was a “rising star” by the The New York Law Journal as someone “in a leadership role who achieved impressive results.” And Law360 named him a “rising star” on their global list for his experience with “massive cases on both sides of the courtroom.” He has been recognized with accolades from Litigation Daily numerous times, including for a significant antitrust victory on a motion to dismiss, defeating class certification in what would have been the largest class action in U.S. history, and for his defeat of a request for preliminary injunction against the FTC.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Gringer served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division in many of the department’s highest-profile matters, including as a member of the division's winning trial teams in U.S. v. H&R Block—at the time the division's first successful challenge to a merger in more than eight years—the e-books price-fixing litigation, and writing the division's litigation complaints in U.S. v. Anheuser-Busch and U.S. v. U.S. Airways.

In 2013, Mr. Gringer received an Assistant Attorney General Award of Distinction for his contributions on U.S. v. H&R Block, U.S. v. BlueCross Blue Shield of Michigan, and the proposed and the later abandoned 3M/Avery merger, among others.

Mr. Gringer began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael Boudin of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Before practicing law, he worked in political campaign management.

Experience

    • Obtained a victory through a motion to dismiss in a lawsuit for the University of Pennsylvania and other Ivy League institutions, challenging the Ivy League’s alleged practice of not awarding athletic scholarships.
    • Prevailed on behalf of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services with a dismissal of a lawsuit that accused Howard Hanna of violating Section 1 of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act through an alleged agreement to fix broker commissions.
    • Won a resounding victory as part of a trial team for clients T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom in a landmark antitrust trial in which attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia sought to enjoin the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.
    • Twice successfully prevailed on motions to dismiss with prejudice Section 1 and Section 2 claims on behalf of a large technology company.
    • Won a complete dismissal of antitrust lawsuit alleging monopolization against a large public utility.
    • Represents technology and telecommunications companies in ongoing consumer mass arbitrations and adjacent litigation in state and federal court.
    • Represents a technology company in putative class actions lawsuit alleging unlawful monopolization in the Northern District of California.
    • Advised manufacturers of isopropyl alcohol, petroleum products and other essential commodities with compliance with the price gouging and related laws in all 50 states in response to COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Secured a dismissal of all antitrust damage claims and claims brought under Section 1 of the Sherman Act on behalf of a public utility.
    • Secured the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging orchestrated hacking of computer systems.
    • Secured clearance from the DOJ after the issuance of a Second Request in a major transaction in the data network industry.
    • Represents an online software company in litigation brought by the Los Angeles City Attorney under UCL and Santa Clara County Counsel under the FAL and in several different State AG investigations.
    • Represented a client in connection with antitrust agency and congressional investigations.
    • Represents an online software company in Federal Trade Commission and State Attorney General investigations.
    • Represented the indenture trustee for, and holders of, billions of dollars in bonds in the successful prosecution and appeal of “make whole” and related claims totaling approximately $600 million in the Energy Future Intermediate Holdings Company Chapter 11 case.
    • Represented a large financial institution in an internal investigation related to a technology outage and threatened litigation against the responsible vendor; matter resulted in full indemnification for the client. 
    • Represented a foreign government in federal district court on issues involving the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
       

Recognition

  • Received an American Lawyer Litigation Daily Litigator of the Week Shout-Out for succeeding on a motion to dismiss on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania in a high-profile antitrust case in 2024. Received a Shout-Out for defeating a class certification in an antitrust class action on behalf of Meta in 2025.
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for antitrust law in 2023-2025.
  • Named a 2022 Rising Star by The New York Law Journal.
  • Named a Litigator of the Week runner-up by AmLaw Litigation Daily for a major antitrust victory.
  • Named a Litigator of the Week runner-up by AmLaw Litigation Daily for a defeat on behalf of his client for a request for preliminary injunction.
  • Named a 2020 Rising Star by Law360 for his experience with “massive cases on both sides of the courtroom.”
  • Recipient of 2020 Burton Award for legal writing.
  • Recipient of Assistant Attorney General Antitrust Awards of Distinction in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
  • Named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America list.

Insights & News

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Columbia Law School, 2008

      James Kent Scholar (2006-2008); Articles Editor, Columbia Law Review; Finalist, Stone Honors Moot Court Competition; Alexander Hamilton Fellow
    • BA, History, University of Pennsylvania, 2003

      summa cum laude
  • Admissions

    • District of Columbia

    • New York

  • Clerkships

    • The Hon. Michael Boudin, US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 2008 - 2009

Credentials

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