Dr. David Adler is a dual-qualified attorney with extensive litigation and arbitration experience in the United States and Germany. His practice focuses on both plaintiff- and defense-side representations in high-stakes, complex litigation, with particular emphasis on antitrust, unfair competition, and intellectual property matters, including class actions. David maintains an active trial practice and has appeared and argued in federal and appellate courts, as well as in arbitrations and mediations.
David has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust, and Intellectual Property in 2024 and 2025.
Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel’s New York office, David worked in the firm’s Hamburg and Zurich offices, where he represented prominent U.S. and international technology companies in the global “smartphone wars” and advised Swiss banks in connection with investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and other government authorities.
David has taught intellectual property courses and seminars at the University of Hamburg and has authored numerous books and articles on international litigation, intellectual property, and trade matters, several of which have been cited by courts. His doctoral dissertation on 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a)—examining mechanisms that permit foreign litigants to obtain U.S. discovery for use in foreign proceedings—has been described as “highly impressive,” containing an “immaculate analysis,” and as “an enrichment to the library of every law firm and practitioner with practical experience in the U.S. discovery system.”
- A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S
- Samsung
- JBS USA
- Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.
- G.L. Homes
- UPS
- BASF Corp.
Antitrust / Unfair Competition
- Represent one of the nation’s largest private home builders in litigation in the Southern District of Florida involving antitrust counterclaims alleging monopolization and attempted monopolization in connection with a residential development project.
- Defend a leading poultry producer in ongoing multi-district antitrust litigation alleging bid-rigging and price-fixing in the broiler chicken industry, involving claims premised on alleged coordinated bidding behavior and information exchanges and seeking substantial damages and injunctive relief.
- Represent a major beef producer in nationwide antitrust actions alleging collusive conduct among competitors to restrict production and elevate market prices.
- Serve as defense counsel to a top U.S. pork producer in complex civil antitrust litigation asserting coordinated output reductions and artificial price increases across the pork industry.
- Represent numerous Fortune 500 companies in antitrust litigation against the four principal U.S. freight railroads, challenging alleged collusion through fuel surcharge mechanisms that distorted rail freight pricing.
- Prevailed at trial in the Eastern District of Texas, securing a full defense verdict on antitrust claims seeking approximately $150 million in damages in high-stakes litigation involving two of the world’s leading lithium-ion battery manufacturers.
- Represented class plaintiffs in nationwide antitrust litigation alleging a conspiracy among egg producers to restrict output and raise prices; through coordinated litigation and settlement strategy, secured substantial recoveries from the majority of defendants.
- Represented Samsung in a bet-the-company German action forming part of Apple’s worldwide smartphone litigation campaign, securing a complete defense victory and defeating unfair competition claims targeting multiple flagship smartphone products.
Other Representative Matters
- Represent 97 plaintiffs in U.S. civil litigation against Iran seeking damages arising from the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks, including claims under U.S. anti-terrorism statutes alleging Iran’s material support for Hamas.
- Advised the majority shareholder of SIKA AG in connection with a multibillion-dollar contested change-of-control transaction, including disputes with management, defense of a nominated director against fiduciary duty claims by institutional shareholders, and shareholder audit proceedings.
- Represented three major Swiss banks in connection with U.S. Department of Justice investigations under the DOJ’s Swiss Bank Program, securing non-prosecution resolutions and avoiding criminal charges through comprehensive internal investigations, cross-border regulatory strategy, and coordinated engagement with U.S. and Swiss authorities.
- Defended a leading Icelandic manufacturer in a contract dispute in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, successfully staying the proceedings and compelling arbitration, and ultimately negotiating a favorable settlement.
- Represented an insurer in a dispute from inception through resolution, identifying dispositive weaknesses in the opposing party’s claims, securing a stay of arbitration in favor of mediation, developing mediation strategy in coordination with company leadership, and negotiating a favorable settlement before a retired federal judge, leading to additional engagements.
- Fordham University School of Law
(LL.M., cum laude, 2011) - State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dusseldorf Court of Appeals, Germany
(Second State Examination, with honors, 2009) - Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Germany
(PhD in Law (Dr. iuris), magna cum laude, 2013; First State Examination, 2007) - University of Bayreuth, Germany
(Law & Economics (“Wirtschaftsjurist”), 2007)
- The State Bar of New York
- The German Bar (Hanseatische Rechtsanwaltskammer Hamburg)
- German
- English
- The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust, Intellectual Property, 2024 and 2025
- Extraterritorial US-Discovery for Arbitration and Litigation Abroad, German Journal for Comparative Law (ZVglRWiss), December 2021
- Post Daimler – Why foreign companies still need to fear U.S. courts' jurisdiction, German Journal for International Law & Litigation (IPRax), May 2018
- The enforcement of U.S. secondary sanctions within the EU – how defenseless is the EU?, Duncker & Humblot, August 2016
- Step towards the end of the German-American “conflict of law“? - About the planned limitation of Germany’s blocking statute regarding extraterritorial discovery requests of U.S. courts, German Journal for International Law & Litigation (IPRax), August 2015
- Discover the opportunities – U.S. discovery for litigation abroad, Journal of the German-American Law Society (ZDAR), December 2014
- Use of the U.S. Discovery System in German Patent Litigation, Dissertation, Duncker & Humblot, August 2014
- Intellectual Property and the Internet: A Global Guide to Protecting Intellectual Property Online, co-author, Globe Law and Business, May 2014
- University of Hamburg (Fall 2014), Lecturer, U.S. Intellectual Property Law
- Cornell Law School 7th Inter-University Graduate Student Conference (2011), Speaker, International Litigation