David A. Forkner is Chair of the firm’s Food, Beverage and Pet practice group and focuses his practice on complex litigation. He has successfully defended commercial, class action, and criminal cases for a wide array of corporate and individual clients before federal and state courts, regulatory agencies, and arbitrators throughout the country. These matters have involved a variety of substantive claims, including products liability, False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Act, antitrust, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, accounting malpractice, securities and financial services, trade secrets, health care, gaming, and corporate espionage.
Born in Colorado and raised in Wyoming, Mr. Forkner received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Denver in 1993 and his J.D. from the University of Denver School of Law, where he was General Editor, University of Denver Law Review. Before joining Williams & Connolly in 2000, Mr. Forkner completed two federal clerkships; the first for Thomas M. Shanahan of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska; the second for Judge Jesse E. Eschbach of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Representative Experience
Though all cases vary and none are predictive, David’s experience includes:
- Represented a leading multinational food company in defense of a multiple putative nationwide class action alleging that the marketing and labelling of certain products was deceptive and misleading.
- Represented a global chocolate company in a private attorney general action, alleging that certain products were misbranded and in violation of D.C.’s Consumer Protection Act.
- Represented a global confectionary company in defense of a putative nationwide class action alleging that the marketing and labelling of certain products was deceptive and misleading.
- Represented a global chocolate company in defense of a consumer fraud class action brought in New York federal court alleging that the marketing and labelling of certain products was deceptive and misleading.
- Represented a national pet food company in defense of a putative nationwide consumer class action in federal court alleging fraud relating to the company’s food packaging labels.
- Representing a global confectionary company in defense of a putative class action in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois alleging that the marketing and labelling of certain products was deceptive and misleading.
- Represented a national gourmet food company in defense of a putative class action in Southern District of New York alleging the defendant violated federal and state law by misleading customers with the marketing and labeling of certain products.