Hinckley Allen -

Successful arbitration for wind farm owner
Hinckley Allen served as counsel to the owner of wind farm in Hawaii that was experiencing structural and geo-technical issues with its turbine foundations. David and his partners, including Jerry Petros were able to obtain a favorable resolution of the dispute after filing arbitration claims against the wind farm’s general contractor.

Counterclaims for Boston Hospital net multi-million dollar judgment
David served as lead trial counsel for a Boston hospital accused by its former parent corporation of failing to pay certain fees under a terminated affiliation agreement. David pressed counterclaims against the parent for breach of fiduciary duty, gross negligence and misrepresentations during the parent’s ownership of the client hospital. After a three-week trial in federal court, David and his associate Adam Ramos secured a multi-million dollar judgment in the client’s favor. The case was one of the first to establish a hospital network owed fiduciary duties to its member hospitals.

Establishing the economic loss doctrine as a defense in construction cases
David served as counsel for an excavator who was sued for negligence when a construction project resulted in wetlands violations. David obtained summary judgment for the client, arguing the economic loss doctrine precluded damages for negligence. The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed, accepting David’s argument on appeal that the doctrine applied to sophisticated commercial entities in the construction context.

Successful defense of multi-national corporation in stock option dispute
David served as counsel for a multi-national corporation sued by a disgruntled employee for failing to pay certain stock option benefits. Securing dismissal of the case, David convinced the federal court that the employee’s claims for breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing and promissory estoppel had no merit and should not proceed to the discovery phase.

Successful defense of age and disability discrimination claims on appeal
As appellate counsel, David convinced the Rhode Island Supreme Court to affirm summary judgment for a large automobile dealership sued for age and disability discrimination. When the former employee argued that the trial court had erred in granting summary judgment, David’s brief and oral argument persuaded the Supreme Court that the employer had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for terminating the employee and was not required to follow its progressive discipline policy before doing so. According to the Supreme Court, courts should not sit as super personnel departments, assessing the merits or even the rationality of employers’ non-discriminatory business reasons, and an employer may terminate an employee for any reason, good or bad, provided the decision is not based on a discriminatory reason.

Work Experience

• Hinckley Allen
  • Partner (2013-Present)
• Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C.
  • Partner (1996-2013)
  • Associate (1993-1995)
• Arnold & Porter
  • Associate (1988-1993)
• The Honorable Danny J. Boggs, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • Law Clerk (1987-1988)
• The Honorable James F. Couch, Jr., Supreme Court of Maryland
  • Law Clerk (1986-1987)

Honors & Awards

• Best Lawyers in America® (2006-2024)
  • Lawyer of the Year (2012, 2015-2020, 2022, 2024)
  • Bet-the-Company Litigation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Environmental Law
  • Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants
  • Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
• Chambers USA America's Leading Lawyers for the category of Litigation: General Commercial
• Super Lawyers, Rhode Island
  • Super Lawyers (2007-2023)
  • Top 10 in Rhode Island: 2022-2023
• Rhode Island Monthly, Professional Excellence in Law (2020-2024)
• Martindale-Hubbell, AV rating recipient
• Benchmark Appellate, Local Litigation Star (2013)

Charitable & Civic Involvement

• Rhode Island PBS Community Advisor Board of Directors, Member
• Veterans Memorial Auditorium Board of Directors, Member

Professional Affiliations

• Rhode Island Bar Association Federal Court Bench/Bar Committee, Member
• Rhode Island Board of Bar Examiners, Chair

Bar Memberships

• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
• United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
• United States Supreme Court