David Zinn is Co-Chair of the firm’s Criminal Defense and Investigations practice. He also heads up the Criminal Tax practice. One of the country’s leading defense lawyers, David has represented major multinational corporations, as well as individuals, in a broad array of investigations and related litigation and regulatory matters.
David is regularly recognized a leader in the white collar bar. Benchmark Litigation named him 2023 White Collar Crime/Investigations Litigator of the Year. Chambers provided its 2023 Criminal Litigation Law Firm of the Year Award to the practice group he chairs.
David is described as Chambers as “a superb and creative advocate”; “extremely strategic”; “tough as nails, thorough, and creative”; “a force to be reckoned with”; someone who “fights like hell for his clients”; and “a rarer breed of lawyer who can as effectively represent an individual as a company.” He is recognized in “The Legal 500 as “a master tactician” who has “all the right contacts and a great deal of credibility with a lot of success representing institutions and individuals.”
David has represented clients in cases involving allegations of securities, bank, accounting, and tax fraud; criminal antitrust violations; money laundering violations; and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations. David’s matters frequently involve investigations by the SEC, the CFTC, and/or state attorneys general, as well as related civil litigation. Many matters also involve foreign prosecuting and/or regulatory authorities.
David’s clients have included significant multinational companies, U.S. public companies, and individual executives.
He is the former national Co-Chair of American Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Committee and former Co-Chair of the ABA’s White Collar Crime Subcommittee on Transnational Crimes. He has also served on the advisory board for the American Bankers’ Association/American Bar Association annual money laundering conference.
David is a native of Washington, D.C. He received his B.A. from Brown University before going to Harvard Law School. David clerked for Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, before joining Williams & Connolly in 1993.
Updated Sep 2023
